Compromise

A bill that would allow Anne Arundel County to outlaw all roadside panhandling is expected to clear its last major hurdle today, after lawmakers reached a compromise with its major opponent, the local firefighters' union. The Anne Arundel County Professional Firefighters has agreed to withdraw its objections after receiving assurances it will be allowed to run its "Fill the Boot" fundraising campaign in new places, including outside grocery stores and the Maryland Seafood Festival. The union had fought a bill proposed by Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk, a College Park Democrat, because it would prevent firefighters from soliciting motorists to contribute to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Why are so many Democrats feeling uneasy about the 2008 elections? Every indication is they're going to win big. Republicans in Congress are sure doing their part to keep Democratic hopes high. Hardly a day passes without the GOP leadership blocking some initiative people desperately want - such as ending the hated Iraq war or refusing to allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices. You might think they're tanking this election - that they don't want to win. And you could be right.

The sponsor of legislation intended to block construction of a 23-story tower in downtown Columbia plans to ask the County Council to table her bills for 30 days in hopes that a compromise can be reached, after a lengthy, closed-door meeting of interested parties. "There was agreement in the room that it had been a productive day and we needed to talk some more," Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty said after Friday's meeting. Sigaty represents the district where the 160-unit Plaza Residences is being built and is the sponsor of the two bills.

Immigration reform as art of the possible "Politics," the 19th- century German statesman Otto von Bismarck reminded us, "is the art of the possible," and it works by crafting balanced compromises between competing political interests. The issue of immigration reform certainly features its share of competing interests: Businesses want a supply of cheap labor; the 12 million illegal workers already here want to find a nonpunitive way to emerge from the shadows; most everyone wants improved border security; some want to penalize those who are here illegally; and many more want an opportunity to come here.

The superblock saga has new supersized players. Lawyer Peter G. Angelos and developer David Hillman are challenging in court the legality of the city's development agreement with a New York outfit, a move that further complicates a process already tortured and incredibly overdue. It's time for some mayoral shuttle diplomacy. The city is embroiled now in three lawsuits over the future of the largest undeveloped tract in the renaissance of Baltimore's west side. The issues range from the Angelos-Hillman claim to the exclusion of small businesses to the extent of minority participation in the project.

In hopes of resolving the bitter fight over the proposed 23-story luxury high-rise in downtown Columbia, a compromise is being considered that would involve building the project elsewhere and reducing its height. County Executive Ken Ulman said it is vital that a settlement be achieved so that officials and the community can focus on developing a master plan for the growth of the downtown area. "We're having conversations with all the parties in this to try to get a compromise," Ulman said in an interview Friday in his office.

It might not be the final plan.A proposal to build 53 houses on 90 acres owned by St. Timothy's School in Stevenson -- which sparked one of Baltimore County's most bitter development battles in recent years -- could be changed, school and community leaders say.But, as part of a recent agreement, any changes could only reduce the number of homes in the Bridle Ridge development."

WASHINGTON -- The answer is "Madonna." Formulate the question.The question is: What is the name of the discotheque, located in Slobodan Milosevic's hometown of Pozarevac, and owned by Milosevic's son, Marko, that NATO might bomb as a "signal" of seriousness?Last week, after NATO bombed Pozarevac, the Washington Post reported:"NATO military sources said the attack on Pozarevac was designed to send a chilling signal to the inner circle of the Yugoslav leadership, which includes several members of Milosevic's extended family.

Negotiators for the Senate and House of Delegates reached agreement yesterday on legislation sought by the governor to give significant new rights to members of HMOs and other managed-care insurance plans.The "patients' bill of rights" is designed to give consumers new flexibility in their health care, with easier access to specialists and a broader choice of medications.The key to the House-Senate agreement is a compromise giving insurers the choice of paying for a 48-hour hospital stay after mastectomies and testicle removal operations or providing patients with at least one home visit by a care provider within 24 hours.

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Their rise to fame and wealth began as Serbian folk musicians from Pec in Kosovo. Now, they are among Yugoslavia's top business leaders with the ability to communicate directly with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.So, when the Karic brothers speak, especially about resolving the Kosovo crisis, people listen.Yesterday, Bogoljub Karic, a leader of the family's business empire and a government minister, spoke of the search to fashion a compromise to end the crisis and NATO's war against Yugoslavia.

Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and a majority of the City Council appear poised to lift restrictions on the number of bars that can stay open until 2 a.m. in the city's Historic District, a move sure to upset nearby residents who already feel besieged by drunken rowdies from the 45 city taverns - most of them in the downtown area - that now have that privilege. This is a perennial fight, one that's probably been going on since George Washington was hoisting tankards in the capital city, and those who buy homes in the Historic District need to accept that night life has been a part of Annapolis much longer than they have.

A state regulatory panel approved on Wednesday a 1.77 percent increase in the amount Maryland hospitals can charge their patients - a compromise of sorts between the figure state cost review staff members recommended and what hospitals wanted. The 6-0 vote by Maryland's Health Services Cost Review Commission is expected to translate to higher costs for patients treated in Maryland hospitals, companies that pay for health care costs as part of workers' compensation and insurers. The increase takes effect July 1 and applies for one year to 47 hospitals, employing 88,000 people.

Maryland motorists would miss out on a state tax break when buying a new car under a final budget deal crafted Friday, though they would still save federal tax money promised as part of a program to jump-start the slumping auto market. Putting the finishing touches on the state's nearly $14 billion operating budget, lawmakers also decided to throw a $5 million lifeline to Bon Secours Hospital. The grant would not be delivered until the struggling hospital's board devises a long-term plan to solve its financial problems.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Senate Democratic leaders, propelled by news of the biggest one-month job losses in 35 years, hammered out a deal yesterday evening that clears the way for Senate approval of a huge economic stimulus plan. Senators said the legislation, which is a cornerstone of Obama's efforts to revive the economy, would carry a price tag of about $780 billion under the compromise deal, though the final figure was unclear. The measure is expected to cost less than the $819 billion bill approved by the House and far less than the bill as amended on the Senate floor, which had grown to more than $930 billion.

Environmentalists, manufacturers and union leaders have hammered out their differences over state climate-change legislation, clearing the way for a compromise measure after two years of contentious debate, Maryland's top environmental official said yesterday. Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson said representatives of industry, labor and environmental groups sent a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley urging him to introduce the "delicate balance" to which they have agreed. It would commit the state to reducing climate-warming pollution 25 percent by 2020, but it would not require any reductions from the state's manufacturing plants unless mandated by the federal government or by some multistate action.

Howard County commuter bus riders got a reprieve yesterday from a state proposal to eliminate all service between Baltimore and Columbia as well as along the U.S. 1 corridor to Laurel. A compromise on budget cuts hammered out about midnight Thursday and announced yesterday will save all three threatened bus routes, though it will reduce the number of trips, starting Jan. 12. Howard County government also agreed to contribute $200,000 this fiscal year to keep the buses running, and the state agreed to extend another route now serving Ellicott City to Columbia.

After nearly a yearlong impasse over whether to raise development impact fees, a divided Anne Arundel County Council voted for a compromise that will temporarily reduce fees and delay implementation until January 2011. The 4-3 vote is designed to give county developers, builders and other businesses a chance to take advantage of lower fees - a move that supporters hope may provide a boost, especially for the county's construction industry. County Executive John R. Leopold, who introduced a bill to raise impact fees in January, said the vote Monday night was a major achievement for his administration.

Every prudent act of government, one of Britain's great political thinkers once wrote, is founded on compromise. No better example may be found than in Baltimore's proposed Red Line to extend transit from Woodlawn to Canton, and the form it might take. Should it be a rapid bus line with its own right-of-way or light rail? How much of it should be built on the surface and how much underground? The project's cost varies widely depending on those choices - from $545 million to $2.4 billion.

Karen Lumpkin loves flowers. Her husband, Doug, loves grass. See how they've managed to compromise on their 3-acre property in Monkton. See their garden and read their story at baltimore sun.com/gardener.

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton's campaign tried again yesterday to persuade Democrats, especially those on the party's rules committee, that she's their strongest candidate this fall, while her rival Barack Obama talked compromise and calm. Clinton's campaign sent a letter to the party's uncommitted superdelegates, who may have the final say on the nominee, telling them, "When you look at her wins in the important swing states and her strength against McCain in head-to-head matchups, there's no question that Hillary is the strongest candidate."