Political Arena

GOV. PARRIS Glendening has been busy on the appointments front in recent weeks, often mixing a heavy dose of politics -- and controversy -- with the need to find capable office-holders.In the process, the governor has:Booted out of office a reformer from the board of the troubled Injured Workers Insurance Fund, replacing her with a good-old-boy politico.Kicked out two experienced utility regulators on the Public Service Commission, replacing them with two political appointments -- just as that panel must make major decisions on implementing electric deregulation.

Ruth Urice Keeton -- daughter of a postmaster, wife of a college vice president, mother of three, and political activist at a time when few women were in the political arena -- will be honored tonight by the Women's Bar Association of Howard County.Keeton was a pioneer for women in the county, said Bobbie Fine, immediate past president of the Women's Bar Association."We didn't even think of another name," Fine said of the association board's decision to name Keeton as recipient of its first recognition award for local women.

VILLA JULIE COLLEGE President Carolyn S. Manuszak has spent three decades transforming a tiny secretarial school in Baltimore County's Stevenson into a respected 1,800-student, four-year institution. Twice in the past year that accomplishment has been obscured by a stupid mistake.Last year, Ms. Manuszak, a former nun, was caught smoking in her office bathroom, a violation of state law for which the college was fined $1,312. Now, we learn that the $4,000 she has donated to state and local political candidates over the past decade includes at least $450 for which she asked for and received reimbursement by the college.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Saying a presidential candidacy required a "passion and commitment" he did not yet feel, Colin L. Powell ended months of feverish speculation yesterday by announcing that he would not be a candidate for the presidency -- or any other elective office -- in 1996.With his wife, Alma, by his side, Mr. Powell, 58, said that after weeks of "prayerful consideration" and consultations with friends, family and advisers, he had decided that he could not conjure up the same fire for politics that he felt "every day in my 35 years as a soldier."

Encouraged by Gov. William Donald Schaefer and his political brain trust, Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos has become intrigued by the prospect of running for governor and is giving the idea serious thought.The multimillionaire team owner, according to sources close to Mr. Schaefer and Mr. Angelos, would like to enter the crowded Democratic field, but must decide whether he is willing to give up or take time away from his current enterprises.What does not seem in dispute is that Mr. Angelos, a former Baltimore city councilman who ran unsuccessfully for council president and mayor in the 1960s, has a desire to re-enter the political arena.

Encouraged by Gov. William Donald Schaefer and his political brain trust, Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos has become intrigued by the prospect of running for governor and is giving the idea serious thought.The multimillionaire team owner, according to sources close to Mr. Schaefer and Mr. Angelos, would like to enter the crowded Democratic field, but must decide whether he is willing to give up or take time away from his current enterprises.What does not seem in dispute is that Mr. Angelos, a former Baltimore city councilman who ran unsuccessfully for council president and mayor in the 1960s, has a desire to re-enter the political arena.

DESPITE advance notice, including parking tips, we weren't able to be present in Towson Monday to hear Del. Gerry Brewster discuss his agenda for the 1994 General Assembly session and "answer questions regarding his political plans for 1994" -- a reference to Mr. Brewster's expected run for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Helen Delich Bentley.No matter. A press packet was on our desk by mid-afternoon Monday. It contained a copy of the delegate's remarks informing us that "an announcement of my future intentions must wait until the legislative session comes to a close."

Another player of prominence -- not from the football field, but the political arena -- has joined the Tom Clancy/Jim Robinson team that is in the race to secure a National Football League expansion franchise for Baltimore.Ted Venetoulis is to serve as an adviser, but for the present will not be an actual investor. He will, no doubt, be utilized by Clancy and Robinson for his political expertise and business acumen in the event they are chosen as the winning Baltimore entry in the expansion derby.

Pro-choice groups, including Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, are entirely right in demanding that the U.S. Supreme Court give a definitive answer as swiftly as possible on the question of whether the controversial decision of Roe vs. Wade continues to be the law of the land.All that is needed to overturn Roe vs. Wade is for just one of three justices -- Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter or Clarence Thomas -- to join the four justices who have already declared themselves in favor of reversal.

ANNAPOLIS -- Hoping to keep tax-restructuring recommendations out of the political arena until after the Nov. 6 general election, the chairman of the governor's commission on taxes has been meeting privately with individual commission members to devise what could become the final report.Moreover, a meeting of the Commission on State Taxes and Tax Structure that had been tentatively scheduled for next week for "consideration of final recommendations" was quietly canceled, and no future meetings are scheduled until Nov. 8.Timing that meeting two days after the election is no coincidence, admitted R. Robert Linowes, chairman of the 17-member commission created in October 1987 by Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

WASHINGTON - Across Shannon McGinley's hometown of Bedford, N.H., this fall, women were talking about politics. At school gatherings and Bible study groups, women who had never followed political affairs suddenly were talking about a woman like them - a conservative mother trying to balance family and career. It started when the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his running mate. Now, more than a month since the political spotlight has turned away from the failed GOP ticket, some of those whom Palin attracted to the political arena are seeking ways to keep a conversation going.

There is little to call James Carville that he hasn't been called already: Serpent head. Slimy worm. Bottom-feeder. Court jester. Hatchet man. Pit bull. Corporal Cueball. Product of the love scene in Deliverance. Fish that swam too close to a nuclear reactor. Odious. Foul-mouthed bore. Frothing rabid dog. His deeds, views, looks - it's all fair game, he says. Having done his share of jabbing, Carville's willing to take his licks, or even an occasional pummeling. "I might be," he admits, in good ol' boy drawl, "the single most unsympathetic character in American politics."

THE LATE, LATE SHOW Wednesday night didn't draw an Olympic-size audience, but it wasn't for lack of drama. We're talking about the one on C-SPAN, starring the U.S. House of Representatives and featuring the debate and vote on the Shays-Meehan bill, which sharply limits so-called "soft money" contributions to political parties. The show had everything: tension, mystery, histrionics, a big-star cameo appearance (Charlton Heston phoned in on behalf of the National Rifle Association) and - best of all - a happy ending.

GOV. PARRIS Glendening has been busy on the appointments front in recent weeks, often mixing a heavy dose of politics -- and controversy -- with the need to find capable office-holders.In the process, the governor has:Booted out of office a reformer from the board of the troubled Injured Workers Insurance Fund, replacing her with a good-old-boy politico.Kicked out two experienced utility regulators on the Public Service Commission, replacing them with two political appointments -- just as that panel must make major decisions on implementing electric deregulation.

VILLA JULIE COLLEGE President Carolyn S. Manuszak has spent three decades transforming a tiny secretarial school in Baltimore County's Stevenson into a respected 1,800-student, four-year institution. Twice in the past year that accomplishment has been obscured by a stupid mistake.Last year, Ms. Manuszak, a former nun, was caught smoking in her office bathroom, a violation of state law for which the college was fined $1,312. Now, we learn that the $4,000 she has donated to state and local political candidates over the past decade includes at least $450 for which she asked for and received reimbursement by the college.

Ruth Urice Keeton -- daughter of a postmaster, wife of a college vice president, mother of three, and political activist at a time when few women were in the political arena -- will be honored tonight by the Women's Bar Association of Howard County.Keeton was a pioneer for women in the county, said Bobbie Fine, immediate past president of the Women's Bar Association."We didn't even think of another name," Fine said of the association board's decision to name Keeton as recipient of its first recognition award for local women.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Saying a presidential candidacy required a "passion and commitment" he did not yet feel, Colin L. Powell ended months of feverish speculation yesterday by announcing that he would not be a candidate for the presidency -- or any other elective office -- in 1996.With his wife, Alma, by his side, Mr. Powell, 58, said that after weeks of "prayerful consideration" and consultations with friends, family and advisers, he had decided that he could not conjure up the same fire for politics that he felt "every day in my 35 years as a soldier."

Encouraged by Gov. William Donald Schaefer and his political brain trust, Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos has become intrigued by the prospect of running for governor and is giving the idea serious thought.The multimillionaire team owner, according to sources close to Mr. Schaefer and Mr. Angelos, would like to enter the crowded Democratic field, but must decide whether he is willing to give up or take time away from his current enterprises.What does not seem in dispute is that Mr. Angelos, a former Baltimore city councilman who ran unsuccessfully for council president and mayor in the 1960s, has a desire to re-enter the political arena.

Encouraged by Gov. William Donald Schaefer and his political brain trust, Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos has become intrigued by the prospect of running for governor and is giving the idea serious thought.The multimillionaire team owner, according to sources close to Mr. Schaefer and Mr. Angelos, would like to enter the crowded Democratic field, but must decide whether he is willing to give up or take time away from his current enterprises.What does not seem in dispute is that Mr. Angelos, a former Baltimore city councilman who ran unsuccessfully for council president and mayor in the 1960s, has a desire to re-enter the political arena.

DESPITE advance notice, including parking tips, we weren't able to be present in Towson Monday to hear Del. Gerry Brewster discuss his agenda for the 1994 General Assembly session and "answer questions regarding his political plans for 1994" -- a reference to Mr. Brewster's expected run for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Helen Delich Bentley.No matter. A press packet was on our desk by mid-afternoon Monday. It contained a copy of the delegate's remarks informing us that "an announcement of my future intentions must wait until the legislative session comes to a close."