ANNAPOLIS – In an effort to protect cigarette makers involved in last year’s national tobacco settlement, key legislators have proposed a bill that would set up an emergency fund to cover payments to the state if the tobacco industry’s profits drop

ANNAPOLIS – Comptroller William Donald Schaefer — the head of Maryland’s tax-collecting agency — said Monday that he supports a bill suspending the sales tax on purchases of clothing and lodging for one week

ANNAPOLIS – Pepsi officials yanked a television commercial filmed at the University of Maryland-College Park after school officials complained that it tarnished campus fraternities’ image and made light of alcohol abuse

WASHINGTON – Child abuse and neglect investigations in Maryland have risen steadily from 1994 to 1998, state statistics show, mirroring similar increases on the national level

WASHINGTON – Dance halls, asbestos product manufacturers and chewing gum makers have joined the list of “buggy whip” industries whose time has come and gone, according to the government

WASHINGTON – The growth rate of Maryland’s prison population dropped dramatically in recent years after an extended period of rapid increase, according to statistics from the Department of Justice

WASHINGTON – The growth of Maryland state prison populations has taken a nose-dive, after a decade of booming growth

COLLEGE PARK – University of Maryland officials said they are disappointed with a recent national ad for the soft drink Pepsi One that spoofs the college’s students engaging in stereotypical fraternity drinking activities, using the cola instead of alcohol

BALTIMORE – U

ANNAPOLIS – Sylvia Dobson and her daughter moved to Glen Burnie to make a new start