Governor S Staff

In the aftermath of John S. Arnick's decision last week to withdraw his name from consideration as a District Court judge, legislators and citizens ought to ponder Mr. Arnick's observation that "fundamental fairness demands a better process." While Mr. Arnick must bear the major share of the responsibility for his inability to win Senate approval, he was ill-served by both the executive and legislative systems set up to select and approve judicial appointments.Mr. Arnick's talents as a legislator were never in question.

In a closed-door meeting yesterday, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and top executives of The Sun discussed the paper's coverage of the governor and the administration's order that bans state workers from speaking with two journalists at the newspaper. The 90-minute meeting, however, resulted in little apparent progress toward lifting the ban other than an agreement to continue talking. Ehrlich provided the paper's editors with a list of articles that he believes contain inaccuracies, and Sun editors agreed to review the stories and meet with the governor's staff to go over them soon.

State is facing new time crunchNo one thought it would come to this, but the state may have to race the clock in its bid to buy 6 St. Paul Centre, one of the city's biggest office buildings.Martin W. Walsh, Jr., secretary of the Department of General Services, last Friday wrote to Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chairman Laurence Levitan asking that Mr. Levitan and Del. Howard P. "Pete" Rawlings, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, sign off on the proposed $12.2 million sale by today.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that his directive preventing state officials from speaking with two journalists at The Sun was "meant to have a chilling effect" on "two writers who have no credibility." Speaking on a WBAL radio program yesterday morning, the governor said the ban was intended to draw a line in the sand and set a benchmark for the minimum level of accuracy he expects in newspaper coverage of his administration. "At what point does a monopoly newspaper abuse its privilege, its First Amendment privilege, in making things up, making quotes up, making context up?"

Faced with federal cutbacks and the demand for smaller government, Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday laid off seven members of his own staff, the first wave of cuts that could claim the jobs of up to 1,000 state workers a year in each of the next few years.Although many of the targeted jobs may be vacant, "you can't reduce 800 to 1,000 positions without having many layoffs of state workers," said Major F. Riddick Jr., the governor's chief of staff.Even as members of his State House staff were being given pink slips yesterday, the governor announced that he has hired an $82,712-a-year communications director to improve his image with the public.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening said yesterday that there wouldn't be a "great deal" of state aid to private schools, despite an aggressive lobbying effort by Catholic school parents that brought 6,500 letters to his desk this fall.But contrary to televised reports that Glendening was dismissing the pleas, the governor's spokeswoman, Torrie Leonard, said his position "is not an out-and-out 'no.' He said it's not likely because of a very tight budget."The governor's staff is still working on the draft of a reply to the families who wrote asking for money for transportation, textbooks and technology in next year's budget.

A federal grand jury investigating former state Sen. Larry Young has issued a new subpoena to Gov. Parris N. Glendening's office indicating for the first time that the probe will include an examination of the governor's staff and his campaign fund-raising efforts.The federal subpoena served by FBI agents this week demands that Glendening and his staff produce all fund-raising records relating to Merit Behavioral Care Corp. of New Jersey and PrimeHealth Corp. of Prince George's County -- two firms with substantial business interests in the state.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening makes his not-so-secret candidacy for chancellor of the University System of Maryland a little less secret this week with comments appearing today in a national higher-education newspaper. Saying that his experiences have made him "fanatically committed to higher education," Glendening told The Chronicle of Higher Education that he would be qualified to oversee the 13-campus system and "honored" to be considered for the $345,000-a-year post. "My whole life has been higher education," Glendening said in an article in this week's issue of the weekly newspaper that covers colleges and universities.

The chairman of the Maryland Board of Elections denied yesterday that he leaked the confidential charges against Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone to the news media and defended himself against her accusation that his attempt to remove her is politically motivated. Gilles W. Burger, a Republican who was appointed to the board in 2000 and became chairman last year, said Lamone was wrong when she testified in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court that he only became dissatisfied with her performance after meeting with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s staff last year.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that his directive preventing state officials from speaking with two journalists at The Sun was "meant to have a chilling effect" on "two writers who have no credibility." Speaking on a WBAL radio program yesterday morning, the governor said the ban was intended to draw a line in the sand and set a benchmark for the minimum level of accuracy he expects in newspaper coverage of his administration. "At what point does a monopoly newspaper abuse its privilege, its First Amendment privilege, in making things up, making quotes up, making context up?"

The chairman of the Maryland Board of Elections denied yesterday that he leaked the confidential charges against Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone to the news media and defended himself against her accusation that his attempt to remove her is politically motivated. Gilles W. Burger, a Republican who was appointed to the board in 2000 and became chairman last year, said Lamone was wrong when she testified in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court that he only became dissatisfied with her performance after meeting with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s staff last year.

THE DAY AFTER Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and the state Board of Public Works laid off 43 employees this summer, a well-paid worker began in a newly created position. June Smith took the helm of the communications office of the state Department of Juvenile Services, where she will earn $79,771 a year, according to state records. Her hiring surprised some department employees, who were unaware that a new job was being created at a time when the governor was ordering agencies to scour their budgets, target programs for elimination and reduce spending by up to 12 percent.

Countless heroes. Two squabbling politicians. And one half-empty reception room. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is throwing a reception today for Baltimore firefighters and naval reservists who came to the rescue after a Seaport Taxi capsized March 6. But only a handful of firefighters received invitations because City Hall wouldn't provide names to the governor, saying it is too soon for such a ceremony. Now Ehrlich and Mayor Martin O'Malley are accusing each other of playing politics with a tragic accident that claimed five lives and put Fire Department divers through 10 days of peril.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening makes his not-so-secret candidacy for chancellor of the University System of Maryland a little less secret this week with comments appearing today in a national higher-education newspaper. Saying that his experiences have made him "fanatically committed to higher education," Glendening told The Chronicle of Higher Education that he would be qualified to oversee the 13-campus system and "honored" to be considered for the $345,000-a-year post. "My whole life has been higher education," Glendening said in an article in this week's issue of the weekly newspaper that covers colleges and universities.

Four months ago in Texas, Gov. George W. Bush signed a proclamation declaring June 10 to be Jesus Day, and urging all Texans to "follow Christ's example by performing good works in their communities and neighborhoods." The proclamation received little attention at the time, except for gratitude from a Christian organization that had asked governors to issue proclamations supporting its annual day of charity, prayer and parades in Jesus' name. Now what seemed purely ceremonial has turned into a controversy for Bush.

YOU might call it the curious case of the disappearing governor. Just past the mid-point in this year's General Assembly session, Gov. Parris Glendening has yet to become fully involved in legislative activities.It's almost as though he's focused on something else -- like positioning himself for a possible high-level Washington appointment after the 2000 presidential election.Low-key approachThe administration has taken a low-key approach toward this 90-day meeting of state lawmakers. Occasionally, the governor speaks out -- often by letter or formal announcement -- on a subject.

In a closed-door meeting yesterday, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and top executives of The Sun discussed the paper's coverage of the governor and the administration's order that bans state workers from speaking with two journalists at the newspaper. The 90-minute meeting, however, resulted in little apparent progress toward lifting the ban other than an agreement to continue talking. Ehrlich provided the paper's editors with a list of articles that he believes contain inaccuracies, and Sun editors agreed to review the stories and meet with the governor's staff to go over them soon.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening's inaugural parties may not have cost taxpayers one dime, but Maryland businesses and lobbyists paid a pretty penny for them. The governor's inaugural committee raised about $1 million to pay for the ball last night at the Baltimore Convention Center and a pre-inaugural cocktail party Sunday in College Park, according to an incomplete list of contributors. More than $850,000 of that will cover expenses for the parties, with any money left over going to Maryland charities, officials said.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening's inaugural parties may not have cost taxpayers one dime, but Maryland businesses and lobbyists paid a pretty penny for them. The governor's inaugural committee raised about $1 million to pay for the ball last night at the Baltimore Convention Center and a pre-inaugural cocktail party Sunday in College Park, according to an incomplete list of contributors. More than $850,000 of that will cover expenses for the parties, with any money left over going to Maryland charities, officials said.

State Treasurer Richard N. Dixon said yesterday that he is likely to oppose a series of pay raises for Gov. Parris N. Glendening's senior staff members when the increases come before the Board of Public Works tomorrow.Dixon, one of three members of the board, said the raises exceed General Assembly guidelines limiting such increases to 6 percent."More than 6 percent, I'm going to vote against -- that's the standard set by the legislature," said Dixon, who represents the General Assembly on the board.