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Worried about jeopardizing the state's AAA bond rating, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee has reversed course and decided against borrowing money from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund to help balance the state budget.The panel made the reversal after a warning from state Treasurer Lucille Maurer."If you want to defend the AAA, you don't borrow money for operating costs," Maurer said.The two leading Wall Street bond rating houses have both given Maryland a AAA rating on its bonds, which enables the state to save millions of dollars in interest payments on its long-term debts.

Motorists arrested for drunken driving after Labor Day festivities in Baltimore saloons won't have the excuse that they didn't have another way home. AAA Mid-Atlantic is teaming up with Yellow Cab and the State Highway Administration to offer free cab rides for alcohol-indulging drivers as part of its Tipsy? Taxi! program. Free rides will be available by calling 877-963-TAXI between 4 p.m. tomorrow and 4 a.m. Tuesday. Riders must be age 21 or older and have been drinking at a bar or restaurant in Baltimore.

Gas for under $2? Put it down as too good to last. AAA Mid-Atlantic reported Sunday that the average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline in Maryland has risen above two bucks after four months below that level. After bottoming out at about $1.70 in January, the Maryland average rose to $2.03 Sunday, according to AAA. Sub-$2 gasoline lingered at some low-cost, mostly rural stations, but most in the Baltimore area appeared to have breached that barrier over the weekend. The consolation is that gas prices remain far below their levels of a year ago, when the Maryland average stood at $3.26.

Maryland gas prices have risen a penny a gallon since August and are up nearly 8 cents since July, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.The trend breaks with a tradition of prices declining at the end of the summer travel season. The increases are due to a combination of strong demand in August and record low inventories, AAA said.Maryland motorists are paying an average of $1.268 per gallon for regular self-serve unleaded, up from $1.255 in August, according to an AAA survey of 30 stations in counties excluding Charles, Prince George's and Montgomery.

With 7 million Triptiks -- handy, made-to-order flip-maps -- served up last year, the American Automobile Association may be the McDonald's of travel routing. In fact, some branches of the venerable auto club are adding drive-through service windows to keep up with demand.What makes Triptiks so popular?"Peace of mind," says Debbie Ranson, an AAA member relations director in Florida."It's something you just can't do for yourself. Plus, it's very easy to look at, and the information is accurate, timely and useful."

The possibility of non-scholarship football at Towson State exists even if the NCAA doesn't create that option for Division I members at its next convention.The 1990 NCAA convention included legislation that prohibited Division I and II schools from playing Division III football after 1992. A proposal at next January's convention in Anaheim would create a Division I-AAA, a level that would mandate need-based financial aid only, no spring practice and limited coaching staffs.Towson State is one of the 266 schools in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and some of its members aren't waiting for the NCAA to create I-AAA.

Orlando, Fla., tops the list of popular vacation destinations in what travel groups predicted recently would be the busiest summer tourist season in U.S. history.A record 28.9 million work-weary Americans -- egged on by a strong economy -- are expected to hit the road this Memorial Day, the traditional kickoff for summer vacations, according to the American Automobile Association.Those travelers translate into 230 million trips of more than 100 miles as Americans replace the tradition of one long vacation with three or more "mini-vacations."

The tow truck driver accused by a black state delegate of using a racial slur denied that yesterday, saying Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. used racially offensive language in their encounter Monday night.Michael Stansbury, 47, said that when he arrived at the Staples store at Old Court and Reisterstown roads in Pikesville Monday night, Burns and his wife were waiting by their blue van.Burns said Tuesday that the two men exchanged words and Stansbury called him "n ....."Yesterday, Stansbury denied that, saying, "That word is not in my vocabulary."

Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat and longtime civil rights activist, said yesterday that a towing contractor, who responded to a call for his disabled van, uttered a racial slur against him.Burns, a delegate since 1994, said that his Dodge van would not start about 2 p.m. Monday while parked in the lot at the Staples store at Old Court and Reisterstown roads in Pikesville.He called the AAA dispatcher and was told the wait for service would be two hours. He canceled the call and went to a 5: 30 p.m. service at Rising Sun First Baptist Church in Woodlawn, where he is pastor.

Agencies give state AAA bond rating Maryland has once again been awarded the best possible rating for $300 million in debt it plans to issue next week, state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced yesterday. The three major bond-rating agencies - Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's - have graded Maryland's bonds at AAA, the highest ranking, Kopp said. The rating means that Maryland can borrow money at the lowest possible interest rate for a state government.