Getty

Carroll school officials asked the county's legislative delegation yesterday for a measure requiring police to notify the superintendent when a student is charged with the sale, manufacture or distribution of drugs.Del. Joseph M. Getty of Manchester introduced such a bill last year after two teen-agers charged in the drug death of a 15-year-old Westminster High School student returned to school two days later.School officials were unaware the two had been charged.One reason Getty's statewide bill was shelved last year was that an estimated 50 percent of the juvenile drug offenders live in Baltimore, and it was believed the bill would create too much paperwork there, he said.

Ten years ago, a little-known Carroll County Republican named Joseph M. Getty broke ranks and took on Helen Delich Bentley, a congresswoman who was then the most powerful member of the state GOP.It was the 1988 presidential campaign, and Bentley had quietly stashed thousands of dollars in campaign funds in Carroll's Republican coffers, in part to keep it away from a rival. When Getty, then a member of the county's Republican Central Committee, found out, he refused to keep quiet.The Federal Elections Commission later fined the Republican National Committee and the treasurer of the county central committee.

An editorial in The Sun in Carroll Thursday misidentified Sen. Larry E. Haines as a one-term incumbent. He has served two terms. The Sun regrets the error.THE SENATE race in this district in Carroll County has already been decided, with one-term Republican incumbent Larry E. Haines the only candidate on the ballot. Five delegate hopefuls, though, are vying in the Republican primary for the three nominations; incumbent Del. Ellen Willis Miller is the sole Democratic nominee.While the strongly Republican county delegation often lacks leverage with the Democratic majority in Annapolis, individuals with ideas and commitment to resolution can make a difference.

Los Angeles' new Getty Center is such a culture-vulture magnet that even a marathon, all-day visit left me hungry for more. Its aesthetic smorgasbord boasts striking architecture, sweeping views, gardens, fountains and overabundant cappuccino bars. And that's all in addition to a wealth of drawings, sculptures, artifacts and paintings, including Van Gogh's "Irises" and Monet's "Wheatstacks."But one day was all I had to devote to this 110-acre, high-tech monolith during a recent visit to the City of Angels.

Carroll County lawmakers said yesterday that the needs of the fast-growing county were largely ignored in an otherwise productive legislative session.A day after the session's end, Carroll lawmakers hailed extra school-construction funds for the county and an accelerated statewide income tax cut. But they were concerned by the fast pace of spending this year.And they complained that in the rush to help larger or poorer counties with extra state funding, midsized and relatively well-off Carroll was overlooked.

Of the two proposed changes in local government on the May 2 ballot, charter is capturing the most buzz, overshadowing an initiative to expand the Carroll Board of County Commissioners from three to five members.No one is organizing debates on the expansion proposal, initiated by the Carroll legislative delegation. No group has vowed to support or oppose it, and few are venturing any predictions on how voters will decide on it."It is lost in the charter debate," said Del. Donald B. Elliott, a Union Bridge Republican who sponsored the measure.

GROWING UP ON Maple Grove Road in Manchester, Wilpatrick "Skip" Gibson wanted to see the world.He attended local schools, and then a scholarship sent him to St. Paul's School. That's where he participated in the student model United Nations, which helped him to choose international studies as a major at Washington College. He also attended the London School of Economics.Gibson, 24, has worked as a lobbyist in London and as a junior U.S. foreign service officer in Barbados and Haiti. He's back in Maryland for a while, to learn politics through direct experience.

ON A RECENT winter night, I took a tram ride to the top of the hill where the new Getty Center museum sits on more than 100 acres overlooking Los Angeles. As I sat on the tram with some family members and friends, I pondered the symbolic value of our journey to this mecca of high art.I had read lofty reviews of the Getty Center in the Eastern press, especially the New York Times. They suggested that this spectacular extravaganza of art and architecture, which cost a cool $1 billion, would elevate Los Angeles to a world-class city.

The Maryland Republican Party and GOP legislators criticized Democrats yesterday for killing a bill that would expand the power of the state prosecutor to investigate political corruption.The bill, which would have given the prosecutor the power to issue subpoenas and grant immunity, lost by an 11-8 vote Friday in the House Judiciary Committee.All of the votes against the bill were cast by Democrats. Three Democrats joined five Republicans in supporting the legislation sponsored by Del. Joseph M. Getty, a Carroll Republican.

A group of concerned parents and students, calling themselves Residents Attacking Drugs (RAD), are circulating petitions in Carroll County to support tougher laws against juvenile drug offenders.The group got started last week when Linda Auerback, a Westminster mother of four, mustered about 50 parents and students to a rally in Westminster, where they expressed their concerns to State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes about juvenile offenders being allowed back in school after being arrested on heroin charges.