Hogan Blasts O’Malley’s Gas Tax Proposal

Earlier this week Governor O’Malley again proposed increasing the gas tax, which, if enacted, would be his 25th consecutive tax hike.

Middle East Violence Scrubs O'Malley Trade Mission

Maryland delegation was set to leave next week on eight-day trip to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank.

The escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip has forced Gov. Martin O’Malley to postpone his eight-day trade mission to the Middle East. O’Malley (D) and a delegation of elected officials and business leaders were set to leave next week for Israel, Jordan and the West Bank city of Ramallah, The Washington Post reported. He announced his decision today after mounting Hamas rocket strikes and Israeli counter-strikes that have left more than 100 dead in the past week. “Not wanting to be a distraction from the urgent cause of peace, I look forward to visiting Israel in the months ahead with Maryland business, research and academic leaders,” O’Malley said in a statement. “For now, we join with our Israeli and Palestinian neighbors in praying for a…

•  38 Comments
• Photos (1)

State Touts Successes in Investment and Innovation

Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development gave out more than $130 million in grants and loans, and $14 million in tax credits to life science companies.

Fiscal 2012 was a fruitful year for Maryland’s business environment—one that brought a groundbreaking state-university partnership to commercialize life sciences research, a pair of lucrative trade missions to Asia by Gov. Martin O’Malley, and national accolades for being at the forefront of innovation, according to the latest report from the state’s arm for spurring the state’s economy. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development's annual report, published Wednesday, touts the state as a “trailblazer in the Innovation Economy” and highlights the department’s successes in financing, tax credits and business assistance. From July 2011 to July 2012, DBED: Those moves helped Maryland garner the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s top …

• Documents (1)

Berliner Talks Transportation with Friendship Heights Group, Pushes Gas Tax

Berliner addressed the Friendship Heights Transportation Management District advisory committee Monday.

Montgomery County council member Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) is trying to tackle one of the biggest issues facing the area: traffic congestion. He spoke about the issued during the Friendship Heights Transportation Management District advisory committee Monday morning during their monthly meeting. “We love being ranked in lots of things. I don’t think congestion is one of the things we want to be nationally ranked in,” he said. “It’s going to take a shift in our thinking." Berliner, who chairs the county council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, said the county has lagged behind compared to other progressive communities, like Portland, Oregon. Now, the county is playing catch up. But the big question is …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

O'Malley Address Parallels Obama's; Calls For Innovation, Septic System Ban

Gov. O'Malley delivered State of the Union address on Thursday.

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley, borrowing a page from President Obama's State of the Union address, called on lawmakers Thursday to invest in advancements in education, clean energy and biotechnology to help spur Maryland's economic future. In his fifth State of the State address, O'Malley laid out his road map for Maryland, emphasizing job creation, green initiatives, cyber security and stimulating innovation through public education — all themes sounded by Obama during his national speech last week. "To make this new economy ours we must make the right choices and investment to create jobs by spurring innovation," O'Malley said in his address to the 188 members of the General Assembly. "Innovation is key." Specifically, O'Malley called…

• Photos (2)

Report: Underfunded Roads Costing Maryland Drivers $7B a Year

New revenues needed to move projects and economy forward, transportation advocates say

Maryland’s deteriorating roads are hitting drivers where it hurts—the wallet—and failure to improve transportation funding could harm the state’s economic health, according to a report released Tuesday by a national transportation research organization. Wear and tear on vehicles, time and fuel spent idling in traffic and costs related to crashes due to insufficient safety features on roadways cost Maryland drivers about $7 billion a year, or an average of $2,296 per driver in the Washington metropolitan area, said the report by TRIP, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit. “When your surface transportation system is not adequate it’s going to cost you time and money and can have a significant impact on your safety,” said Frank Moretti, TRIP’s …

• Photos (3)

O'Malley Starts Second Term With Cautious Optimism

Gov. Martin O'Malley sworn in Wednesday.

By David Saleh Rauf Capital News Service ANNAPOLIS — The pomp and circumstance are officially over. Gov. Martin O'Malley, 48, was sworn in Wednesday on the steps of the Capitol in front of a crowd of several hundred, including Maryland's political and business elite. He kicked off his second term with a cautiously optimistic inauguration speech about Maryland recovering from the recession, while also touching on a wide range of accomplishments since taking office in 2007. O'Malley — a rising star in the Democratic Party coming off a resounding victory over a former Republican governor — begins his second and final term in the midst of a careful balancing act: He'll need to address a series of pressing issues facing Marylanders while …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

O'Malley Seeks to Assure State Workers of Their Safety

Governor issues letter a day after packages in two state buildings emitted smoke when opened

Gov. Martin O’Malley issued a letter assuring state employees that the state is working to protect their safety on Friday, a day after packages containing incendiary devices were opened at a state government building in Annapolis and a Maryland Department of Transportation building in Hanover. The following is the text of that letter: Dear State Employee, Yesterday, two incidents at state government buildings disrupted the work day, and reminded us all that we are a community.  I wanted take a moment to assure you - our valuable state workforce - that we are taking this matter seriously and we continue to take precautions to protect the public safety and our public employees. Two separate packages arrived shortly after noon at both the …

• Photos (1)

VIDEO: Governor's Race Close Up: Martin O'Malley (Part 3 of 4)

The governor answers questions from Patch.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video is the third of four we are posting before the Nov. 2 General Election. Both Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Republican rival, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., agreed to sit down to answer questions from Patch readers, but Ehrlich had to cancel. That's why the quality of the two videos differs. We did our best to reschedule with Ehrlich but ultimately had to settle for a less intimate setting. Claim: "The tax increases were necessary because Bob Ehrlich left a bigger deficit than any governor in history after increasing spending by more than any governor in history over a four-year period." Fact: Maryland's projected deficit was estimated to reach $1.7 billion by O'Malley's second year in office, according to the …

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

VIDEO: Governor's Race Close Up: Bob Ehrlich (Part 2 of 4)

The former governor answers questions from Patch.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video is the second of four we are posting before the Nov. 2 General Election. Both Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Republican rival, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., agreed to sit down to answer questions from Patch readers, but Ehrlich had to cancel. That's why the quality of the two videos differs. We did our best to reschedule with Ehrlich but ultimately had to settle for a less intimate setting. Ehrlich answered questions from reporters following his speech at Towson University last week. We were able to ask a question from Matt Dernoga of College regarding wind power. But for the most part, Ehrlich discusses other environmental issues and tuition increases. Ehrlich was first asked about the Environmental Protection …

• Videos (1)