State Roundup, October 7, 2014

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NEW CASINO AFFECTS OTHERS: Horseshoe, Maryland’s newest casino, is now the second-largest in terms of revenue, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.The new casino is clearly affecting the overall gaming picture in Maryland both in terms of the amount of business at the state’s four other casinos and the overall monthly take, reports Bryan Sears for the Daily Record. In addition to Maryland Live, Hollywood Casino Perryville, Ocean Downs and Rocky Gap all saw their overall numbers drop in September compared to August.

BAY STUDY: A study released by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Monday establishes an economic value for the benefits associated with a cleaner Chesapeake Bay, reports Pat Furgurson for the Annapolis Capital. The economic benefits provided by nature in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will grow from an estimated $107 billion annual value to nearly $130 billion if bay cleanup plans, sometimes called the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, are fully implemented.

CHARGE AGAINST PG CANDIDATE DROPPED: A Prince George’s County candidate has resumed his campaign for the Maryland House of Delegates after a child sex-assault charge levied against him was dropped, reports Arelis Hernández for the Post. He is running against Del. Joe Vallario.

FLEEING FORTUNE 500 CLAIM: A claim that has also been central to Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan’s critique of Maryland’s economy – that the state has lost most of its Fortune 500 companies during the O’Malley administration — turns out to be false, Michael Dresser reports in the Sun.

HOGAN HITS NERVE: According to a recent Gonzales poll, Larry Hogan, not Anthony Brown, has hit a nerve with Maryland voters. Their top concerns are first, economy/jobs (34.3%); second, taxes (28.1%); and third, education (15.4%). Brown’s attack ads on abortion and gun control aren’t resonating because on the voters’ worry list abortion/social issues ranks eighth (2%). Gonzales also found that more voters (47.2%t) think Maryland is “headed in the wrong direction” than in the right direction (43.4%), opines Blair Lee for the Gazette.

9 POINT LEAD: John Wagner and Peyton Craighill report in the Post that Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown holds a nine-point lead in the race for governor in heavily Democratic Maryland, according to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, with voters who cite taxes as their top concern strongly favoring Republican Larry Hogan.

WRONG DIRECTION: On a day that a new Washington Post poll had Republican Larry Hogan 9 points behind Anthony Brown in the race for governor, Hogan and the GOP could take some solace in a new Goucher College poll that said a majority of Marylanders believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com.

DEBATE TONIGHT: Democrat Anthony Brown and Republican Larry Hogan will meet Tuesday in their first televised debate in an increasingly vitriolic campaign for governor. The hourlong encounter, sponsored by the Baltimore Sun and WJZ-TV, will be taped in the morning and broadcast at 7 p.m. on Channel 13 and Maryland Public Television, writes Michael Dresser for the Sun.

***REACT TO THE DEBATE. The first televised debate between Anthony Brown and Larry Hogan will air today, Tuesday at 7 p.m. on WJZ and will be simulcast on Maryland Public TV. We’ll be putting together a collection of reactions and observations about the debate tonight. I’ve asked some of our regular contributors to respond, but I’d like to hear from anyone who would like to comment. Send your comments to Len@MarylandReporter.com by 10 p.m. We’ll only publish reactions with real names attached.***

BROWN’S MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Josh Kurtz of Center Maryland writes that by doing nothing but torching Larry Hogan, Anthony Brown is missing an opportunity to not only define himself, but reveal a little bit about himself – and sell himself to voters. With three debates scheduled over the next 11 days, this was presumed to be the week that Brown was finally going to take his picture off the milk carton of missing persons. He still needs to fire up Democratic voters, many of whom aren’t even aware that an election is taking place – or if they are, seem less than enamored with their nominee.

MUCH IN COMMON: The presidential election of 2012 and Maryland’s gubernatorial election of 2014 have much in common rhetorically in terms of their approaches to issues and spin, the two key components of political persuasion, writes Richard Vatz in an op-ed for the Sun.

SUPPORTS NEW SCHOOL: Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said he would support a 13th high school in Anne Arundel county as part of his pledge to increase school construction funding in Maryland by about $60 million a year. And he said he won’t raise taxes to do it, Chase Cook of the Annapolis Capital reports.

JOHNSON SLAMS SCHUH: Democrat George Johnson took another opportunity to criticize Republican Steve Schuh’s plans to cut the property tax rate and double the number of high schools in Anne Arundel County. Schuh reiterated his stance on those issues and also his plans to improve public safety and reform areas of county government. This time, however, the candidates for Anne Arundel County executive met on a bigger stage – figuratively and physically – for a debate at the newly renovated Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, reports Rema Rahman for the Annapolis Capital.

MO CO EXEC CANDIDATE’S VISION: Jim Shalleck, the Republican running against incumbent Ike Leggett for Montgomery County executive, talks about spending on “the big-vision stuff” to give the county a stronger identity: a four-year university, a minor league baseball team, Arena football and maybe a venue that would save families a trip to the District to watch their children graduate from high school, writes Bill Turque for the Post.

NUTS & BOLTS OF PUBLIC FINANCING: Montgomery County became the first jurisdiction in Maryland to pass a local public campaign financing system Sept. 30. Kate Alexander of the Gazette offers a breakdown of how the new system will work.

PG LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker will host the second of three public meetings Thursday to seek citizen input as his administration develops a plan for the state’s forthcoming legislative session, writes Arelis Hernandez for the Post.

GARDNER, YOUNG PULL NO PUNCHES: Frederick County executive candidates have taken their fight to television, airing ads that depict Democrat Jan Gardner as a beachgoing spendthrift and Republican Blaine Young as offering giveaways to developers, writes Bethany Rodgers for the Frederick News Post.

 

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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