State Roundup, October 9, 2014

TOPS IN WEALTH: Maryland is tied for third place with Connecticut as one of the top wealthiest states, but continues to rank as the state with the highest household incomes, according to a new rankings produced by WalletHub. Just last month, 24/7Wall St., a financial news web site, called Maryland “the wealthiest state in the nation,” based on those high incomes, writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com. According to a different study, for a third year in the row, Maryland has the highest percentage of millionaires — people with over $1 million in investable assets, not people who make that much money each year.

FOR FRACKING BAN: A majority of Marylanders say natural gas hydraulic fracturing poses serious environmental concerns and would support banning its use in the state, reports Bryan Sears for the Daily Record. The results are part of a new statewide poll conducted by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College that gauged concerns about environmental issues including the controversial process commonly called fracking as well as the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

CONCERNED WOMEN: Mileah Kromer of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher writes in Center Maryland that Goucher’ recent  poll of Maryland residents indicates that two-thirds of all Marylanders are concerned over a potential outbreak of a disease like Ebola. Kromer, who says she is an avid hand washer, a connoisseur of all pandemic-related movies and television, and the pollster to boot, found this result was of immediate interest.

CLOSER RACE: The race for governor in deep-blue Maryland is much closer than expected, with one analyst saying Democrat Anthony Brown is vulnerable because he tiptoed around the big issues and failed to make an argument for his election other than he’s next in line, writes S.A. Miller in the Washington Times.

SWINGING BALTIMORE COUNTY: Baltimore County may once again be Maryland’s swing district: Republican in one cycle, Democratic in the next, opines Fraser Smith for WYPR.

FACT-CHECKING: The Sun fact-checks assertions made during the first of three televised gubernatorial debates, including Hogan’s contention that the biggest threat to the Chesapeake Bay is sediment pollution from other states that flows down the Susquehanna River.

HOGAN CRITICIZES MODERATORS:  Following the first Maryland gubernatorial debate on Tuesday, Republican Larry Hogan continued to criticize his Democratic opponent — and also took a swipe at the moderators, writes John Wagner for the Post.

NO K-O:In assessing the first televised debate between Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and businessman Larry Hogan, the editorial board for the Sun, said neither threw a knock-out punch or delivered the self-defining speech that won the day in this race for governor. It’s a good thing there are two more debates to go.

O’MALLEY LOSES: Maryland’s first gubernatorial debate Tuesday yielded no clear-cut winner but did serve up one obvious loser: Gov. Martin O’Malley, writes Post pundit Robert McCartney.

HOGAN HEDGES OPPOSITION: Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan indicated Wednesday that his opposition to state financing of the construction of Baltimore’s Red Line and another large transit project doesn’t necessarily mean forever, reports Michael Dresser in the Sun. Hogan continued to insist, as he has since launching his campaign, that the state cannot afford to begin building the $2.6 billion Red Line and $2.4 billion Purple Line In the Washington suburbs at this time.

GAS PRICES COULD STILL RISE: Despite the emphatic pledge Tuesday by Democrat Anthony Brown that he would not raise taxes, Marylanders could still expect to pay more at the pump if he is elected governor, reports John Wagner for the Post. That’s because Brown’s promise, made repeatedly during a gubernatorial debate with Republican Larry Hogan, does not apply to actions already taken by the legislature, his campaign said Wednesday.

LT. GOV. DEBATE SET: The Democrat and Republican running to be lieutenant governor have agreed to debate on a Washington radio show next week, the first publicly broadcast showdown between the men vying to be No. 2 in the next administration, the Sun’s Erin Cox reports.

WiFi, THE OTHER HUMAN RIGHT: Philip Bump of the Fix in the Washington Post writes that “WiFi,” Maryland governor and (vice) presidential candidate Martin O’Malley (D) told CNN, “is a human right.” He was putting those words into the mouths of the nebulous group known as “young people,” but it’s clear that O’Malley agrees with the sentiment.

BACK TO IOWA: Gov. Martin O’Malley is headed back to Iowa this weekend for his fourth visit to the early presidential nominating state since June, writes John Wagner in the Post. O’Malley, who is weighing what could be a long-shot 2016 White House bid, has events both Saturday and Sunday with candidates on the November ballot in Iowa, according to an itinerary released by aides.

MATHIAS, McDERMOTT SQUARE OFF: Candidates in the District 38 Senate race shared their views on everything from job creation to the environment Wednesday at a forum in Ocean City, reports Charlene Sharpe for the Salisbury Daily Times. Sen. Jim Mathias, a Democrat, and his challenger, Del. Mike McDermott, R-38B, touted their own voting records and criticized each other’s during the two-hour forum hosted by the Ocean City chapter of AARP.

DELEGATE CANDIDATE ADMITS ERROR: A Baltimore County candidate for the House of Delegates acknowledged this week he wrote checks from his campaign account, a violation of campaign finance law that resulted in a $2,500 fine, Pamela Wood writes in the Sun. Jay Jalisi, a Democrat running to represent western Baltimore County, wrote 28 checks from his campaign account from February through April, according to the Office of the State Prosecutor.

FREDERICK HOPEFULS EYE JOBS: Bringing jobs and economic growth to Frederick County dominated Wednesday’s forum featuring seven candidates running for county executive and County Council, Paige Jones writes 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

3 Comments

  1. reader

    Not surprised that the leftist anti-non government jobs voters would be for a fracking ban in this State. That would help to bring real jobs to this State and we can’t have none of that. No manufacturing jobs, no new businesses (except for Under Armour, and soon they too will see the light) being established in Maryland. Just more government and more government all the time.

  2. InGodWeTrust

    How about the OTHER other right. Since O’Malley is so obsessed with EQUAL rights, he should be just as ready to claim that people ALSO have a right to be FREE of wifi, if they so choose. There are many electro-sensitive people who get very sick around wifi. SO Mr. O’Malley, why are you not espousing an ‘inclusive’ policy regarding wifi.? Aside from his inconsistency in that regard, he needs to say anything attention-getting in order to distract people from the 40 taxes he raised and the 8000 businesses he chased away from Maryland during his oppressive administration.

  3. paul rankin

    So, Mr. O’Malley has divined a new human right – wi-fi. I assume this means it must be free to all (similar to liberty, for example) and that everyone on the planet must be given a free device with which to access the internet (using wi-fi). Further, one must assume that the cost of operating such access devices must be “free” and that the repair, maintenance and upgrade of said access devices must also be “free.”
    No problem, Martin. This is a really cool idea. I’d be happy with a free subscription to the Sunday NY Times, personally.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!