Len Lazarick

Study says Maryland one of “least free” states, but ranks well on taxes and spending

The Free State really isn’t very free, according to a new report from the Mercatus Center in Northern Virginia, a libertarian research group. Done by two scholars with the George Mason University-based group, the study ranks Maryland dead last in personal freedom, 44th in regulatory freedom and 28th in economic freedom. But one surprise in the study was how well Maryland ranks on fiscal issues, coming in 11th among the states on its freedom rankings.

GOP candidate Herman Cain energizes Maryland crowd, moves up in polls

Atlanta businessman Herman Cain has become the flavor of the month on a menu of Republican presidential candidates leaving partisans hungering for something different. He’s been moving up in state polls. And Friday night, he got a hootin’ and hollerin’ reception at the Howard County Lincoln Day Dinner organized and attended by a number of local Tea Party activists who have latched onto Cain’s candidacy.

UPDATED: Local boards validate 9,280 signatures

Local boards of elections Friday started validating the signatures on what turns out to be somewhat fewer petitions than originally claimed to overturn the law granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. With some boards working on the weekend, as of Monday morning, the count now stands at 9,280 valid signatures, 1,283 invalid. Two counties with almost a third of the petitions, Anne Arundel and Harford, have not processed any signatures.

State Roundup, June 3, 2011

O’Malley announces $45 million worth of economic deals in China; MdTA gives preliminary approval to toll hikes; Sen. Pugh to formally announce mayoral bid; lottery revenues still growing; in-state tuition for illegals supporters try to keep the issue off the ballot.

Legal aid to poor Marylanders would cost $106 million, court study says

It could cost up to $106 million to provide poor Marylanders with the legal help and representation they need for civil cases, according to a new study by the Maryland Access to Justice Commission. The commission looked at how the state might establish a program where everyone would have an “equal right to justice” in civil courts and estimates how much that would cost.

Chinese carry-out: O’Malley comes away with deliverables

When U.S. leaders go overseas, the ideal scenario is to come away with “deliverables,” concrete accomplishments for the trip to show it was more than a junket. That’s what Gov. Martin O’Malley did Thursday in Shanghai when he announced that a Chinese pharmaceutical company, Tasly Group, would invest $40 million in Montgomery County.

Taxi contract at BWI airport held up again after contentious hearing

After hours of hearing about taxi drivers afraid of losing their jobs, past labor disputes, and companies feeling shut out of the bidding process, the Board of Public Works on Wednesday tabled a four-year $7.1 million contract to run the taxi concession at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.

The contract has been highly controversial since it first came to the board March 23.