Porcari

A former Maryland transportation secretary who went on to become the No. 2 official in the Obama administration's Transportation Department, will return to his home state Tuesday to meet with Democrats in the House of Delegates about the touchy issue of raising money for roads and mass transit. Deputy Secretary John D. Porcari will appear before the Democratic caucus in Annapolis at the invitation of House Speaker Michael E. Busch. A Busch aide said Porcari was expected to lay out the case for increased investment in transportation -- something that would require increases in taxes or fees.

Backed by an affirming legislative session and soon to be flush with transportation money, state officials went to Washington on Monday to assure the administration that Maryland has both the means and the will to build two light rail systems. "Timing is everything," said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, after a meeting with U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari and the deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration. "Maryland has the resources to move forward.

State Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari is taking a job as vice president for administrative affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park, making him the second Glendening administration official to join the state university system. Gov. Parris N. Glendening's chief legislative officer, Joseph C. Bryce, is leaving this month to become the associate vice chancellor for government relations for the University System of Maryland. Porcari, who has been transportation secretary for almost four years, will start his new job after Feb. 1. He will be responsible for the university's departments of budget, facilities, personnel and public safety, among others.

A former Maryland transportation secretary who went on to become the No. 2 official in the Obama administration's Transportation Department, will return to his home state Tuesday to meet with Democrats in the House of Delegates about the touchy issue of raising money for roads and mass transit. Deputy Secretary John D. Porcari will appear before the Democratic caucus in Annapolis at the invitation of House Speaker Michael E. Busch. A Busch aide said Porcari was expected to lay out the case for increased investment in transportation -- something that would require increases in taxes or fees.

Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said yesterday that he has hired a nationally known "trouble-shooter" to help identify and correct the problems responsible for wheels falling off 18 transit buses since August. Also yesterday, Porcari removed the acting manager of bus operations for the Maryland Transit Administration and reassigned her to an undefined job in planning and scheduling. "I'm going to make sure we have the specialized talent we need, whether from outside or within the MTA, to fix this problem," Porcari said, adding that more staff changes could occur soon.

Maryland's new secretary of transportation is discouraging a Carroll County commissioner from lobbying for federal dollars for a highway project that is also underscoring growing tensions on the local board.Commissioner Michael D. Zimmer'sproposed extension of U.S. 29 from Howard Countywould bisect Carroll and include bypasses of Westminster and Taneytown. "We would encourage the county not to pursue separate federal ... funding for independent projects," Secretary John D. Porcari recently wrote in a letter to Zimmer.

Promising more emphasis on mass transit and a return to Smart Growth principles to ease Maryland's traffic gridlock, Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley announced yesterday that he will nominate former Glendening administration official John D. Porcari to his old job of transportation secretary. Porcari, 48, of Cheverly in Prince George's County was considered by many Annapolis watchers to be a top pick for the O'Malley administration because of his experience in managing one of the state's largest agencies.

Transportation Secretary nominee John D. Porcari told a legislative panel yesterday that the state needs to move forward with efforts to comply with the federal Real ID Act, a law that essentially prohibits states from giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. "We need to get moving now on the requirements, at least as we now know them to be," Porcari said. The Real ID Act creates national standards for the issuance of state driver's licenses and ID cards, including a requirement that states verify documentary evidence that an applicant is a U.S. citizen or has some other legal standing, such as a visa.

Backed by an affirming legislative session and soon to be flush with transportation money, state officials went to Washington on Monday to assure the administration that Maryland has both the means and the will to build two light rail systems. "Timing is everything," said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, after a meeting with U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari and the deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration. "Maryland has the resources to move forward.

President Barack Obama turned to Maryland for another high-level appointment Friday as the White House announced that he intends to name Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari to the No. 2 position in the U.S. Department of Transportation. In choosing Porcari, Obama has selected one of the few state transportation secretaries whose portfolio includes all the major modes of travel - highways, aviation, mass transit, maritime commerce and rail freight. If he clears the required background checks and is confirmed by the Senate, Porcari would serve as deputy to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Illinois congressman and a Republican.

  U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's decision to leave the Obama administration, which was announced Tuesday, could provide an opening for his No. 2: Former Maryland transportation official John D. Porcari.   Though his name is rarely on the speculative short list for the top spot, Porcari has run the day-to-day operations of the department since he was sworn in as Deputy Transportation Secretary in 2009. Porcari served as Maryland's top transportation official from 1999 to 2003 and from 2007 until he went to work for the Obama administration.

Maryland's second-highest court has ruled that Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration was within its rights to fire a holdover patronage employee from former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s term. Monday's ruling - the latest in a long-running legal saga surrounding state personnel practices - was in the case of Gregory Maddalone, who was fired shortly after O'Malley, a Democrat, came into office in 2007 after defeating Ehrlich, a Republican. Maddalone, a former ice dancer, was a central figure in an investigation by Democratic lawmakers who accused the Ehrlich administration of firing longtime state employees for political reasons and hiring "loyalists" to replace them.

Gov. Martin O'Malley intends to name Beverley K. Swaim-Staley to his Cabinet as transportation secretary, the first woman to serve in that position in Maryland, according to administration aides. O'Malley, plans to announce her appointment and that of Edward Chow Jr. as secretary of veterans affairs during a news conference today at the State House in Annapolis. Both must be confirmed by the Maryland Senate when the General Assembly reconvenes in January. Swaim-Staley, 52, has been acting secretary since her former boss, John D. Porcari, went to Washington to serve in President Barack Obama's administration as a deputy transportation secretary.

Gov. Martin O'Malley named Deputy Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley as acting secretary of transportation Thursday, replacing John D. Porcari, whose nomination by President Barack Obama as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation was confirmed last week. Swaim-Staley, a veteran Maryland transportation official, will take over Monday, when Porcari will be sworn in as the No. 2 official in the federal department. Swaim-Staley became deputy in 2007 after Porcari was named to the secretary post for his second go-round.

President Barack Obama turned to Maryland for another high-level appointment Friday as the White House announced that he intends to name Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari to the No. 2 position in the U.S. Department of Transportation. In choosing Porcari, Obama has selected one of the few state transportation secretaries whose portfolio includes all the major modes of travel - highways, aviation, mass transit, maritime commerce and rail freight. If he clears the required background checks and is confirmed by the Senate, Porcari would serve as deputy to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Illinois congressman and a Republican.

E-ZPass might not be as E-Z on your wallet after July. The Maryland Transportation Authority proposed yesterday to begin charging owners of the electronic toll-collection devices a fee of $1.50 a month - whether they use them or not. The authority also outlined plans to charge E-ZPass users for new or replacement transponders and to raise tolls by 33 percent to 80 percent for heavy trucks and vehicles pulling trailers. The changes, which are expected to be approved this month, are part of a package of measures the authority is proposing this year in order to raise an added $60 million to finance its operations.

With wildfires in Allegany and Harford counties under control, firefighters were battling yesterday Sunday to contain a separate blaze that consumed more than 400 acres in Washington County. The wildfire was burning about three miles northeast of Clear Spring, in the Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources said. The blaze has not caused any injuries or property damage and was 70 percent contained by sundown yesterday, said DNR spokesman Charles F. Porcari.

A body believed to be that of a Prince George's County man who disappeared after falling off a sailboat into the Chesapeake Bay on Wednesday was discovered yesterday on the shore near the Anne Arundel-Calvert county line. A woman walking her dog discovered the body about 7:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Bay Front Ave., said Chuck Porcari, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The location is about a mile from where William A. Seidensticker, 46, of Forestville was last seen, Porcari said.

A major criticism of a government-financed stimulus package that relies on spending huge sums to rebuild the nation's public infrastructure is the lag between the measure's passage and the resulting jobs. Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari has good reason to think that's not much of a problem this time around. That's because he's got a stack of more than $310 million worth of transportation-related projects ready to go. In some cases, there are jobs that might literally be created within hours of the bill's enactment - resurfacing contracts, for instance, that can be immediately expanded to restore miles of aging highway.