Both sides concede that Obama is favored to win in Maryland, so Democrats are organizing volunteers to help their ticket in Virginia, while Pratz said Republicans may send help for McCain's efforts in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Joan Becker, GOP chairwoman in Howard County, said the county's Republicans will participate in regional McCain events in Gaithersburg and Baltimore this fall, while a house party featuring video presentations by prominent Republicans is being planned for late September in an Ellicott City home as a more intimate setting for spreading his message.
Becker said local party members are excited about the selection of Palin.
"I think it's pretty much going out on a limb," she said. "It's a calculated risk, but I think it's going to pay off for him. She really appeals to middle America."
Recycling bins roll out
Ken Ulman's big recycling push started last week with a staged distribution of the first group of blue bins on a sunny cul-de-sac in North Laurel.
Detached homes get 65-gallon bins with wheels. Townhouses with garages get 35-gallon wheeled bins, while townhouses without garages get 18-gallon bins without wheels. Anyone who wants to swap sizes may do so, and the bins are free, Ulman said. They should all be distributed by year's end, with the eastern county getting them first and the west getting them last.
Mark Kelley, 53, and his wife, Laura Perdue Kelley, 52, a part-time county library employee, were among the first to roll a 65-gallon container assigned to there house into their garage after the event Tuesday.
"It just makes it easier than spreading it out on the front yard," said Mark Kelley, who identified himself as a retired U.S. Marine and a volunteer county auxiliary police officer.
Said Laura Kelley, "It just eliminates a lot of the bulk."
Ulman said the county is now getting $75 a ton for recycled material it sells, contrasted with $33 a ton to have trash sent to a private Virginia landfill. In 2013, that price is expected to double, if not triple, when a long-term waste disposal contract runs out.
"If you provide people the tools to make it easier [to recycle], they want to do the right thing," he said.
Mike Caulfield, 41, of Ellicott City said he got a 65-gallon container in a pilot trial of the new bins last fall and loves the idea so much he attended the Tuesday morning event on Jackson Court.
"It's just so darn easy," he said, as opposed to putting items out in bags and then watching them get wet when it rains or blow around the neighborhood on windy days.
