State Roundup, Thursday, September 12, 2013

GUN APPLICATIONS: Gov. Martin O’Malley said Wednesday that the state is mustering all necessary resources to complete tens of thousands of background checks for gun buyers by Oct. 1, when Maryland’s new gun control law takes effect, Erin Cox reports in the Sun. The backlog of checks has put firearms in the hands of more than three dozen people barred from owning guns and complicated implementation of the state’s new law.

Candidate for Maryland governor and Harford County Executive David R. Craig said using up to 200 front line employees at several state agencies to process record numbers of firearm purchase applications is the wrong approach that invites errors and security breaches, according to the Dagger.

TEX PERRY ATTACKS MD., O’MALLEY: Maryland is the latest target of Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a new radio spot that criticizes Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state’s high taxes, Lucy Westcott reports for Capital News Service in MarylandReporter.com. Perry knocks Maryland for high taxes on businesses and families, comparing it to his state’s low taxes, “fair” legal system and limited government, in a commercial from Texas Wide Open for Business, part of the Texas Economic Development Division within the Office of the Governor.

The Sun editorial board says Maryland doesn’t need the low-wage jobs in Texas without health benefits.

SECESSION TALK: These intra-state secessionist movements like the one just started in Western Maryland are driven by a complex mix of issues that go to the very heart of a representative democracy, writes Todd Eberly for MarylandReporter.com. They show how much minority partisans have been marginalized.

FREDERICK ELECTIONS: Here’s a roundup of Frederick City elections results from Tuesday in the Frederick News-Post. Del. Galen Clagett lost to the Democratic primary for mayor to Alderwoman Karen Young, wife of state Sen. Ron Young, the former mayor who is father of County Commissioners President Blaine Young. Former Annapolis aide Katie Nash was one of the Republican alderman candidates to win.

CRAIG INTERVIEW: Revised link (link in Sept. 6 lost audio). Charles Duffy of Political Pulse on MoCo cable interviews Harford County Executive David Craig, a GOP candidate for governor. Duffy asks him how he is going to overcome large blocks of Democratic voters in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and Baltimore City.

CONSUMER HEROES: The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition has issued its ratings of the Maryland General Assembly on consumer issues, including a list of eight consumer heroes, Danny Jacobs reports in the Daily Record. The list of mostly liberal senators and delegates from the Washington suburbs includes one candidate for statewide office, Del. Bill Frick running for attorney general.

WICOMICO COUNCIL: The Wicomico County Council is losing the last of its three women, as Stevie Prettyman said she will not seek reelection, as Jennifer Shutt reports in the Salisbury Daily Times.

UNIVERSITY SPIN-OFFS: University System of Maryland increased the number of new companies formed out of university technology by 29% in fiscal 2013 and is aiming to keep up the pace this year, Sarah Gantz reports in the Baltimore Business Journal.

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FRANCHOT IN CUMBERLAND: Comptroller Peter Franchot tackled economic issues in western Maryland this week, Matthew Bieniek writes in the Cumberland Times-News. He backs the coal industry and fracking, despite his environmental credentials, but continues to decry casino gambling.

DISTRICT 15 SENATE SEAT: An article by Fatimah Waseem in the Diamondback gives more detail in the short-lived attempt of a Palestinian born professor to become a state senator in Montgomery County. The Democratic Central Committee unanimously chose three-term Del. Brian Feldman for the seat.

About The Author

Len Lazarick

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Len Lazarick was the founding editor and publisher of MarylandReporter.com and is currently the president of its nonprofit corporation and chairman of its board He was formerly the State House bureau chief of the daily Baltimore Examiner from its start in April 2006 to its demise in February 2009. He was a copy editor on the national desk of the Washington Post for eight years before that, and has spent decades covering Maryland politics and government.

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