Maryland at Head of Federal Movement to Report Quality of Nursing Home Care

WASHINGTON – Federal health officials began posting reports Tuesday on the quality of care in nursing homes nationwide, after what they called a successful six-month test run in Maryland and five other states

Prison Officials Fear Lurking Crisis in Hepatitis C Infection Among Inmates

WASHINGTON – Maryland prison and health officials say a looming hepatitis C epidemic will be a bigger, and potentially more expensive, health crisis than HIV and AIDS, but they still do not have a comprehensive policy in place to address it

Auto Sales Hit Skids After Record Year

ANNAPOLIS – Stuart Brooks, a Baltimore auto dealer, has had an incredible year, riding the boom in car sales that have made Altimas, Cavaliers and Impalas zoom out of showroom floors

Volunteers Step Forward to Remember Fallen at Vietnam Wall Ceremony

WASHINGTON – Bowie resident Linda Tucker was nervous as she crossed the stage to the podium, clutching a white piece of paper

State Leans on Community Colleges to Ease Teacher Shortage

ANNAPOLIS – With a more streamlined student transfer process and improved support, community colleges could help provide the state with thousands of teachers to ease a growing shortage, an October report says

Maryland Residents Step Up for Test on Boosting Smallpox Vaccine

WASHINGTON – Edward Dudley was vaccinated for smallpox 33 years ago, when he was about a year old, but last week he rolled up his sleeve and volunteered to receive the smallpox vaccine for the second time

Experts Say Shift to GOP Congress Should Not Hurt Democratic-Leaning Maryland

WASHINGTON – Maryland’s congressional delegation was shifted to the back bench in Tuesday’s elections, which saw the state sending more Democrats to Washington while the nation was handing control of the House and Senate to the GOP

Congressional Losers Spend Less Time Licking Wounds Than Looking to 2004

WASHINGTON – Don DeArmon went to work on Capitol Hill last week, not as a new member of the 108th Congress, but as a congressional staffer — just as he was before Tuesday’s election

Judge Lets Homeless Case Against Montgomery Schools Proceed as Class Action

WASHINGTON – A federal judge granted class status this week to a group of homeless students and parents who sued the Montgomery County school system, claiming it violated a federal law designed to provide homeless students with equal educational opportunities

Hoyer Unopposed in Bid — His Third — For No. 2 Democratic Job in House

WASHINGTON – A member of the Maryland congressional delegation is positioned to become the second-most powerful Democrat in the House, in a post- election shakeup of the Democratic leadership