Maryland Politics

Update, 5:15 p.m.: County Council spokesman Neil Greenberger
said council member Roger Berliner's vote was incorrectly recorded, and that Berliner says he voted in favor of Dreyfuss, which would make the official vote 7 to 2.

Original post:
Norman Dreyfuss, who developed Leisure World, a retirement community in Silver Spring, was selected Tuesday for a vacant spot on the five-member Montgomery County Planning Board.

Dreyfuss, 66, a Republican, will fill out the remainder of the term left vacant by the death last year of Jean Cryor, also a Republican. The vacancy had to be filled by a member of the same political party.

Dreyfuss was approved on a 6 to 3 vote. Council members Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville), Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda) and Marc Elrich (D-At Large) backed Kenneth Hurdle, who has been active in efforts to build community support for a major redevelopment of the White Flint area.

The part-time position as a planning commissioner pays $30,000. The planning board acts as the land use adviser to the Montgomery County Council, and helps supervise the $100.million planning and parks departments budgets. Commissioners also serve as members of the bi-county Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, with their counterparts from Prince George's County.

-- Miranda S. Spivack

Sure, there are plenty of petty annoyances associated with the snow--the slushy pant legs, the buried cars, the closed corner stores. But the latest announcement from the Prince George's County Health Department suggests shoveling could actually mean risking your life.

Prince George's County Health officials just sent out a notice warning of the "hidden dangers" of snow shoveling.

"Prince George's County Health Department wants residents to be aware that strenuous task such as shoveling snow coupled with extreme weather conditions increases your risk of heart attacks," the release stated.

"The risk of a heart attack during shoveling snow increases for middle-aged or older individuals, individuals with a sedentary lifestyle and individuals diagnosed with heart condition," county health chief Donald Shell said in a statement.

See full release below for cautionary tips:

After canceling session for the first time in seven years on Monday, leaders of the Maryland General Assembly on Tuesday vowed to plow ahead with business, no matter how much new snow falls on Annapolis.

But their activities will be significantly pared back. House leaders decided to cancel all bill hearings on Wednesday, and the Senate was leaving it to the discretion of committee chairman to decide how much work to do.

Forty-four of the 47 Senate members made it to Tuesday morning's floor session, during which more than two dozen bills were moved along. With members back in town, and many already with hotel rooms, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said there was no reason not to proceed with regularly scheduled floor sessions this week.

"We're going to have a session tomorrow, no matter what the circumstances are," Miller said.

He also blasted the City of Annapolis for its snow removal operations, which he characterized as "disgraceful."

Maryland State Police and transportation officials just warned that they will move much more swiftly on Tuesday night than they did over the weekend to close highways and major roadways if conditions become treacherous.

State Police Col. Terence B. Sheridan and Maryland transportation secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley said too many jack-knifed tractor trailers and disabled vehicles complicated plowing operations and led to backups that endangered additional drivers during the worst of the storm on Friday night and Saturday.

They said the state wouldn't let the same situation arise again, especially since there is less room along roadsides to pile snow and deal with accidents.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said his office has made a request of truckers' associations in Maryland to tell their members to stay off the road.

He also urged patience with politicians over snow removal, saying "There is no city or county government that is geared up to move all of this now" as quickly as people would like.

Click here to read more from his news conference.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) pleaded for patience with local officials and spoke of big challenges facing the state as it prepares for another 10 to 20 inches of snow.

"Here we go again," O'Malley said at the outset of a news conference shortly after noon at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency in Reisterstown. "As you can imagine, we have a lot of challenges now."

Among them, O'Malley said: Where to put the newly fallen snow after it's plowed? The governor said roadsides are already stacked so high that the goal will be to make highways "passable" for emergency vehicles.

O'Malley also acknowledged a "dwindling supply" of road salt.

The governor asked residents to tamp down their anger with local officials over roads that have not been adequately plowed. "There is no city or county government that is geared up to move all of this snow" as quickly as people would like, he said.

O'Malley's advice: "This is not a good day to be on the roads."

The endless snow has set back local government, local business and local living. But one person may have gained ground--at least politically--from the wintry mess: Rushern L. Baker III, who used his campaign for Prince George's County Executive Monday as a vehicle to help snowed-in citizens.

After sending out email and text blasts to find volunteers over the weekend, Baker was out yesterday in Capitol Heights personally digging the elderly and those with medical conditions out of their homes, the candidate said.

"In some cases we're digging out driveways. Right now we're working on a senior citizen who's on dialysis. ...Just whatever people need," Baker said on a phone call with the Post from the neighborhood.

When it comes to judging whether the government is doing its job, there are few things more tangible and visible than snow removal. If the snow is still covering your block, you haven't been served, plain and simple. The storm, therefore, has taken on an inherently political element (see this report by Sandhya Somashekhar and Ann E. Marimow for more on this).

Given that, Baker's decision to roll up his sleeves could pay dividends, at least in the communities he helped. And don't be surprised if you see the photo in this post--provided by the campaign--on a campaign flier one day.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2010:

The Agenda:

Snow stays on the front burner

Snow will remain the top political story in Maryland on Tuesday. We can all hope that changes soon, but for at least one more day, the weather's effect on state government will offer another lesson in how Annapolis works -- or, in this case, doesn't.

Friday offered snow economics, and Monday, snowstorm politics. On Tuesday, the General Assembly will return from its first canceled session in 7 years, but with only a skeletal staff, the chambers might not be able to vote on legislation. And with more snow in the forecast, committees in both the House and Senate could cut short afternoon hearings on dozens of bills. For his part, Gov. Martin O'Malley is already preparing to be in the state's emergency operations center, and far from any dealmaking at the State House.

Taken together, Tuesday will mark the third straight day that winter weather has severely limited lawmaking in Annapolis, and with another 10" or so of snow possible overnight, it may well not end there. In fact, by the time lawmakers get fully back on track, an entire week of the 90-day session may be somewhat lost.

The question for taxpayers, however, may amount to 'So What?' Will anything not get done this year if the General Assembly meets for 85 days instead of 90? At three months, Maryland's legislative session already has expanded several times and is longer than those in most other states. Truth is, "90 days" has also become somewhat imaginary.

As is typical, by next month the number of "calendar days" left in the session will bear limited resemblance to the remaining number of "legislative days." To give themselves broad latitude in controlling the flow of legislation headed for approval, the heads of the Democratically controlled Senate and House have for decades piled many "legislative days" into a smaller number of calendar days, allowing them to move bills through several procedural steps within hours, rather than days, once negotiations have been completed in late March or April.

Committees have rebuffed some lawmakers' attempts to shorten the session in recent years, but should Maryland's General Assembly continue to meet for 90 days? It's far from the first question raised by Snowmaggedon but may be one to ponder if lawmakers can watch the snow fall for a week and still pass the budget on time this spring.

News You Should Know

Report: Homicide charges in sex offender case
"More than a month after Sarah Foxwell's body was found in a Delmar field, one man has finally been officially accused of her murder," reports Innae Park of ABC affiliate Channel 47, in a development in a case driving the sex offender debate in Annapolis. "On Monday, we sat down with Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis Ruark, who says Leggs has been served with an indictment, charging him with the 11-year-old's murder, as well as sexual offense charges. Ruark said, 'The evidence was shown a definite link between the defendant and the death of Sarah.' However, that may not be all for the registered sex offender. This'll be a unique case in that it's a murder case but it also carried the potential for the death penalty."

Duncan rumored to be angling for top Metro job
Former Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan's name has publicly surfaced as a candidate for the top Metro job after days of chatter around the State House and elsewhere in Maryland government. The Associated Press reported over the weekend that Duncan (D), who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, was calling around to let Maryland officials know of his interest. The AP cited two unnamed officials who said they had spoken to Duncan directly.

Young to lead Baltimore council
"Bernard C. 'Jack' Young, a veteran East Baltimore councilman, was elected president of the city council by a unanimous vote Monday evening," writes The Baltimore Sun's Julie Scharper. "A 14-year member of the council who chaired the key budget and public safety committees, Young, 55, fills the seat vacated by Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake who was sworn-in as mayor following Sheila Dixon's resignation last week."

Quotable

Like many of us, Maryland lawmakers have used Facebook to communicate about the stowstorm in recent days. Here's a sampling of what they're saying to their friends and constituents.

House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery) and a friend:
Kumar Barve: Session update: The Maryland House of Delegates will have session tomorrow at 10:00AM as would be usual. Committee hearing will also proceed as scheduled. (11 hours ago)
Rajeev Divakar: Boo (11 hours ago)
Kumar Barve: Yeah, feelings exactly. (11 hours ago)

Sen. Catherine Pugh (D-Baltimore):
Catherine Pugh: Made it back to Annapolis safely...Everything is cancelled until tomorrow. I will be ready to roll. Be safe everyone and drive carefully if you can get off your street. (Yesterday at 5:05pm)

Senate Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman (R-Howard), Del. Warren Miller (R-Howard) and a friend:
Allan H Kittleman: Just learned that the Maryland General Assembly Session is cancelled for tomorrow evening. (Sun at 3:55pm)
Joe Zauner: Good. When they're not in session they can't hurt us any more. (Sun at 5:58pm)
Allan H Kittleman: Very, very true! (Sun at 7:44pm)
Warren Miller: Allan, its actually a bad thing we aren't meeting, thats one more calendar day they have to play mischief with in April!(Yesterday at 8:35am)

Trust First Click for critical news and analysis you need to navigate Maryland politics. Each weekday, First Click brings you The Agenda, a concise, forward-looking analysis of the day's top development in politics or policy. "News You Should Know" breaks down top stories from across the state. And Look Ahead, Unspun, News Makers, and Week in Review keep you up to speed with power brokers in Annapolis and beyond. Want First Click on the go? Sign up for our free e-mail edition, and get the news delivered to your inbox or mobile device.

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