Licenses

The woman who says she represents North American Power is not telling the truth about the benefits of buying electricity from her company. "You can save up to 10, 15, 20 percent of your bill, depending on your usage," she says in a telemarketing call to my house. But the rate she eventually quotes is only about 7 percent less than the standard price offered by Baltimore Gas & Electric — something the average customer would have no way of knowing. And of course the percentage savings won't vary even if my "usage" goes up to that of a steel mill.

The weekend is so close you can taste it. If you're headed east to the Atlantic, take a look at our guide to 100 Best Beach Eats , which covers Ocean City, West Ocean City and Delaware towns stretching from Fenwick Island to Lewes. It might be hard to get to on a busy weekend, when the Ocean Gateway (Route 50) is bumper to bumper, but sometime this summer make sure you stop by the Shrimp Boat on Stephen Decatur Highway. This 23-year-old roadside shack is the real deal, where the locals have always come to buy fresh seafood and steamed-while-you-wait shrimp.

The idea of limiting package goods liquor store licenses by statute in Howard County did not survive the General Assembly's 90-day session, but the spirit of the local bill may have. Instead of a bill that decreed no more than one carry-out liquor store per 2,600 residents in each of the five county planning districts, the bill unanimously approved by the full General Assembly requires the county's Alcoholic Beverage Hearing Board to specifically address the need and community desire for a new store, the number and location of existing licenses, and the impact a new store might have on traffic, crime, parking and general public health and safety.

A Baltimore County judge denied Mark Midei's appeal for reinstatement of his medical license, ruling that there was "substantial evidence" for the Maryland Board of Physicians to revoke it last year after finding that the Towson cardiologist falsified patient records to justify the placement of unnecessary coronary stents. The decision ends an ordeal that began more than three years ago, when an anonymous letter was sent to the state board, claiming Midei, a well-regarded physician who earned a seven-figure salary at St. Joseph Medical Center, was improperly treating patients.

With Maryland's crabbing season getting under way Friday, the state is making a new bid to buy back commercial fishing licenses, particularly from the 650 license-holders officials estimate are no longer active on the Chesapeake Bay. The Department of Natural Resources mailed buyback offers last month to all 2,258 people with unlimited tidal fishing or crab harvester licenses. The amount offered ranges from a base of $4,000 for the crab harvester license, which allows the holder to fish with up to 300 crab pots, to $12,000 for a tidal fishing license with authorization for 900 crab pots in the bay. State officials say the buyback is intended to keep pressure on the bay's rebuilding crab population from soaring if all the holders of unused licenses were to go back on the water.

Hunters, anglers and those hoping to drive off-road vehicles will need a COMPASS to get their respective licenses and registrations. A pilot program recently implemented at seven regional service centers and 27 sports license locations will soon be accessible at home on the computer or over the phone with a live operator. A new online registration program called COMPASS will be available at the end of the month, according to a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources.

MARYLAND residents are all too familiar with the frustration that can accompany a visit to the Motor Vehicle Administration. Long lines. Surly clerks. Interminable waits. Most folks expect and accept it. But for immigrants seeking driver's licenses - even those here legally - the experience is compounded by cumbersome identification rules that not only test their patience but also threaten their livelihoods, forcing them to wait months for the licenses, and then often in vain. Thirteen immigrants struck back this week and filed suit against the MVA, charging it with creating illegal barriers for immigrants wanting licenses.

The O'Malley administration is seeking to add new weaponry to the state's tax-collecting arsenal with a proposal to deny driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to those who fail to pay their taxes. The proposal, contained in O'Malley's budget reconciliation bill, would let the state refuse to issue or renew licenses and registrations for those who have unpaid, undisputed tax obligations. The administration expects the measure to help it collect an additional $40 million over the next two years as the state scratches for every dollar it can collect to help close a $1.3 billion shortfall.

Just sitting down at a desk at the marriage bureau at D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday was too much for Angelisa Young. She cried so hard that she eventually had to bury her face in her fiancee's chest. About a half-hour later, Young and her partner, Sinjoyla Townsend, who met 13 years ago in a constitutional law class at the University of the District of Columbia, became the first same-sex couple to apply to be married in the district as the city officially joined five states in allowing gay marriage.

Stocks? Forget 'em. Bonds? Returns too low. Permanent seat licenses? Now you're talking. The licenses that the Ravens and some other National Football League teams require fans to purchase to buy season tickets - often to help pay for stadium construction or renovation - have gone from being what many regarded as an extortionary annoyance to what some now consider a dandy investment. For instance, when the Ravens' stadium opened in 1998, a permanent seat license ranged from $250 to $3,000, depending on the location of the seat covered by the license.

Baltimore County businesses that let customers bring their own alcohol would need a "BYOB" license under legislation spurred by complaints about hookah lounges that are raucous late into the night. The bill, introduced Monday by Lutherville Republican Todd Huff, would make all BYOB establishments close by 2 a.m. The businesses would have to apply for licenses from the county and could face fines of up to $500 for not doing so. Huff said he introduced the bill because of "multiple complaints" about hookah lounges that allegedly become loud very late and don't enforce laws on underage drinking.

More restaurant owners in Baltimore County could get liquor licenses under a measure passed in Annapolis that's set to take effect within the next few months. The legislation, sought by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, is meant to gradually open up more licenses over the next five years. Kamenetz pushed for more sweeping changes, but current license holders opposed them. Kamenetz created a task force last year to examine the county's system of issuing liquor licenses, saying that the current set-up is archaic and that reform would help spur economic development throughout the restaurant sector.

Hoping to turn around the struggling resort, Maryland's slots location committee awarded a license Thursday for a casino at Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort in Allegany County. The Video Lottery Facility Location Commission voted unanimously to issue the license to Evitts Resort LLC, the sole remaining applicant after the panel eliminated a group led by former Democratic Party Chairman Nathan Landow in January. The license is contingent on Evitts getting construction financing, but company officials do not expect that to be a problem.

If you would like to open a bar or restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages on the Liberty Road corridor in Baltimore County, a liquor license will run you $2,000. About a 20-minute drive away, Joe's Crab Shack, a chain restaurant that's moving into the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, just paid $225,000 for its liquor license. The reason? An antiquated system that allots licenses by population in districts drawn decades ago and allows those licenses to be bought and sold on the open market.

Did you miss this story? Read it here , and search a Baltimore Sun database to see whether your veterinarian has been in trouble . The Baltimore Sun's recent investigation into Maryland's veterinarians began with a question from Maryland Editor Dave Rosenthal: What, exactly does the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners do? As it turned out, the answer to that question brought to light several recent cases in which veterinarians were found to have provided inadequate care, failed to conduct proper tests or kept poor records.

It's got the bumper sticker. It's got the little flag.  But your car, hopped up on Opening Day excitement, wants a little something more. Lucky for the ride, you can now order it one of the new Orioles cartoon bird license plates. A collaboration between the Orioles and Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration, the plates are rather adorable, all orange and black with the little birdie logo in one corner. The cartoon bird is a throwback to the cartoon bird of the '60s and '70s, brought back by the team this year for the 20th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Saddle up those mouses, gang, we're riding into the 21st century. Seventeen of your state lawmakers - men and women, Democrats and Republicans, representing Baltimore and 18 counties - have decided it's time to let anglers and hunters in Maryland do what the hook-and-bullet crowd in the majority of states can: buy a license online. The Department of Natural Resources got behind HB 654 at a hearing last Wednesday. If approved by both houses and signed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, it would take effect Oct. 1. What a vision.

At its first meeting last night, the commission that will award licenses to run slot-machine casinos in Maryland approved a 150-page request for bids that is expected to be sent to potential operators today. The bureaucratic step ushers in what state officials hope is a bidding war for the licenses that could bring more than $600 million to state coffers to ease future budget shortfalls, and more than $400 million to casino operators when the program is fully implemented in five years.

It's busy season at the Baltimore Liquor Board. Every April, right before all liquor licenses are due for renewal in May, the Liquor Board docket swells up with protests of renewal. This year, 12 hearings on license renewals have been set for April 19 and April 26, the board said Tuesday. Two of the protests  - against club Lust and a JHJ Saloon, on Eastern Avenue - were initiated by the board itself. The rest, which include Dionysus and Butts & Betty's Tavern - were brought on by neighbors.

If you're so excited for the start of baseball season that you feel like you're not just on the Orioles bandwagon, but you're at the wheel of it, well, now you can show it. The Orioles, in conjunction with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, are releasing Orioles cartoon bird State of Maryland license plates. The plates, which cost $50 apiece, are partially a charitable venture, as $25 of that goes to the Baltimore Orioles Charitable Foundation. Each plate has a randomly assigned four-digit number, so they're not customizable, which would've been a nice touch.