Your daily download of Maryland's top political news and analysis

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009:

Dixon jury still out
Day Four of jury deliberations in Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's theft trial are underway.

Maryland's disappearing millionaires
Laura Smitherman at The Sun takes a look at the news from the spring that Maryland's list of millionaires has shrunk by 30 percent. The Post's story from May is here.

Jay Hancock at The Sun writes that it may be the estate tax in Maryland that's driving away millionaires.

Saving 2-1-1
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski wants $800,000 in federal funds to continue Maryland's 2-1-1 call center, writes Scott Dance at the Baltimore Business Journal.

Briefly:

Consumers are footing the bill for Allegheny Energy's cost-cutting program, writes the Cumberland Times-News

American Farm looks at continued cuts to the state's agricultural department.

The Washington Examiner's Bill Myers looks at the state's slow slots development one year out.

Missed: Yesterday, Liam Farrell at The Capital looked at the invocation of former Gov. Robert Ehrlich's name in the course of the state's continued budget battle.

As we wait to hear whether former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) will run again in 2010, let's assume for the moment he doesn't. Who's the best Republican to take on Gov. Martin O'Malley (D)? Larry Hogan? Pat McDonough? Someone we haven't thought of?

Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

On Friday, we asked you if you would convict Mayor Sheila Dixon based on the evidence you've seen. We heard a range of responses from fans on our Facebook page.

The Washington Post Magazine's "Unspun" interviews take a look at the person behind the position in local government and politics. See excerpts of this Sunday's edition below or read the full article.

Did you play any sports in high school?

Ran track. Dashes, 100-yard dash. ... I wasn't a distance runner, unless I was being chased in the neighborhood.

What's your guilty food indulgence?

Apple pie, and if you put some ice cream on it, I'm in trouble.

If you had all the money in the world, what would you buy?

I would probably buy a good life for other people -- give it away. Because if I had all the money in the world, that means that no one else has any money.

What music are you listening to right now?

Really, I listen to a lot of gospel music. ... I'm getting into that. It's more easy on the mind, and [it's] the way I think, too. It's more pleasant on my brain.

Are you religious?

I'm religious in my beliefs. It's not a pressing issue, but I find ... in the Bible, there are a lot of parts that apply to what I do every day. ... It's all about glorifying God.

What have you never done that you'd like to try?

I've done skydiving. I've never done bungee jumping, but in the Marine Corps, we did a lot of crazy things. ... Maybe I'd like to be rich to give away all the money.

-- Jonathan Mummolo

Just a week after Tom Perez was formally installed as chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights division, the former Maryland labor secretary and Montgomery Council member was given a little welcoming gift Friday by council member Duchy Trachtenberg: a letter seeking to bring him into a messy Montgomery dispute regarding ethics proceedings against a transgender council staffer.

Dana Beyer, a doctor and top Trachtenberg aide, says claims she threatened or tried to intimidate opponents of a 2007 transgender rights law are baseless. Beyer helped craft the transgender law and is the first person to use it. Last week Beyer filed a discrimination complaint against Montgomery's ethics commission, which is moving forward with a rare hearing on the accusations against her. She said Trachtenberg's letter asks for Perez's "guidance" on the matter. Trachenberg's office declined to release the letter, but said they'll release his response when one comes.

Trachtenberg on Friday did release a letter she sent Montgomery county attorney Leon Rodriguez reiterating her objection to a search of Beyer's e-mail by a county technology official working on behalf of investigators in the county attorney's office and the ethics commission.

The computer files were searched by keywords connected to the investigation, but nothing improper was found, according to county documents.

Trachtenberg pointed to a county administrative policy that states: "Upon the approval of the e-mail user's department head and the [chief information officer], system administrators in [the Department of Technology Services] or the e-mail user's department may access an employee's e-mail messages and computer files related to the employee's use of the County's Internet, Intranet and e-mail services."

"It is my understanding that the search of Dr. Beyer's computer was conducted without the consent of the Council Staff Director (the department head)," Trachtenberg wrote. "Such a search constitutes a deliberate and willful violation of county administrative rules."

Some county officials have argued that there are inconsistencies between those administrative rules and confidentiality requirements in Montgomery's ethics law.

Rodriguez said he did not have an immediate response to Trachtenberg's letter. He did note that "searches of County employee computers are conducted electronically and do not require entry into the employee's workspace."

For Trachtenberg's full letter, see the jump:

Your daily download of Maryland's top political news and analysis

Monday, Nov. 23, 2009:

Spotlight on judge in Dixon trial
As jurors on Monday morning are set to resume deliberations over whether Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is guilty of stealing gift cards intended for the needy, many are watching Judge Dennis M. Sweeney, write Annie Linskey and Julie Bykowicz in The Baltimore Sun. "Sweeney, 64, is a retired Howard County judge who was selected in February to preside over the four cases stemming from State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh's City Hall corruption probe. Sweeney is widely known in Maryland as a jury expert, teaching new judges how to manage trials ... and at this phase, the judge is 'like a coach,' said Federal Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm." Sweeney has already fielded multiple notes from the jury saying deliberations were "overheating on Thursday and Friday, and it remains to be seen if he can coax them toward a verdict.
In the Daily Record, Danny Jacobs looks at Sweeney's options to nudge the jury toward a solution.
The Sun's Jean Marbella writes that the rumblings from the jury room may echo conflicted emotions in the city.

Mikulski amendment to target breast cancer screening
"When a government advisory panel put out new recommendations last week that said women under age 50 need not be screened for breast cancer, the calls began flowing to Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's office," writes Meredith Cohn in The Sun. Mikulski "responded with an amendment to the Senate's pending health care reform bill that would guarantee access to mammograms at age 40 through public insurance exchanges."
The AP's Laurie Kellman quotes Mikulski saying that without the written guarantee, "insurance companies may use this new recommendation as yet another reason to deny women coverage for mammograms,"

Early fundraisers for Eastern Shore congressional contest
Republican state Sen. Andrew Harris isn't waiting until the election year to begin big fundraisers, writes Alan Brody in The Gazette. National Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele joined Harris at a fundraiser last week at the chic Imperial Hotel in Chestertown. "Two more events come after Turkey Day. The first, on Dec. 2 in Cambridge, features Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia. The group of more than 100 House Republicans promotes a conservative social and economic agenda in the House, according to its Web site. Several days later on Dec. 7, former Gov. Robert Ehrlich will try to help Harris rustle up some cash in Baltimore County before the Ravens' Monday night tilt against Green Bay. ... For his part, Rep. Frank Kratovil (D) has a cocktail reception scheduled for Saturday in Chestertown featuring Steny Hoyer."

Lawmakers Pitch Frederick Site For Training Center
"Maryland lawmakers are promoting Frederick County as a possible site for a new federal training center," writes the Frederick News-Post. "State Delegate Paul Stull, a Republican from Frederick, recently asked Mikulski to support building the Bureau of Diplomatic Security training center where the former Alcoa Eastalco Works aluminum plant once stood ... Mikulski and Sen. Ben Cardin, sent letters [last week] to the State Department supporting both the Frederick and Queen Anne's County locations."

Fewer hospitalized for swine flu
"Swine flu is still the main strain that's making people sick in Maryland, but fewer people with flu-like symptoms are being hospitalized in the state," reports Michelle Basch at WTOP. "During the week of October 24th, about 260 people were hospitalized with the flu in Maryland. But that number has dropped for three straight weeks, to just 53 people last week."

Wright calls for unity
The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright on Friday urged several hundred people at the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet that Americans must learn to work past their differences," reports Sean Norris. "After weeks of buildup as a firebrand, President Barack Obama's former pastor focused on the need to address voting inequalities, lingering segregation in schools and an unjust justice system." Wright's presence had prompted some state Republicans to boycott the event.

Military opposes offshore wind farm
"The O'Malley administration's desire to build offshore wind turbines as part of its renewable energy program is running into an unlikely source of resistance: the military," writes Brody. "The fear is that turbines placed in the Atlantic Ocean could disrupt flight and weapon test ranges, as well as erroneously appear on radar as unidentifiable aircraft, which could trigger false alarms in an era of high terrorism alerts, military officials said."

And briefly:

Well, technically, it's still the jury's turn. But they were dismissed until Monday, so let's debate this for the weekend: Would you convict Mayor Sheila Dixon?

Her attorneys have argued the Baltimore mayor mistakenly used gift cards for the needy, thinking they were from her ex-boyfriend. Prosecutors say she knew better and robbed charities to use the cards for new clothes, seafood dinners and shopping sprees.

Few of us have seen every twist and turn this week in the courtroom, but what do you think? Does this one smell right? Has the state prosecutor over reached? Should Baltimore kick out a crooked mayor?

What's more, if she's guilty or innocent, what are the consequences for all the politicians close to her in Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington who are running for re-election next year? If she gets off, will she be politically untouchable? re-electable? always tainted?

(And, btw, thanks to Charles Herbert, Jeavonna Chapman, Archie Cawley, William Capps, Kelly McKenna and the dozens of others who've helped get the conversations rolling this week on Now It's Your Turn).

Your daily download of Maryland's top political news and analysis

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009:

O'Malley to tout new jobs in port deal
Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) this morning is expected to announce the award of a long-term partnership with Ports America to operate an expanded, state-owned Seagirt Marine Terminal in southeast Baltimore. The deal will be touted as creating 5,700 jobs, something O'Malley (D) is likely to play up in his remarks, according to sources. That would be consistent with O'Malley's stepped-up emphasis on job creation in the wake of this month's Republican gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia.

More money woes in Mongtomery County
"Montgomery County officials are trying to digest a new batch of ugly budget figures from the state, particularly this one: $85 million," writes The Post's Michael Laris. "That's how much less the county is getting in income tax revenues in November, and it comes on top of budget gap Montgomery officials had been estimating at $364 million."

One in 10 with prime borrowers behind in Maryland
"The mortgage crisis has worsened to the point that about one in every 10 prime borrowers in Maryland and nationwide - homeowners judged to be good credit risks - were behind on payments in September," writes Jamie Hopkins in the Baltimore Sun. "The Mortgage Bankers Association, releasing those numbers Thursday, blamed unemployment, which is at a 26-year high in Maryland and the United States."

Briefly:

Montgomery County officials are trying to digest a new batch of ugly budget figures from the state, particularly this one: $85 million.

That's how much less the county is getting in income tax revenues in November, and it comes on top of budget gap Montgomery officials had been estimating at $364 million.

"It's bad news," said Jennifer Barrett, Montgomery's director of finance.

"It means the cuts will be deeper and broader," said County Executive Ike Leggett (D).

Maryland collects the county's income tax, then hands it over. The county's November estimate was $305 million. The revenue turned out to be $220 million. County officials had been estimating that a large slice of the expected income tax pie would shrink by 60 percent. Instead, that portion, covering the 2008 tax year, was down 93 percent, Barrett said.

"Overall we had an $85 million reduction from what we expected, and what we expected was way less than we got last year," Barrett said. She said analysts are still trying to gauge the full picture, but she expects the budget gap to increase by at least that figure.

"It's one piece of information, but I think Ike has already said publicly said we're already going to be looking at gaps that are approaching $500 million again, if not more," Barrett said.

Last year the county's budget gap reached as high as $585 million, Barrett said.

"I'm not going to raise taxes," Leggett said, "but everything else in on the table."

Several readers expressed outrage today at the sentence imposed on Maryland lobbyist David A. Jacobs for his seventh drunk driving conviction. After 36 days in jail, Jacobs--who has represented the Prince George's County Council and sheriff in Annapolis--was sent to an in-patient alcohol treatment program for 28 days. A prosecutor had asked the court to sentence Jacobs to 10 months in jail.

Caroline Cash, executive director of MADD Maryland, put it this way: "How is it that there's any such thing as seven offenses? How are we allowing that?"

A nationwide report by MADD, however, shows that Jacobs is hardly the only repeat offender. According to the group's State Progress Report released last year, Maryland had 25,120 people with three or more drunk driving convictions. 3,980 people had five or more convictions, and one person had 21.

If you think 21 is bad, Marylanders, be thankful you don't live in Arkansas, where one person has had 40 convictions.

Check out the full report below to see how all the states stack up. Unfortunately, Virginia and the District didn't report data on repeat offenders.

Jacobs was drunk by more than twice the legal limit April 29 when he lost control of his Honda Pilot and struck another car and a guardrail. The County Council has not ruled out retaining his services once more in Annapolis next year.

MADD State Progress Report 2008