Gov. Martin O’Malley seems hell bent on having a special session of the legislature next month to expand gambling, perhaps the week of Aug. 6, but there appear to be lots of good reasons not to bring the General Assembly back to Annapolis. They include interrupted vacations, long delayed jobs and revenues, sticky details yet to be worked out and the continuing lack of votes in the House of Delegates.
Len Lazarick
Democratic lawsuit challenges GOP petition success
The Maryland Democratic Party is challenging one of the Republican Party’s biggest successes in years. It filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to overturn the GOP’s successful drive to put the Democrats’ congressional redistricting map on the November ballot. The suit says the online petition process developed by MDPetitions.com violates state law.
Baltimore magazine names MarylandReporter.com best political website
Baltimore magazine’s Best of Baltimore issue that hits newsstands this week has named MarylandReporter.com as the area’s best “political website.” In the August issue, the magazine editors said: “This online news site has given traditional media outlets a run for their money.”
Md. job losses cause partisan tussle
The conservative advocacy group Change Maryland charged Monday that “Maryland has lost more jobs so far this year than any other state in the nation according to the U.S. Department of Labor,” losing “just over 10,000 jobs since the beginning of this year.”
Gov. Martin O’Malley’s press office questioned the figures, and said the organization was cherry-picking numbers to fit in with its partisan Republican agenda. Both sides in the dispute were using figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but they chose a different starting point. Using the end of December as a starting point, Maryland had only lost 1,200 jobs this year.
Maryland retains triple-A bond rating, but pension liabilities and federal cuts cloud future
The big three New York bond rating agencies last week again affirmed Maryland’s almost sacred triple-A bond rating, attributing the decades-old stamp of approval to a strong economy, high incomes, prudent fiscal management and a willingness to raise taxes. But as they have for recent bond issues, the three agencies said the state government continues to face financial challenges from its above-average pension liabilities and likely federal budget cuts, along with an increasingly sluggish economy.
Minority business participation in state contracts peaks, but advocates say numbers are skewed
Minority business participation in state contracts last year reached its highest level since the program began in 1978, a Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs report said.
Minority business enterprises (MBE) made up 24% of state procurement awards in FY 2011 and were given $1.6 billion worth of business, an 18% increase from FY 2010. The goal for the agencies has been 25% MBE participation in state contracts.
Internet privacy is focus of Gansler as head of U.S. attorneys general
As the new president of the National Association of Attorneys General, Attorney General Doug Gansler has targeted Internet privacy as the focus of his year at the top. He wants the states to take an active role in protecting consumers on the Internet.
Delaney courts Latino youth, embraces ‘clear and short path’ to citizenship
At the Rockville campus of Montgomery College, where the Maryland Dream Act debate began, Sixth District Congressional candidate John Delaney told the crowd of Latino students he strongly supported the federal Dream Act and a “clear and short path” to citizenship for the country’s undocumented population.
‘Casino’ Turner still not hot for special session
The delegate who chairs the House’s gambling subcommittee still doesn’t think there will be a special legislative session this summer to expand gaming in Maryland. And if there is one, the only topic should be permitting table games at the existing slots casinos, not adding a sixth casino at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Del. Frank Turner told MarylandReporter.com Sunday.
Racial issues add controversy as Green Party nominates national ticket
As the Green Party nominated its presidential ticket in Baltimore this weekend, a controversy over racial diversity briefly distracted the hundreds of delegates. But Jill Stein for president and Cheri Honkala for vice president brought the focus back to the party’s main focus on economic and social justice and the environment.
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