Federal Law

Sigrid Kingsbury lost her job recently as a real estate manager, and like many laid-off workers she opted to continue health insurance coverage under her old employer's plan. And like many, the Severna Park resident was in for a shock. She used to pay $104 a month for medical, dental and vision coverage while working. Now, she must also pay her ex-employer's share of the premiums. Her cost will jump to $517 a month - for medical coverage only. That's about one-third of her monthly unemployment benefits.

Robert Carroll Eichelberger - Robbie to his mother - started using drugs before he reached puberty. By age 12, he had run away from home. In his 20s, he was in and out of Washington County District Court on charges that included assault and burglary. In his 30s, he added credit-card theft and eluding police to his record. And at 35, he and his girlfriend were selling prescription drugs to high school students to support their own addictions. Last year, one of those teenagers died. "I know my saying 'I'm sorry' won't bring him back, but I am sorry.

Congress is closer than ever to passing a federal shield law to protect reporters from being compelled to testify concerning their confidential sources and information. We could use some good investigative reporting to examine the dubious claims made by those backing the law. One such claim is that the media today face a crisis, with journalists being subpoenaed at an unprecedented rate. In a typical characterization, a witness before the House Judiciary Committee described the number of subpoenas as a "deluge."

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge struck down a Pennsylvania city's ordinance that sought to punish landlords who rented to illegal immigrants and employers who hired them, ruling yesterday that immigration law is the province of the federal government. The Hazleton measure had become an inspiration for a growing movement among state and city officials to enact local laws to combat illegal immigration. Supporters say Washington has failed to control national borders or deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. Activists on both sides of the issue said yesterday's decision dealt a major setback but not a final defeat to local initiatives.

Six years ago, developer John C. Stamato acquired 144 acres in Grasonville with the idea of building houses, setting aside a portion for the middle class. Instead of erecting 218 homes that only a fraction of Marylanders could afford, he later proposed breaking off dozens of those units and listing them for less than $150,000 apiece. Stamato said he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars playing by the county's development rules to build in a designated growth area. But when the county's commissioners, under pressure to rein in growth, voted unanimously in May to indefinitely delay access to water and sewer service, he and several supporters had had enough.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court changed course on abortion yesterday and cleared the way for states to pass laws designed to discourage women from ending their pregnancies. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the "government has a legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life." The ruling upheld a federal ban on a disputed midterm abortion method that critics call "partial-birth abortion." Seven years ago, the court, also by a 5-4 margin, struck down a nearly identical state law on the grounds that it could force some women to undergo riskier surgery during the fourth or fifth month of a pregnancy.

Michael C. Worsham was getting tired of political "robo calls," and on the day before the election, he decided to do something about it: The Forest Hill resident sued several candidates -- including Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- to get them to stop calling his home with recorded campaign messages. When he got home from work after filing the suit, his phone rang: It was the recorded voice of Ehrlich. Worsham, a consumer lawyer, is hoping his lawsuit might help make such calls subject to the Do Not Call list.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court debated yesterday whether thousands of longtime legal immigrants in the United States, including business owners and military veterans, must be deported if they have been convicted of drug possession. At issue is how to interpret a stiff 10-year federal law that demands deportation for legal immigrants who commit "aggravated felonies." Despite the law's focus on expelling felons and drug traffickers, the government in recent years has insisted on deporting some immigrants who pleaded guilty to possessing drugs, sometimes just small amounts of marijuana.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year, but some of Maryland's Jewish inmates might not be permitted to observe the holiday today. State corrections policy guarantees the observance of one religious holy day for prisoners. Although many institutions permit two, that practice forces Jewish inmates to choose among Yom Kippur and the religion's other significant holidays. Corrections officials say that consenting to at least one religious observance is the fairest way to respond to a diverse prison population.