No Magic in Ehrlich Budget, Just Cuts, Slots, One-Time Fixes

ANNAPOLIS – Predictions about Gov

Miller Urges Colleagues to Keep Open Mind on Slots, Taxes

ANNAPOLIS – The state Senate’s top leader warned colleagues Thursday not to “draw a line in the sand” over slot machines and new taxes, issues that have polarized lawmakers in recent weeks as possible remedies for a mounting budget deficit

Move Over Calico Cat; Thoroughbred Horse Races to Become Newest State Symbol

ANNAPOLIS – If one Maryland lawmaker has his way, a stallion known for its strength and speed will take the calico cat’s place as the newest official state symbol

Sniper Victims’ Families Sue Gun Maker, Dealer Over Deaths

WASHINGTON – Family members of two Washington-area sniper victims filed suit Thursday against a gun maker and a gun dealer, charging that the businesses “share the responsibility” for the spree that killed 10 and wounded three

Maryland’s Public Defender Office Needs Help – Fast

ANNAPOLIS – Buried in cases, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender Thursday asked the Senate Subcommittee on Public Safety, Transportation, and Environment for help – $10 million to $12 million over the next three years to increase its staff

Legislators Praise Diversity, Bipartisanship Following Ehrlich Speech

ANNAPOLIS – Legislators extolled the historic significance of Lt

Maryland Colleges Back Race-Based Admissions Policies Before Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – Maryland officials are drawing up court papers in support of the University of Michigan’s race-based admissions policy, which President Bush on Wednesday called “divisive, unfair and impossible to square with the Constitution

Black & Decker Contract Workers to Also Get Government Help Retooling Careers

WASHINGTON – The federal government said Wednesday that it will extend job retraining benefits to hundreds of contract workers who stand to lose their jobs when Black & Decker’s Easton plant closes this year

Ehrlich Inaugurates Republican Era in Maryland State House

ANNAPOLIS – Maryland Wednesday inaugurated its first Republican governor in more than three decades and its first statewide elected black official, then buckled up for the next four years of what is likely to be a rough fiscal road

Death Penalty Protesters Make Voices Heard at Inaugural Ceremony

ANNAPOLIS – Even on his Inauguration Day, Gov