Smith's decision to rent in Cockeysville rather than buy may give the carpetbagger charge extra oomph. But Smith said that reflects the down real estate market, not his lack of commitment to the 7th District.
"Like many other homeowners," he said, "we'd like to sell our present home before buying our next house."
Political tune?
Sure sign that Gov. O'Malley is shifting into campaign mode: The governor is dusting off "Danny Boy."
The schlocky Irish ballad was standard O'Malley campaign fare in 1990, when he challenged then-state Sen. John Pica Jr. O'Malley lost that race, but he gave his "Danny Boy" strategy another shot in 2006. A week before the election for governor that year, O'Malley used the song to seal the deal with voters at a Parkville senior center.
Then this week, at the Baltimore County Department of Aging's Baby Boomer/Senior Expo, O'Malley found himself with a few minutes on his hands and a guitar within reach. Next thing you know, he was strumming "Danny Boy."
"They thought Elvis was in the house," a spy tells me.
Spicy rumor
Weird tip of the week: "All of North Baltimore smells like cumin today," one of my spies e-mailed me Tuesday. "A bunch of people have noticed it." He detected the smell at his North Baltimore apartment, then at Howard Street and North Avenue, where he went to run an errand. "Friends in Remington and Roland Park smelled it, too."
Somebody out there knows what it was. Let me know.
Laura Vozzella's column appears Fridays.
