Kendel Ehrlich

Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. told listeners of his WBAL radio talk show Saturday that he will stay behind the microphone until July, when he officially files his candidacy with the state elections board. "BAL has asked, and we've agreed that I stay on this show ... until [I] become an official candidate," Ehrlich told listeners at the start of the two-hour "Bob and Kendel Ehrlich Show." "And that's when under the law, I guess, you become a formal candidate.

Nothing funny about remarks by Mrs. Ehrlich Though she served as an honorary co-chair of a local domestic violence center's fund-raiser last April, recent comments by first lady Kendel Ehrlich show how little she understands about this very serious subject ("First lady's comment draws criticism," Oct. 8). Perpetrators of domestic violence frequently rely on the same rationale Mrs. Ehrlich suggested for shooting Britney Spears - that the victim deserves mistreatment because of something he or she has done.

The ad shows a mother and her son perusing a department store's boys' section and telling Marylanders to take advantage of tax-free back-to-school shopping this month. But to Democrats and ethics watchdogs, it looks like free campaign advertising for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. First lady Kendel Ehrlich went to the White Marsh Macy's yesterday to unveil an advertisement starring her and her 7-year-old son, Drew, saying it is a public service to let Marylanders know about the tax break. From Aug. 23 to 27, under a state law passed unanimously by the General Assembly last year, Maryland will waive sales taxes on clothing and shoes that cost less than $100.

Bob and Kendel Ehrlich are no strangers to talk radio, but two things were different about the former first couple's appearance on WBAL-AM yesterday: They were getting paid, and perhaps for the first time, the former governor tried to bite his tongue. A little bit, anyway. The Ehrlichs launched their new weekly call-in show yesterday morning (whether it's The Bob and Kendel Show, The Kendel and Bob Show or, as one caller suggested, Kendel and Her Ball and Chain is yet to be determined)

A three-hour appearance yesterday by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his wife, Kendel, as talk-show hosts on a Baltimore radio station became a nostalgic walk through the Ehrlich administration's accomplishments and a chance for the Ehrlichs' supporters to thank them for their service to Maryland. "It's the Ehrlich edition of the Tom Marr Show!" the former governor said after every commercial break, naming the host who normally takes the 9 a.m.-to-noon slot on WCBM-AM. "You're doing a good job," Kendel Ehrlich told her husband, who was elected Maryland's governor in 2002, the first Republican governor in 36 years.

Governor unveils new initiatives on foster care Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced a series of foster care initiatives yesterday, including a new public service announcement featuring his wife, Kendel Ehrlich. "Find out how you can be a foster parent and make a positive difference in the life of a child," the state's first lady says during the 30-second ad, which is running free of charge on stations across the Baltimore and Washington areas. " ... Make a difference for a lifetime of rewards."

Lawmakers and taxpayers screamed bloody murder when they heard about bailed-out execs flying around in corporate jets. So the reaction tonight, when a company affiliated with American International Group simply tosses $200,000 into the Inner Harbor air? Ooh! Ahh! Ports America, a cargo-terminal operator run by a company that is partially owned by AIG, is footing the bill for Baltimore's New Year's Eve fireworks display. AIG has received more federal bailout money than any other company, about $150 billion so far. The $200,000 fireworks display means that 0.00013 percent of that cash is being set aflame, right?

Former Maryland first lady Kendel Ehrlich, Del. Steve Schuh and acting Anne Arundel County Executive John Hammond led a field of 16 applicants Friday to complete the term of former County Executive John R. Leopold. County Republicans said the unexpected number of applications indicated a healthy interest in setting the county on a path away from the turmoil that has enveloped the government for at least two years. Leopold, 70, a Republican, resigned midway through his second four-year term this month after his conviction on two counts of misconduct for using county employees to perform personal and political tasks.

Maryland's last governor, who followed two decades in elected office by opening a Baltimore branch of a law firm and hosting a radio talk show, is tired of life on the sidelines. Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s daily routine has, in recent months, become increasingly like a campaign. Within weeks, many expect he will announce that he'll run against Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat who defeated him in November 2006. "I have missed being part of the debate. I have been frustrated by the policy decisions in Annapolis and on Capitol Hill," Ehrlich said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has challenged former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, who begins a quest today to get his old job back, to an hourlong debate this Saturday on Ehrlich's WBAL radio show. But Ehrlich, a Republican, rejected the terms and offered his own conditions, which the Democratic governor found unacceptable. Ehrlich's campaign requested a "simple one-hour discussion" with the governor, while O'Malley's side wants a "true debate." Tuesday's debate about the debate unfolded this way: O'Malley made his proposal through his campaign e-mail and his Facebook page.