First Click -- Maryland

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

Friday, December 04, 2009:

O'Malley proposes big changes for oyster industry, Mikulski's breast cancer amendment passes, Dixon says she's considering her options, and a Jewish angle to a Democratic primary in Prince George's?

O'Malley proposes expanded oyster sanctuary
"Maryland plans to dramatically increase the area of the Chesapeake Bay that is closed to oyster harvests, Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday, offering an expanded foothold to an iconic species that has dropped to 1 percent of its peak population," write The Post's David Fahrenthold and John Wagner.
"O'Malley (D), speaking at an Annapolis oyster factory-turned-museum, said the state would ban harvesting on 24 percent of its most bountiful oyster grounds, up from 9 percent now. The off-limits area would total 8,640 acres. Natural Resources Secretary John R. Griffin said the long-term plan is to expand the sanctuary to 40 percent of the state's high-quality grounds."
The Baltimore Sun's take is here. The Gazette story is here.

Mikulski's breast cancer measure passes Senate
"The Senate on Thursday voted to ensure that women younger than 50 could obtain mammograms, despite a recent controversial recommendation by a government task force, and to prevent insurance companies from charging co-payments for that and other preventive tests for women," reports The Post's Lori Montgomery. "The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), passed on a vote of 61 to 39. 'We are saying goodbye to an era when simply being a woman is treated as a preexisting condition,' Mikulski said.

Prince George's grant oversight flawed, audit says
"A Prince George's County government audit found significant procedural failings in how millions in federal housing grants given to area nonprofit groups were spent and overseen," writes The Post's Jonathan Mummolo. The audit revealed that reports on over $4 million in HUDD money for housing projects were not submitted by the nonprofits in 67 percent of reviewed cases, and in many cases it was unclear whether the housing project sites were ever visited by county staff.

A pro-Israel proxy war if Ivey challenges Rep. Edwards?
"The most significant Jewish political story of the day [on Thursday was] the news that an African American politician might be challenging a first-term African American incumbent in a majority African American congressional district near Washington, D.C.," writes Eric Fingerhut at the Capital J blog. That's because a Democratic primary challenge to Rep. Donna Edwards by Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey "has the potential to become a proxy war between J Street and more traditional pro-Israel leaders.... As a first-term incumbent, Edwards doesn't have much of a voting record on Israel issues .... But she raised the ire of some Jewish leaders with just one vote -- her decision to vote "present" on a resolution last January during the Gaza war which backed Israel's right to defend itself and reaffirmed U.S. support for the Jewish state." Fingerhut writes that Ivey "would likely be able to raise money in both the pro-Israel and wider community."

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