New Maryland political Web site has deep pockets

Last week I was asked, "Are you a Maryland political insider?"

The query came from the Observer Media Group in the form of a promotional e-mail for PolitickerMD.com, a new online presence in a modest niche - Maryland government and politics.

The editor, "Wally Edge," promises "original reporting, analysis, commentary, rumors" and more - covered "from Maryland by Marylanders."

But here's where it gets even more interesting: one local blogger isn't so sure about the "local coverage."

Adam Pagnucco writes on Maryland Politics Watch that the Observer Media Group, which also operates PoliticsNJ.com, is owned by Jared Kushner, a wealthy 20-something from New Jersey whose family has made a bundle in real estate. Kushner made headlines when he bought the New York Observer in 2006.

And New Jersey and Maryland aren't the only Kushner-owned political blogs out there.

Pagnucco also notes the many campaign contributions that Kushner has made to politicians, mostly Democratic, especially New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey.

So what do you think? Are you a "Maryland political insider" and will you be checking out this Web site?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

In memory of Delegate Jane Lawton

The Town of Chevy Chase has sent out notice of a memorial service for Delegate Jane Lawton, D-Montgomery, which will take place on Sunday afternoon in Bethesda.

The town asks for contributions in memory of Delegate Lawton to be made to memorial funds in her name at The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Montgomery County Abused Persons Program.

For additional information on the service, visit www.janelawton.org.

If you had any interactions with Delegate Lawton or views on her accomplishments, please share them.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Photo courtesy janelawton.org.

Call us if health care bill will affect your business

So who here knew that a health care expansion bill snuck through at the last second of the special session? It was not one of the highest-profile issues of the marathon, three-week legislative blitz overshadowed by the slot machine debate and measures to raise $1.4 billion in new revenue.

But it could be important for small business. Legislative analysts wrote that a plan to subsidize employee health coverage for small businesses could help add 15,000 people to the rolls of the state's insured, with a price tag around $30 million.

The coverage isn't for everyone - just businesses with between 2 and 9 employees that want to offer insurance with "wellness" options like health club membership assistance. And the source of the money is not necessary solidified forever. It could change within a few years.

Will this affect your business? If it doesn't, do you think you're being unfairly left out? Or is this a good start on helping small businesses keep their workers healthy?

I'm working on a story about this for Friday. Want to get in on it? Call me at (443) 524-8175.

-ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

Firefighters: aiming to extinguish terrorism?

Firefighters tend to enjoy hero status as first responders who arrive with only one agenda: to put out the fire and help the wounded.

The government is adding another to the job description: to be lookouts for possible terrorist activity.

Unlike boys in blue, firefighters and EMTs don’t need warrants to enter homes and buildings – an enviable position that allows them to scout for blueprints or bombs.

As you might imagine, critics are concerned about an invasion of privacy:

Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration's 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes — such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen — report suspicious behavior to the FBI. "Americans universally abhorred that idea," German said.

That hasn’t stopped Homeland Security from training NYC firefighters to spot signs of terrorist activity. If the training’s successful in New York (and a fire chief quoted in the story says it’s turned up a few “hits”), the government intends to expand it.

D.C. firefighters were recently given the same access as police to terrorism-related information. They carry the knowledge with them to the 170,000+ homes and businesses they routinely enter each year.

Are we safer now that we have more sets of eyes on alert for terrorist activity? Or is more of our privacy slipping away?

Will this hold up in court?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Image courtesy wvs.topleftpixel.com.

Notes from the (state house) floor

We journalists were packed like sardines into a legislative office Sunday, watching senators and delegates negotiate critical details of a $1.4 billion tax package (PDF). In some cases, it was almost like trading baseball cards as members of key House and Senate Committees bargained and compromised away differences between the chambers’ tax proposals.

This was not exactly quid pro quo, but the respective chambers made it clear that there were things they just could not do. Time was short, as the special session of the General Assembly drew close to the end of its third week. Legislators were determined to finish by Monday, so it was time for “consensus.”

House members, for instance, made it clear, that delegates could not support a change in the in-state residency requirement for the personal income tax. The Senate wanted to change it from six to three months. Senators would not go above 5.5 percent on the income tax rate, contrary to a House proposal to set the top bracket at 5.75 percent.

It was interesting to watch such momentous decisions take place so quickly, but special sessions are short. Do you think there was enough time for our solons to fully consider the budget changes?

-ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

Taxes, taxes, taxes

When reporter Andy Rosen was preparing for the weekend ahead on Friday, no doubt he knew it would be a long one.

And it was.

From Annapolis, he filed updates from the Special Session for the web on Saturday and Sunday; an updated story, which he filed at 2:45a.m. this morning, was posted to our Web site today.

The conclusion of the marathon session? Lawmakers agreed to raise $1.4 billion in new taxes, including sales tax expansion, a rise in the corporate income tax, and increased personal income taxes for the wealthy.

Reactions?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Who has time to blog? Presidential cabinet members

It's Monday morning, and as usual, I'm rounding up ideas for posts. (I've been known to grumble about finding time to blog when other tasks seem more important).

But this morning, the AP tells me that two members of the presidential cabinet have MADE time to launch their own blogs, and I've got metaphorical egg on my face.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and Michael Chertoff of Homeland Security are the first of President Bush's cabinet to contribute to the blogosphere.

Well, I had to see this for myself, so I logged on to Leavitt's first.

I was impressed.

He writes the posts personally. He responded to comments from his original post on SCHIP and even links to a WaPo article about a Nobel prize winner (not Al, though). And he performed his own six-week evaluation as a blogger. He also has an amusing entry that compares "personalized medicine" to purchasing new golf clubs. ("The golf professional said to me, “now that we know how you align your clubs (medication) with your game (ailments), we can fit you properly.")

Then I browsed to Michael Chertoff's.

It's certainly not as easy to navigate, and Chertoff isn't the sole contributor - he has help from Customs & Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.

The first post I saw was on IED attacks, which the Post covered with a front-page story recently (no link to that article ... ).

Although the majority of the posts seem to be rehashed speeches with a clear agenda, "An American Story" breaks from that mold. Chertoff links to an Op-Ed piece about legal immigrants who work for the U.S. government while praising government servants.

But don't take my word for it - check it out for yourself. And let us know what you think.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Adrian Fenty and the nexus of the universe

At Naylor Road and Alabama Ave. SE yesterday, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that the District's cab zoning system would be replaced with a standard metered fare.

Why in Southeast? Because each corner at the chosen intersection represented a different cab zone, emphasizing the zoning system's flaws.

View Larger Map

It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets lost at the corner of 1st and 1st ("Can the same street intersect with itself?"), what he fears is the "nexus of the universe."

Nexus or not, the scenario is one that the District's tourism directors worry is all too familiar to visitors in the nation's capital.

"Universally, the hospitality industry wants to go to time-and-distance meters," William A. Hanbury, president of the Washington, D.C., Convention and Tourism Corp., recently told The Washington Post.

I know the industry brings billions to the District, but let's forget about tourists for a minute. Do we think the zoning system was that horrible?

Is a simpler metered system the best we can do? Sound off, cab riders!

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Living wage law takes effect

Minimum wage workers employed by contractors working on state projects will benefit from the living wage law that went into effect Monday: in the Baltimore-Washington area, they'll now earn at least $11.30/hour. In rural areas, the minimum is set at $8.50/hour.

The Going to the Mat blog noted yesterday one of the foreseeable effects of the $2.80-per-hour difference between rural areas and cities: jobs in urban areas will be more appealing.

And you know what that means.

More traffic (and development) in Baltimore and Washington, as workers from the outlying areas commute in to a higher-paying job.

Do you think that'll truly happen?

Is there a solution out there that could address city workers' higher cost of living without this side effect?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Help Andy Rosen with his taxes!

Many business owners know that the state personal income taxes are not always entirely personal. For example, S corporations often pay income tax on their earnings through their owners.

One of the main arguments that business groups have advanced against Gov. Martin O’Malley’s new income tax plan (to add new brackets for single taxpayers who make more than $150,000) is that business owners — not just wealthy individuals — will shoulder much of the load.

I want to hear from you for a story I will be writing over the next few days, especially if you own your own business. Are you worried about the personal income tax changes? How do you think they will affect Maryland? And will you be hurt (or helped) by the expansion of the state sales tax?

Please email (andy.rosen@mddailyrecord.com) or call me at (443) 524-8175.

-ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

Note: a nod to The Menu Pages blog for the image.

Feds, states fight for health insurance control

I stumbled across an interesting post this morning (thank you, Google Alerts!) that questions whether federal health insurance laws should pre-empt state ones.

The State Policy Network, which blogged on the topic, bills itself as the “professional service organization for America’s state-based, free market think tank community.” The post centers on the federal ERISA, or Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

From the post:

Organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are concerned that some legislators want to punch holes in ERISA. Most of these legislators are on the wrong side of things: they are unhappy that a court found that a Maryland law that would oppress Wal-Mart's ability to freely negotiate health benefits with its workers violated ERISA.

Nevertheless, such federal intervention unsettles free-market activists. After all, if your state government is messing up health insurance, vote them out and get better lawmakers. If you can't do that, and Wal-Mart bails out of Maryland, go to one in Virginia or Pennsylvania. Eventually, the state will feel the economic pain and improve its policies.

What, ideally, should Maryland do -- legislatively or otherwise -- on this issue?

And is there a viable compromise between state and federal regulation?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Supreme Court to hear voter ID arguments

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments next year on whether voters can be required to show photo identification at the polling booth. The court is expected to decide the cases (Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita) by next summer, in plenty of time for the November 2008 elections.

Maryland’s General Assembly has taken up this issue each year since 2005, but the legislation never made it out of committee. (Current law requires voters to state their name and birth date for identification at the polls.)

What do you think: is a photo ID necessary to combat voter fraud? Should the General Assembly take it up for a fourth time, or wait until the Supreme Court rules?

-LIZ FARMER, Legal Affairs Writer

One tax at a time

What do you think of Governor O’Malley’s one-tax-a-day announcement strategy?

In his article in today’s Daily Record, reporter Andy Rosen quotes Johns Hopkins University political scientist Matthew Crenson as saying, “It’s a very shrewd way to do it. To lay it all out at once would give the opportunity to different groups who are opposed to provisions of the program to join together.”

Crenson also said the gradual rollout gives O’Malley the opportunity to pull back pieces that draw heavy political flak.

House Minority Whip Christopher B. Shank, D-Washington, was not impressed with the O’Malley dribs and drabs gambit. “Marylanders are not fooled by smoke and mirrors,” he told Rosen. “They are smarter than that.”

So which is it—a good way to help people grasp the intricacies of a complex plan or a crass attempt to manage the news and give the governor maximum political cover?

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

What now for same-sex marriages?

Now that Maryland's highest court has upheld a state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, where should we go from here?

Should the legislature act, and if so, how?

Should we have civil unions in Maryland for same-sex partners? Should there be a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage?

Should we do anything at all?

Join the debate and let us hear from you.

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

Molded in their image

Bob Woodward and Marion Barry will soon be rubbing (wax) elbows.

Figures created for a new D.C. wax museum are being readied for an Oct. 4 opening.

Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, Robert E. Lee, J. Edgar Hoover, Bob Woodward and Marion Barry will be among the attraction's more than 50 figures.

Once the museum opens, the sculptures - which are painstakingly researched and designed - have to be touched up every day after close.

"Sometimes we have to remove lipstick marks from some of the more popular figures," Lisa Partridge, the museum's hair color artist, told the AP. "The George Clooneys get a lot of attention from women who touch them and kiss them."

While Woodward was a frontrunner, his reporting partner Carl Bernstein will have to wait. Bernstein is on the waiting list for future museum additions.

Which other local figures should be on the list?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Above: The wax heads for Thomas Jefferson, left, Johnny Depp and Beyonce Knowles, wait for installation at the newest Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington.

A taxing matter

The governor has telegraphed his fiscal punch - a sales tax rate increase plus extending the tax to cover a host of goods and services not currently taxed.

What do you think? Is this the way to go? Do you have a better idea?

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

Bush vs. Osama—Child’s Play?

My daughter couldn’t resist. She was walking recently on the outskirts of the medina in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, when the product being hustled by a teenage street vendor caught her eye.

The package said “Path Crash 911—Super Funny Children’s Toy, Ages 3- and up.” Looking closer, she saw a miniature train set featuring small figures of President Bush and Osama bin Laden. The young small businessman had one in operation, and she watched as Bush—armed and in a military vehicle—raced around the track after bin Laden—riding a skateboard—pursuing but never catching him.

The vendor wanted 40 dirham, or about $5, for the toy. My daughter, experienced in the local ways, bargained him down to 15 dirham, or about $2. He was pleased with the transaction so she knew he was still clearing a substantial profit.

Ah, the power of commerce. We may be locked in a struggle involving geopolitics, ideology, culture and religion in the Middle East, but in the midst of all that, there are still enterprising entrepreneurs who know how to capitalize on the situation and make a buck.

Oh, and Tom Friedman would want you to know that the toy was made in China—more proof that the world is indeed flat. Now, inquiring minds want to know if Halliburton has a toy-making subsidiary in China.

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

Nontoxic solvent—the silent killer?

Following up our post from last week, today the AP reports that the substance found at a U.N. office in Manhattan recently that was suspected of being a chemical warfare agent appears to be a nontoxic solvent.

From the story:

Preliminary results indicate the substance was a nontoxic solvent, not the chemical agent phosgene, the U.N. official said.

“If it turns out to be something that was mislabled, we’ll need to find out why it was mislabled,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the final results have not yet returned from the lab.

The U.N. has launched an investigation into how the substance ended up in the files for so long without anyone knowing what it was.

Before all you U.N. bashers get ready to blast away, just take a moment here.

I mean, any one of us would have easily misread something labeled “WMD” as weapon of mass destruction instead of washing machine detergent.

Paint thinner, phosgene — they’re not that far apart, folks.

We all should say thank you to the international community for confiscating Saddam’s stockpile of antifreeze and turpentine. The world is a better place.

-FRANCIS SMITH, Special Publications Assistant Editor

Honest TeaEO out to save the world

Seth Goldman, better known as founder of Bethesda-based Honest Tea, seems to be single-handedly taking on global warming - at least, inside the (Washington) beltway.

Goldman hosted a press conference this afternoon (with special guests MoCo Executive Ike Leggett and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown) to show off Honest Tea's new eco-friendly office space in downtown Bethesda and to announce the creation of the "Bethesda Green Zone."

It should be noted that many of the attendees were most concerned with getting their hot little hands on a pomegranate white tea with acai.

But I digress.

Truly "in the zone," Goldman and Honest Tea seem to be leading the environmental effort, setting goals of additional bike racks for Bethesda employees' use and converting area restaurants' waste grease into biodiesel fuel.

Anthony Brown hit the nail on the head when he remarked:

"[The O'Malley-Brown Administration is] trying to make advances in healthcare - you're doing it; trying to make advances in business development - you're doing it; trying to make advancements in environment and energy - and you guys are doing it."

Brown chuckled as he went on to say, "You're really holding the governor's feet to the fire."

Is it time for area business leaders to become community leaders - and partner with the state on issues like the environment?

As Seth Goldman seems to advocate, do small businesses have an inherent social responsibility?

If so, tell us what your business is doing on this front. If not, tell us why.

Above: Seth Goldman poses outside the old Honest Tea office on Wilson Lane in Bethesda.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Ode to acronyms

There’s no question that we like it short and sweet in this country. Who needs to watch Entertainment Television when we can watch E! ? Why send the President of the United States to the North American Aerospace Defense Command center in a time of crisis when POTUS can go to NORAD?

Nobody creates acronyms better that the United States — or should I say U.S. of A.

Here in Maryland, with thousands of jobs coming as part of the military’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, acronyms and abbreviations are going to become an even bigger part of our everyday lives. If we’re to survive the influx of the military and its contractors, we better figure out what they are saying…ASAP.

To help us out, the Chesapeake Science & Security Corridor — a.k.a. the CSSC, which is made up of the counties in central Maryland affected by BRAC — came out with a handy pamphlet called BRACANYMS.

BRACANYMS translates military speak for the average citizen or business owner. Some of the entries are pretty straightforward and already part of our everyday lexicon: AACC stands for Anne Arundel Community College; DPW is the Department of Public Works; MTA is the Maryland Transit Authority; HQ is headquarters.

Others, though, are perplexing and lead one to wonder: Is this English? Is this where my tax dollars are going?

There is NETOPS, which is how the military says Network Operations; RDECOM which is the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command; O&M, which is the government’s way of untwisting the complicated phrase Operations and Maintenance.

Then there is the PEO family with PEO, PEO C3T, PEO EIS and PEO IEW&S. As far as I can tell they have something to do with offices that manage a group of programs.

Sigh.

Do we really need guide to acronyms? Wouldn’t the world be a much better place without them? How about a ban on government acronyms altogether?

Which acronyms would you like to see disappear?

Send us your nominations PDQ.

—LOUIS LLOVIO, Business Writer