Those interested in the future of health care in Prince George's may now be wondering: Just who is Corbett Price?

His name came up on Friday, when County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and Council Chairwoman Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant) offered to give the non-profit company that runs Prince George's Hospital Center the $5 million it needs to stay open, but only on certain conditions. One condition was that Mr. Price, of Mantium Corporation, be given immediate access to all financial records and facilities of Dimensions Healthcare System, which runs the hospital.

Dimensions' board of directors tabled a decision on the conditions at the request of state officials. But in the meantime, the union the represents nurses and other hospital employees immediately howled in protest about Price.

Why? Because he has several decades of history of tangling with hospital workers around the country.

In 1985, for instance, Price was an executive at the for-profit hospital chain HCA when that group briefly took over at the Prince George's hospital. He helped lay off 615 employees.

More recently, he clashed with employees at two hospitals in New York that he helped steer through bankruptcy. Questions about Price's leadership there were raised in several articles in Newsday, some of them written by Jerry Markon, who is now a Washington Post reporter.

The state's new Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has assured a soft landing for a Montgomery County pal. Former County Council member and Democratic candidate for County Executive Steven A. Silverman starts next week as assistant attorney general for consumer protection.

In the high-profile role, Silverman will oversee the attorney general's largest office with a $4 million budget and 50 people. The office handles thousands of complaints each year from consumers.

Silverman called the position "the face of the attorney general's office."

"It's got a good reputation and Doug wants to build on that," Silverman said.

For the next few months, Silverman said he expects to work on consumer protection legislation before the General Assembly. After that, he'll turn to residents throughout the state to build a portfolio of issues to tackle.

The two Montgomery politicos have known each other since they were first elected locally in 1998, and they supported each other in their respective campaigns last year. Silverman was defeated in the Democratic primary by Isiah Leggett, the new county executive.

Ann E. Marimow

There's been a great deal of movement in the last several weeks on the future of the Prince George's Hospital Center--and the three other county-owned health campuses operated by the private Dimensions Healthcare System. That's a good thing because the company is at the moment experiencing one of its periodic financial crises. They have announced that without a $5 million cash infusion by Jan. 26, they will have to start a 60-day process of shutting down.

There's some bickering going on now about whether the county will pay the $5 million--and if so, what will it ask in return. Meanwhile, everyone's also trying to figure a way to a long-term solution for the hospital's problems. Del. Doyle L. Niemann (D-Prince George's) is having one idea drafted into a bill that would create a new authority, with members appointed both by the state and the county, to negotiate with new management companies that might take over for Dimensions.

Here's the kicker: the authority would also have the power to raise county property taxes to collect the revenues needed to pay off the hospital's $138 million crushing bond debt and pension obligations. The two items, which require regular payments, are considered a big part of why it's been so hard to get a new company interested in running the system. Retiring them would likely make the property much more attractive.

Niemann said part of his goal is to get politics out of the process of deciding the hospital's future. He accused County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) of doing the opposite by telling the hospital that he will attach "conditions" to the $5 million payment. He said Johnson was trying to get larger control over the future of the hospital. "That'd be fine," he said. "Except he has no clue and no plan."

Biting words. Meanwhile, Johnson has led a panel of state and county officials attempting to do exactly what Niemann's authority would be set up to do--negotiate with a new company to take over for Dimensions. The panel's been working on it since March with no success. Johnson said Thursday, however, that he is meeting with a potential suitor next week.

As part of his pre-Inaugural festivities, Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley (D) has embarked on a victory lap of sorts around the state to thank voters for their support and listen to their concerns for the future.

One county that didn't get a stop on O'Malley's so-called "One Maryland" tour? Prince George's County, the jurisdiction that supported Democratic governor by a higher percentage than any other in Maryland.

Looked at one way, O'Malley has chosen to honor the county beyond the seven counties bestowed a random tour stop: He will be holding a prayer breakfast in the county on the very morning he is sworn in as governor. But this is Prince George's, accustomed to be overlooked and used to be upset over it, so that's not the way a lot of people are looking at it.

The county's Democratic Party Chairman Terry Speigner said he has received at least 30 phone calls and emails since the tour route was announced from residents livid over the perceived slight. They note that a tour stop in Montgomery County Tuesday involved a Town Hall meeting where 750 of residents showed up to tell O'Malley their views on the Intercounty Connector. Speigner said the prayer breakfast was welcome, but it would not offer the same opportunity to talk issues with the state's new chief executive.

"We appreciate that the governor understands we're a God fearing people in Prince George's," he said. "We also want the governor to appreciate we're a people who have a large number of issues and concerns that we need the governor's assistance with."

For the record, County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) has chosen not to hop on the insulted bandwagon. His spokesman John E. Erzen said the governor has been in the county plenty and the prayer breakfast is an honor. "They understand Prince George's in the place to be," he said.

UPDATE: A response from Gov.-elect O'Malley's spokesman Rick Abbruzzese, who said that the Inaugural Day prayer breakfast was planned even before the One Maryland tour, as a recognition of Prince George's integral role in the election. "Gov-elect O'Malley and Lt. Gov.-elect Brown could have held this breakfast in any jurisdiction," he said. "[They] are looking forward to being in Prince George's County on the day they take the oath of office."
He said O'Malley looks forward to working closely with Johnson and other county leaders.

As part of his effort to ensure Montgomery County's tax dollars are well spent, Executive Isiah Leggett this morning announced a new confidential hotline for county employees and contractors to report government fraud and waste.

Leggett was joined at a press conference by inspector general Thomas J. Dagley, who will oversee the hotline and is asking for reports about theft of county funds or property, kickbacks, fraudulent travel or other reimbursement claims.

Tipsters can call 800-971-6059, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week or make reports via the web or by email.

Residents who want to report problems can call 240-777-2500 or visit the county's web site.

It took a Washington Post story to bring to light potentially questionable charges on county issued credit cards by Prince George's Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and members of the county council. If a bill proposed by Del. Victor R. Ramirez (D-Prince George's) passes the Maryland General Assembly next year, from now on such actions might be caught by an independent audit.

Ramirez has filed a bill that would require the county to hire an independent certified accountant each year to conduct an audit of credit card charges by the elected officials. The audit would need to be completed within one month of the end of each fiscal year and the summaries published in two newspapers.

Ramirez insisted his bill is motivated only by the desire to give local elected officials better guidance in using their county-issued credit cards. He said he does not necessarily believe the current council or executive have done anything wrong. His constituents, who have flooded the council with emails about the allegations and posted angry notes to Internet listservs, may beg to differ. Which, of course, may well be why Ramirez has filed the bill. After all, it's always good politics to take action when constituents are angry at someone else.

"I still believe that our good friends on the county council, once their names are cleared, that they will not walk down this path again," Ramirez said. "But I do think we need to have a little more transparency for our constituents...This is hard earned money that taxpayers have paid in order to have a better government."

Ramirez's bill will have a public hearing Monday night. It must then receive the approval of other members of the Prince George's legislative delegation, before moving to a House of Delegates' committee for consideration.

In other Victor Ramirez news, in an interview fresh off his trip to Turkey, Ramirez said he will likely support Del. Barbara A. Frush (D) for delegation chairman. His has been considered the deciding vote in a tight contest for delegation chief between Frush and Del. Marvin E. Holmes Jr. (D). He said he respected both delegates but Frush had "the edge" because of her experience. "I don't see my position changiing," he said.

Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley arrived nearly an hour late to the Committee for Montgomery's annual legislative breakfast this morning, after getting stuck in rush hour traffic from Baltimore.

Shortly before O'Malley arrived at the North Bethesda conference center, Montgomery's new county executive Ike Leggett had suggested a remedy to the state's transportation woes: an unspecified increase in Maryland's 23.5 cent gasoline tax.

O'Malley was quick to emphasize his support for building the $2.4 billion intercounty connector "on time" and for the proposed Purple Line. But he was noncommittal about Leggett's suggestion.

"It's certainly an interesting proposal, and we'll be looking at every reasonable proposal in the months ahead," O'Malley said.

Ann E. Marimow

The new Prince George's County House of Delegates' legislative delegation deadlocked this morning on who should serve as the group's chairman for the next two years. According to Del. Justin D. Ross (D-Prince George's), who attended the meeting, 11 members voted for Del. Marvin E. Holmes Jr. (D-Prince George's) while 10 members backed Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Prince George's). However, a majority of 12 is needed to snag the job.

Two delegates were absent from the meeting and Ross, who voted for Frush, said he was confident both would vote for Frush. However, Holmes has said he believes one of the two, Del. Victor R. Ramirez (D), away in Turkey, will vote for him. A new vote has not been scheduled, but Frush and Holmes pledged to talk in coming days in hopes of reaching a deal.

In an interview this morning, Del. Marvin E. Holmes Jr. (D-Prince George's) says he has every intention of running against Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Prince George's) for chairman of the county's House of Delegates delegation when the group gets together tomorrow. And he thinks he's going to win.

"The momentum is clearly in our favor. I expect that once the vote is taken, momentum will continue to sweep in our favor," he said. "I do have 12 votes."

You can read more about the leadership campaign in the entry below. Both sides seem to think the deciding vote is likely to belong to Del. Victor R. Ramirez (D), who is visiting Turkey and will miss the meeting. Both sides believe he will vote for them.

And both sides have one other thing in common: They insist the two delegates are good friends and the delegation will emerge united whatever occurs.

"Barbara and I are friends," said Holmes. "Marvin and I are good friends," said Frush.

It's time for the new Prince George's legislative team to choose its leaders for the next two years, and it sounds like a real campaign is on for the jobs, particularly on the House of Delegates side. According to numerous delegates, Del. Barbara A. Frush (D) and Del. Marvin E. Holmes Jr. (D) have both been enthusiastically lobbying their colleagues for the delegation chairmanship job.

Frush insists she has the 12 votes necessary to win. ("I'm quite confident," she said.) But according to Frush and several others, County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and his aides have been urging delegates to vote for Holmes, arguing that Frush will not be able to work with the county executive. She has been critical of his leadership and campaigned vigorously for her former House colleague, Rushern L. Baker III, when he challenged Johnson for the Democratic nomination for executive in September.

Frush maintained she could work with her former adversary just fine and said she believed there should be a "clear division between state and county" responsibilities that would dissuade Johnson from getting involved in the delegation's leadership fight. In other words, butt out.

Complicating the matter is that Del. Victor R. Ramirez (D) is in Turkey and will miss Friday's delegation meeting, where the vote is expected to take place. Delegates believe he will vote for Frush. Without him, one predicted an 11-11 split. Frush partisans remain hopeful that Holmes will be persuaded that she has the votes and drop out, but several Holmes' backers suggested Frush's confidence might be overstated and that he will likely remain in the running.