Maryland House

A spending committee in the House of Delegates has rejected a proposal that would have eventually transferred about $337 million in annual teacher pension costs from the state to local governments, stalling a Senate-approved plan to help balance Maryland's budget. The House Appropriations Committee recommended on Friday a study of the implications of the cost shift, instead of beginning the effort next year. "A step of that magnitude could only be done after a comprehensive study," said Del. Norman Conway, and Eastern Shore Democrat and head of the spending committee.

A winding road narrows in St. Mary's County toward the tip of a peninsula. Here, a partially hidden entrance with a sign that reads "St. Marie's" heralds the home of Loretta "Tiny" and Francis Taylor. It is an enchanted, short ride up the driveway, which is bounded on both sides by verdant lawns, toward the main Georgian-style house. Against its white siding and three tall columns of its portico, myriad flowers and blossoming trees burst forth in colors both pale and bold. A brick walk leads to the home's front door, providing the first, brief glance of water before entering the interior foyer.

House OKs capital budget of $1.1 billion The Maryland House of Delegates approved a $1.1 billion capital budget Friday on a 124-13 vote. Some Republicans objected to a $150 million increase in the state's borrowing limit. The capital program would direct $260 million to school construction, the amount requested by Gov. Martin O'Malley. It would provide $52.5 million to replace aging medevac helicopters and nearly $120 million for a land preservation program. Laura Smitherman Senate tries to block D.C. insurance law Maryland lawmakers took steps Friday to block a recent District of Columbia Council law that requires CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield health insurance to enroll 2,500 Washington residents.

After driving more than 14 hours on a return trip from visiting relatives in Athens, Ga., the Daniel family got out of the rain and sat down to a table of fried seafood dinners yesterday afternoon at an Interstate 95 rest stop in Harford County. They just beat other motorists returning from Thanksgiving visits who were rushing to grab a spot in growing lines in front of the fast-food restaurants at Maryland House near Aberdeen. The family of five from the Philadelphia suburb of Sicklerville, N.J., has made it a habit of stopping at the travel plaza on road trips along the East Coast.

Some of the state's most spectacular gardens will be on display over the next three weekends as part of the 2008 Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, the public can visit 11 sites in Kent County, including Eastern Shore plantation homes and 19th-century townhouses in Chestertown. Tomorrow, the tour comes to Baltimore's Mount Vernon district from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes Washington Monument and Four Parks, the Knabe House, 4 East Madison Inn, Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Asbury House, the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion and a restored 19th-century home on West Mount Vernon Place.

Hugh Burgess, a retired Howard County attorney who advanced environmental causes while serving in the Maryland House of Delegates for 16 years, died of complications from kidney failure April 25 at Ellicott City Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was 78. Born into an old Howard County family, he was the son of Lionel Burgess, who also served in the Maryland House of Delegates. The younger Mr. Burgess was a 1946 Ellicott City High School graduate who earned a premedicine degree from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College)

There will be no green bean casserole or homemade pumpkin pie this Christmas for Clayton and Mary Wilson. Instead, the Atlanta couple will be sleeping in the cab of their truck, somewhere near Allentown, Pa., some 12 hours and about 800 miles from home. But the Wilsons don't really mind - in a couple of days, they'll be out West again, savoring the open roads beyond the interstate highways on their way back to the Pacific Coast. "The pink skies in Arizona are beautiful. You can see so many more stars at night out West," said Clayton Wilson yesterday while stopped at the Maryland House along Interstate 95. "I've seen colors in the plants out West that I've never seen in Georgia."

A 20-year prisoner who disemboweled a fellow inmate in gang warfare but maintained he acted in self-defense was sentenced yesterday to life in prison without the possibility of parole by an Anne Arundel County judge. Kenneth Lawrence Higgins, 37, described by prosecutors as a "five-star general" in the Bloods gang, asked Circuit Judge Paul A. Hackner for a suspended sentence so he could run prison programs. Higgins, who was serving 35 years for rape and related crimes at the Maryland House of Correction Annex in Jessup, was convicted last month of the January 2005 fatal stabbing of Brian Wilson, 21. He was serving four years and a day for drug dealing and assault.

Cindy Thalman Home inspector AmeriSpec Home Inspection Service, Waldorf Salary --$55,000 Age --40 Years on the job --Five How she got started --With a background in engineering and a degree in psychology, Thalman found herself working as a customer service representative for a builder and became a superintendent there. With three children, she was looking for better hours and more flexibility so she took the job as a home inspector. Typical day --She usually makes three daily inspections, five days a week.

Today, The Sun begins its endorsements for the Nov. 7 general election with the race for U.S. Senate. Against almost any election opponent imaginable, this newspaper would be strongly inclined to support Benjamin L. Cardin. Certainly against Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele and Green-Populist-Libertarian candidate Kevin Zeese, we are convinced that Mr. Cardin is the best choice to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate and that he will serve both Maryland and the nation by helping to shape consensus on some of the most nettlesome but momentous issues of the era. During 40 years of service in the state legislature as well as in Congress, Mr. Cardin has displayed a rare combination of keen intellect and practical horse-trading skills that marked him for leadership in every arena he entered.