Referendum

A group of development-wary residents have filed a lawsuit against Howard County that claims the government's process of making land-use decisions illegally denies citizens the right to challenge them by referendum. The 124-page suit, filed in federal court by residents contesting three prominent development projects, is the latest salvo in the decades-long clash over growth in the well-heeled county of about 270,000. The suit alleges that the county has violated the county charter for years by making land-use decisions via County Council resolutions and administrative decisions instead of by bill or ordinance.

Maryland lawmakers gave final approval last night to a referendum on slot machine gambling, sending to voters an issue that has bitterly divided politicians in Annapolis for years. On a frenzied day of legislating three weeks into a tumultuous special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley to close the state's projected $1.7 billion budget gap, the Senate approved the referendum as it juggled measures related to taxes, health care and the environment. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said after the vote that the only way the General Assembly could move forward with slots is through a referendum - and he faulted Republicans for "not participating" in the legislation.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch had a spring in his step as he walked toward his State House office yesterday morning. "What a difference a day maaaakes," he crooned. "Just twenty-foourrr hours later ... " Indeed, 24 hours before, a fragile coalition behind the slot machine gambling referendum in the House of Delegates was crumbling. But by the time Busch was singing his way down the hall, albeit with some of the wrong lyrics, the referendum was hours away from passing, 86 to 52. What happened was a case of intense closed-door negotiations, some classic Busch legislative legerdemain, a tirade from Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, and some late-night lobbying by Gov. Martin O'Malley in a swanky Annapolis bar. It was, Annapolis veterans say, about the craziest day they've ever seen.

Parents and teachers know that consistent enforcement is critical. A child or student does not thrive with mixed messages; the policies of the home or classroom must be reliable to ensure effective management. Yet in adult relationships - and in relations between nations - the importance of consistency is often forgotten. This is certainly true of American policy toward Egypt, its closest Arab ally. While U.S. policies in the Middle East have never been dependable, let alone consistent, a recent blot on U.S. attempts to bring democracy and freedom has emerged in Egypt.

Reveling in voters' overwhelming approval of annexation of the Warfield Complex, Sykesville officials said yesterday the real work of developing the $20 million project can now begin.Mayor Jonathan Herman said more in-depth planning is needed before restoration can begin on the 15 aging buildings, once part of Springfield Hospital Center on Route 32. Officials are seeking state money to begin what many expect to be a 20-year project.Until Wednesday's referendum -- which resulted from a petition by residents concerned with the project's cost -- the town had to put its plans and its prospects on hold.

Reveling in voters' overwhelming approval of annexation of the Warfield Complex, Sykesville officials said yesterday the real work of developing the $20 million project can now begin.Mayor Jonathan Herman said more in-depth planning is needed before restoration can begin on the 15 aging buildings, once part of Springfield Hospital Center on Route 32. Officials are seeking state money to begin what many expect to be a 20-year project.Until Wednesday's referendum -- which resulted from a petition by residents concerned with the project's cost -- the town had to put its plans and its prospects on hold.

THE NEXT OBSTACLE in the tortuous road to peace in Northern Ireland is twin referendums May 22. Simple majorities for the settlement in the province and in the Irish Republic are probable. That's not good enough.The key to making the settlement succeed would be a decisive majority in its favor among Protestant voters in Northern Ireland. Such an outcome is not assured. Protestants are a small majority of the people in Northern Ireland but a substantial majority of voters who turn out and who will elect the majorities to the new Northern Ireland Assembly for years.

On a recent campaign stop at the University of Maryland, College Park, Gov. Parris N. Glendening seemed to find his element. For an hour, he talked with a group of honor students, enthusiastically outlining his proposal for a new state-funded scholarship for those who want to make teaching their career.Glendening, who taught at College Park for a quarter century and calls education his "passion," turned to a reporter as he left and beamed."You can tell I really like this stuff, can't you?"

SYKESVILLE'S referendum on development of the newly annexed Warfield property may not have been necessary, but a sufficient number of residents petitioned for the vote, and it will be held this winter. No date has been set.Opponents of the project say it could impose higher municipal taxes and debt on town residents. They collected 576 signatures to hold the referendum, well above the 350 names the law requires. Critics say the arguments used to persuade petition signers were misleading, that many signers viewed it as a referendum on tax increases.

Don't worry, LY. You'll be back. They can kick you out of the Senate - you could even resign tearfully - but you probably can win re-election in your district, even as soon as this fall. (Filing deadline: July 6.) I'm sure heir-apparent and ardent supporter Clarence M. Mitchell IV (the breathless CM4) will step aside, when the time is right - right? - to let you have your seat back.Seat back.Sounds like setback.Which is all this is, right?The smart boys in the legislature - those valedictorians in the Jos. A. Bank suits, the ones who speak of "integrity" and "public trust" - will ride you out of the Senate for your blatant ethics violations, but that won't matter.

A drive to put Maryland's new speed-camera law to a statewide vote failed to gather the necessary signatures for a referendum, prompting local officials to immediately vow Monday to deploy speed cameras in the Baltimore area. Maryland for Responsible Enforcement, the group organizing the petition drive, said it fell fewer than 2,000 signatures short of the required 17,883 signatures - or one-third of the total needed to put a referendum on the ballot in the next election. The group had to meet that initial threshold by midnight Sunday.

With hours to go before a crucial first deadline for activists seeking to overturn Maryland's new speed-camera law, volunteers are mounting a last-minute drive for signatures at supermarkets, Metro stations and community parades. On Saturday morning, Albert Nalley and five others fanned out through Arbutus and found what they said is an "undercurrent" of anger among residents who view the new law as a "money grab" by a state government with a "spending problem." "They fully understand the meaning of this legislation," said Nalley, a 58-year-old Catonsville resident.

A former Republican congressional candidate from Montgomery County is leading an effort to overturn by referendum Maryland's new speed-camera legislation. Daniel F. Zubairi, a Bethesda businessman, has formed Maryland for Responsible Enforcement and notified the state elections board that the group will try to collect the more than 53,000 signatures required to put the question to voters in a coming election. Zubairi said he intends to build a nonpartisan coalition that focuses on the largest counties but reaches across the state, noting that some Democrats crossed the aisle to oppose the Gov. Martin O'Malley-backed speed camera bill in the General Assembly.

A group of development-wary residents have filed a lawsuit against Howard County that claims the government's process of making land-use decisions illegally denies citizens the right to challenge them by referendum. The 124-page suit, filed in federal court by residents contesting three prominent development projects, is the latest salvo in the decades-long clash over growth in the well-heeled county of about 270,000. The suit alleges that the county has violated the county charter for years by making land-use decisions via County Council resolutions and administrative decisions instead of by bill or ordinance.

CARACAS, Venezuela -In the final days before a referendum that will determine whether President Hugo Chavez can run for re-election indefinitely, the campaign has an ugly edge. Anti-government protests have intensified in some cities, despite government pressure, and pro-Chavez vigilantes have attacked institutions such as the Caracas mayor's office and the Vatican's diplomatic mission. The chief of a leading opposition party, Democratic Action leader Henry Ramos, said a hand grenade exploded late Saturday, shattering windows and damaging the facade of its Caracas headquarters.

A proposal to allow Baltimore County Council members to work as state employees was not faring well last night. With just more than half of precincts counted, about 54 percent of the votes were against the proposed charter amendment. Voters approved the other nine referendum questions authorizing the county to borrow $255 million for a variety of purposes, including $105.2 million for school construction projects.

As the November referendum on slots nears, Maryland voters can expect a barrage of warnings from proponents about what a "no" vote could mean: cuts to public education and health care, higher taxes and the demise of the state's horse racing legacy. In recent years, though, voters in other states have rejected gambling initiatives sold as cure-alls for fiscal ailments, and the consequences have not been catastrophic, according to officials in Ohio, Nebraska, Rhode Island and elsewhere. Moreover, analysts and budget experts in Maryland caution that approving 15,000 slot machines here will not preclude the need for major spending cuts in coming months because of faltering economic conditions in the state and nation.

Maryland voters listening to the debate over legalizing slot-machine gambling in the state might be feeling a bit of deja vu - from the 2000 presidential race. Back then, George W. Bush and Al Gore frequently lobbed accusations of "fuzzy math" when attacking each other's proposals for health care, taxes and Social Security. Now, as voters prepare to head to the polls for the November slots referendum, the pro- and anti-slots camps are having a similar dispute over the amount of money slot machines would generate.

YANGON, Myanmar -- In this cyclone-ravaged country where most people have more important things on their minds, such as the daily struggle for fresh water, food and shelter, Myanmar's ruling generals sent their people to the polls yesterday to vote on a constitution that opponents call a cynical attempt to maintain the junta's grip on power. The regime insists that the vote to approve the new constitution, held in parts of the country that weren't affected by last weekend's devastating storm, is part of its road map to "discipline-flourishing genuine multiparty democracy."

BAGHDAD -- Kurdish lawmakers agreed yesterday to a six-month delay in a referendum on whether the oil-rich city of Kirkuk should join the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan or remain under Iraqi central government control. The delay had been expected because of problems in arranging logistics for the vote, which was supposed to have been held by the end of the year. A census to determine who would be eligible to vote, for instance, has not yet been done. But by putting off the issue, the lawmakers highlighted what has become a constant in Iraq: the inability of leaders to settle disputes whose resolution are considered key to ending ethnic and sectarian strife.