Ehrlich

More than two years after bitterly partisan accusations that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. fired state workers for political reasons, the General Assembly might consider legislation to protect hundreds of midlevel employees who can still be terminated at any time. That was one recommendation contained in a report by legislative analysts, who were directed under a 2007 law to review the state's personnel system and explore the possibility of bringing some management positions under the merit system.

The issue of state government hiring and firing is back in the news again thanks to an administrative law judge's ruling in favor of Gregory J. Maddalone, the former figure skater most recently turned Department of Transportation homeland security expert. He was a central figure in the squabble over the Ehrlich administration's personnel policies, so the irony was too obvious to miss: Mr. Maddalone used to help fire people for allegedly political reasons and now the O'Malley administration is having trouble firing him under what may be similar circumstances.

James J. White, who left the port of Baltimore two years ago after a public battle for control with his former bosses in the Republican Ehrlich administration, will return to lead the state-owned terminals this summer. Yesterday's announcement was expected by some members of the port community, who had flooded new Democratic O'Malley administration officials with calls to bring back the executive director. White, 57, had joined a private sector maritime firm in New Jersey but maintained his home in the region.

A popular state home-buying assistance program that critics complained contributes to suburban sprawl has been renamed and retooled to encourage home shoppers to live closer to where they work. Smart Keys for Employees is the latest name for the on-again, off-again purchasing assistance program offered in a variety of forms for much of the past 10 years by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Unveiled with little fanfare in April, the program offers qualifying home buyers grants of up to $5,000 to help pay settlement costs, if their new residence is within 10 miles of their workplace, or in the same county or municipality.

Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. had some well-publicized tussles with the media (notably this medium) during his four years in office. But he sees nothing ironic about his gig as a news analyst and commentator for Baltimore's WMAR-TV, Channel 2. "My commentary is a function of my views, my philosophy, my observations," says Ehrlich, who offered his perspective to WMAR viewers during last month's special session in Annapolis and will return once the...

When you were under anesthesia in the dentist's chair, don't worry: Dr. Ron Israel wasn't cavorting with a cowboy in tighty-whities. The good dentist only recently went into that line of work. In the 1980s, after practicing for 24 years in Pikesville and Mount Vernon, Israel had had his fill of fillings and got into video production. Which is why he is now personal videographer to Naked Cowboy, New York City's most famously underdressed street musician. It wasn't a straight shot from dentistry to honky-tonketry.

Oronde Short from Woodlawn, a volunteer for Martin O'Malley's campaign, had watched previous inaugurations on television and thought the shivering people who gathered outside the State House to cheer were crazy. But there he was yesterday, one of hundreds braving 30-degree temperatures to attend the O'Malley festivities. "This year," he said, "I wanted to be one of them." Anna and Ramon Ruiz of Silver Spring similarly said they felt it was important to wait an extra half-hour in a receiving line to be able to shake O'Malley's hand.

Aris Melissaratos, who led the state's Department of Business and Economic Development for the Ehrlich administration, said yesterday that he is stepping down even though some business leaders had urged Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley's incoming administration to retain him. "It was a phenomenal four years, and I think we accomplished all we set out to accomplish," Melissaratos, 63, said. His last day will be today, he said. "I was willing to stay, but the new administration didn't indicate strong enough interest.

On Tuesday, March 6, 2007, DR. DANIEL EHRLICH; beloved husband of Deanie Ehrlich (nee Sibel); loving father of Dr. Gary Lee Ehrlich, of Baltimore, MD, Roz Ehrlich, of Baltimore, MD, Dr. Sheila Ehrlich Stoehr, of Chicago, IL and Dr. Paula Ehrlich Agger, of Silver Spring, MD; father-in-law of Maryanne Ehrlich, Dr. Bruce Stoehr and Samuel Agger; devoted brother of Dr. Fred Ehrlich, of Towson, MD and Nina Rosenthal, of Baltimore, MD; adored grandfather of...

Gov. Martin O'Malley is to announce three more Cabinet appointments today, a day after a state Senate committee unanimously approved seven nominees and a new people's counsel for the board that regulates utilities. The picks require final approval of the full Senate. Thirteen of 21 positions have now been filled. Cathy Raggio, executive director of a suburban Washington nonprofit organization, said yesterday that she is to replace Kristen Cox as secretary of disabilities, an office with a budget of $6.8 million that drew attention last year when then-Gov.

The wrangling over hirings and firings during the administration of former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has yet to end. Del. Adrienne Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat who has been co-chairman of a panel examining Ehrlich's personnel decisions, was summoned to a Pennsylvania courtroom last week by lawyers for a former Ehrlich political appointee. The employee, Craig Chesek, who lives in Pennsylvania, is battling a subpoena from the committee to testify about his role in personnel decisions.

Hundreds of donors attended Robert L. Ehrlich's annual Republican Corn Roast at Reynolds Farm on Saturday, where kids rode ponies while parents lined up to get a photo taken with the former governor and his wife, Kendel. Money raised by the $25-a-ticket event goes to Ehrlich's political campaign account - and he hasn't decided yet whether he will run again. Declared and undecided candidates across Maryland have begun hitting up donors as the fall political fundraising season kicks into high gear in advance of the 2010 election season and before the General Assembly session begins in January.

Dan Rodricks debuts his weekly, online-only column. (His print column still appears twice a week.) Today, read about how Republican Robert Ehrlich stands out from recent Democratic governors in criminal justice matters.

In 2005, foes of the Intercounty Connector raised a little hell about the Ehrlich administration's plans to build the long-delayed highway as a toll road - estimating that a daily end-to-end commuter might face up to $1,500 a year in tolls. "If you're earning $40,000 a year and taking home $30,000 a year, that's 5 percent of your take-home pay," Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews said at the time. The public yawned. Proponents accused opponents of using scare tactics. The $2.6 billion project went ahead.

: Should the federal ban on most kinds of flavored cigarettes that took effect this week be extended to include menthol cigarettes? Yes 45% No 50% Not sure 5% (603 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has yet to announce whether he will run against Gov. Martin O'Malley next year in an effort to win back his old job. Should Mr. Ehrlich run? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

To paraphrase the poet William Wordsworth, "Public opinion polls are too much with us." They focus too much on the "horse race" aspect of politics - who's ahead or behind - neglecting the substantive issue debates that are critical to a better-functioning democracy. That said, I realize that such polls will always be with us. But their permanence in political reportage must argue for more attention to a couple of components: 1) What questions are asked? and 2) What is the intensity and stability of the respondents' answers?

The Maryland Republican Party faces its latest rebuilding effort after its chairman announced this week he is stepping down amid the organization's struggles to pay its bills and maintain relevance in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Chairman James Pelura's announcement came about a year before the 2010 primary elections, when the GOP will select candidates to run against Democratic incumbents such as Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski. Pelura will stay on through the party's convention Nov. 14. Pelura had repeatedly told executive board members that he did not plan to step down, even after receiving a vote of no confidence in July, so his resignation Monday night was "a little surprising," said Chris Cavey of Baltimore County, the party's first vice chairman.

Maryland's second-highest court has ruled that Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration was within its rights to fire a holdover patronage employee from former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s term. Monday's ruling - the latest in a long-running legal saga surrounding state personnel practices - was in the case of Gregory Maddalone, who was fired shortly after O'Malley, a Democrat, came into office in 2007 after defeating Ehrlich, a Republican. Maddalone, a former ice dancer, was a central figure in an investigation by Democratic lawmakers who accused the Ehrlich administration of firing longtime state employees for political reasons and hiring "loyalists" to replace them.

The field of potential Republican gubernatorial candidates just got wider. Del. Patrick L. McDonough announced on conservative talk radio Wednesday morning that he plans to begin "testing the waters" to determine if he should launch a campaign to challenge Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, in November 2010. McDonough announced his interest on WCBM-AM. McDonough said he would travel the state, speaking to groups and gauging how many supporters would sign up and how many donors would actually open their checkbooks.

Pedestrian struck, killed by truck in Glen Burnie 3 A pedestrian was struck and killed by a pickup truck in Glen Burnie on Monday, Anne Arundel County police said. Kevin Maurice Fluker, 20, of the 100 block of Warwickshire Lane in Glen Burnie was pronounced dead at the scene of the 9:51 p.m. crash. He had been trying to cross the southbound lanes of Ritchie Highway near Ordnance Road when he was struck by a Dodge Dakota, police said. The driver, Joseph Lanier Brunner Jr., 42, of the 900 block of First St. in Brooklyn Park, was southbound on Ritchie Highway, police said.