Maryland Voters

Following yet another tax increase shoved down our throats by the spend-then-tax trio of the Gov.Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House SpeakerMichael E. Busch("General Assembly raises income tax on top 14 percent," May 17), there is one positive aspect: At least they didn't scurry about in the middle of the night like cockroaches as they did when passing a record tax hike in 2007. When will Maryland voters learn? Gary Sulin, Forest Hill

The approach to National Harbor, where three highways meet on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, is pretty much a wow, with the arched 18-story atrium of a massive convention hotel its centerpiece. National Harbor is a still-new resort town on a slope overlooking the big river, with six hotels, upscale shops, restaurants, condominiums, marinas and a busy schedule of events that attract healthy crowds on weekends. David Cordish must look at Nat Harbor and wish he'd thought of it. Or maybe he wishes the place had been available as a location for gambling four years ago, when Maryland voters approved the return of slot machines to the state.

ON THE SITE... Terrell Stoglin suspended by Terps, will enter NBA draft:  Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer this season, won't return to the Terrapin men's basketball team after being suspended one year for a rules violation of the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct. BGE rates fall, decreasing bills by $54 : Baltimore Gas and Electric customers can expect to pay at a lower rate starting in June. 13 startups to present at TechCocktail Baltimore on Wednesday : Young local technology companies will be pitching to potential investors and partners.

After reading The Sun's coverage of the General Assembly session's last day ("Time runs out in capital," April 10), I wonder what it will take for the Maryland voters to throw these over-spending and taxing-to-death politicians out of office. According to The Sun, the last-minute budget agreement would have increased taxes for everyone earning over $100,000 and couples earning over $150,000 if the clock had not run out. Lawmakers also agreed to double the flush tax. Not one comment was made on spending cuts.

A wealthy Potomac businessman whose very candidacy challenged state Democratic leaders won a hotly contested congressional primary in Western Maryland on Tuesday, setting up a battle for the seat in November that will help decide control of the House of Representatives. John Delaney, a banker and first-time candidate, managed to topple state Sen. Rob Garagiola in the race, even though leading Democrats in Annapolis such as Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller had the legislator in mind when they redrew the 6th Congressional District last year to make it more competitive.

For all the difficult problems the nation faces, from high unemployment to mounting national debt to the vexing war in Afghanistan, the contest for the Republican presidential nomination process has produced far more distractions than solutions. Primary voters and caucus-goers have elevated and rejected a string of front-runners, each seemingly more improbable than the last. And fueling it all has been the corrosive influence of millions in unlimited and unregulated campaign spending through super PACs that has propped some candidates up past their shelf lives and allowed for barrages of negative advertising the likes of which voters have rarely seen.

The drive to throw out Maryland's new congressional district maps by petitioning them to referendum is, in all likelihood, something of a futile gesture. Even if the opponents can muster the necessary signatures - battling in the process referendum fatigue from parallel efforts on same-sex marriage - the new, convoluted maps will still be in effect this November. And if the critics of the maps prevail at the ballot box, all they will succeed in doing is getting the same people who brought us the current mess to draw the maps all over again.

Maryland's primary is now just two weeks away (with early voting starting this Saturday) and - surprise - ballots cast here might even be relevant to the presidential selection process. On Wednesday, Mitt Romney is scheduled to be the first of the Republican candidates to traipse into the Old Line State to state his case for taking home 37 delegates in the winner-take-all event with appearances at theU.S. Naval Academy and in Arbutus and Frederick. For a state dominated by Democrats, this is a rarity that GOP voters should savor.

The two sides in Maryland's fight over same-sex marriage agree on this: It won't be over until November. With the state Senate's approval Thursday night of the governor's bill to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples, opponents are expected to mobilize quickly to gather the signatures to petition the legislation to referendum. State elections officials say they are already getting calls seeking information on how to start the process. Even the bill's staunchest supporters expect its opponents to easily gather the 55,736 signatures necessary to put the question on the November ballot.

It is time that all Maryland voters cleaned house at the General Assembly ("Censure for Currie recommended," Feb. 17). Sen. Ulysses Currie needs to go. Fellow lawmakers talk about how nice a guy he is. I am sure there are many convicts who are nice guys. Senator Currie's explanation for his conduct is that he did not know how to fill out the paperwork or he did not understand the rules. Is this a person that we, the taxpayers, deserve? Joe Heming