Don’t leave choice for Pipkin seat to Democratic governor, Republicans say

The chair of Caroline Republican Central Committee is blaming the central committee in Queen Anne’s County for giving Gov. Martin O’Malley the power to choose the successor of Sen. E.J. Pipkin in District 36. Del. Mike Smigiel, one of the two nominees, is asking the four county central committees to jointly interview him and Del. Steve Hershey to help break the tie and avoid leaving the choice to O’Malley.

Read more

Rising Seas Part 1: Sea level, sinking land put Maryland’s waterfront communities at risk

Whatever the cause, there is no question that the water level in the Chesapeake Bay is getting higher, a combination of the sea rising 3 to 4 millimeters per year and land sinking about 7 millimeters per year. In the past century, sea level rose over 1 foot. Here is what will happen this century to Maryland’s 7,700 miles of coastline. This is the first in a series about Maryland’s sea level rise put together by the Capital News Service of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Read more

Business group gives low marks to many Md. lawmakers, mostly Democrats

A Maryland business group rating state lawmakers in its annual scorecard gave low marks to the two Democrats leading the Maryland General Assembly, typifying how business organizations view the legislature as a whole. Maryland Business for Responsive Government gave House Speaker Michael Busch a 29% in 2013, and Senate President Mike Miller fared slightly better at 40%.

Read more

Group home founder protests state rejection of renewed funding

REVISED AND CORRECTED: The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved 44 new contracts for child residential care services in locations throughout Maryland totaling over $364 million over five years.

But one Montgomery County provider did not win an award for a group home that the state and Montgomery County have previously invested in, virtually ensuring the foreclosure of the Sandy Spring group home, its founder said .Hattie Washington of Aunt Hattie’s Place Inc. vociferously protested the lack of funding.

Read more