Signatures

Wendy Rosen is the Democratic candidate for Congress in Maryland's 1st District but the Cockeysville businesswoman was busy Friday campaigning for a Libertarian. In an e-mail, Rosen's campaign implored supporters to sign a petition that would will help put Libertarian candidate Muir Boda on the ballot in November. Doing so, the e-mail said, would take votes away from incumbent Republican Rep. Andy Harris. "You can help me win this election by helping a third candidate enter the race," read the e-mail, which included a link to the state Libertarian Party's webpage.

Chick-fil-A will celebrate the opening of its new restaurant in Forest Hill on July 26 by giving away a free year's supply of Chick-fil-A to the first 100 adults in line grand opening morning. Chick-fil-A's "First 100 Celebration" has become a hallmark of each grand opening since the chain first held the event in Arizona in 2003. The latest Chick-fil-A First 100 celebration will be at 1980 Rock Spring Road, where the chain will award a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A Meals (52 certificates)

Hundreds of Green Party members arrived Thursday in Baltimore to pick a candidate for president, even as the party has been forced to scramble for a spot on Maryland's ballot this fall. The national convention, which is taking place at the University of Baltimore before moving to a downtown hotel, doesn't have the glitz Democrats and Republicans will bring when they nominate Barack Obama and Mitt Romney later this year. But getting away from the money pervasive in national politics, Green Party leaders said, is at least partly the point.

A group trying to overturn the state's new Congressional map received good news from the Board of Elections today: They've hit their mark. As of this afternoon, the board had certified 56,325 signatures on a petition to challenge the new Congressional map. That is 589 more than the bare minimum needed to trigger a referendum, and the board still has another 2,900 signatures to go this afternoon.  The state Board of Elections plan to...

Activists trying to trigger a referendum on Maryland's new congressional map were within striking distance of their goal Monday, with the state's Board of Elections accepting 46,700 names after analyzing about 80 percent of the signatures submitted. The count shows that the repeal effort, led by Republican Del. Neil Parrott of Western Maryland, is close to the goal, though success is not assured. Maryland law requires 55,736 valid signatures to trigger a referendum. Republicans have argued that the new map is a gerrymandered swirl of lines, drawn to add a seventh Democrat to the state's eight-member delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives and to give Democratic incumbents the neighborhoods they desired.

The Western Maryland Republican leading the effort to repeal the state's new Congressional map says he believes the signatures they collected will withstand Board of Elections. "This was a very thorough validation process," said Del. Neil Parrott, R-Washington, speaking at an Annapolis news conference. To make his point, the delegate held up a passel of signed petitions that he opted not to submit due to errors. Parrott and other Republicans have so far turned in 65,722 signatures in two batches - about 10,000 more than needed to put the question to voters on the November ballot.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Monday to be mostly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 92 and north winds between 5 and 8 miles per hour. There is a 30 percent chance of precipitation. Forecasters are warning that afternoon heat index values will reach 100 to 102 degrees. Monday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 73 and a 30 percent chance of precipitation. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute.

A Republican-led effort to overturn Maryland's new Congressional map has theoretically turned in enough signatures to trigger a state-wide referendum, but the margin is so tight that it is still unclear if the issue will go to voters. The group, led by Del. Neil Parrott, filed a final batch of 36,267 signatures to the Maryland Secretary of State's Office late Saturday evening, according to documents obtained by The Sun. That brings the total number of signatures turned in to 63,030.

Irene Hopkins could only grasp for an explanation as Republican Del. Nic Kipke showed her the way Anne Arundel County had been cut up on Maryland's congressional map. "I think they were drunk when they made it up, or at least feeling very spiteful," said the Pasadena woman. "Anne Arundel is a large county, and we should at least be a district unto ourselves. " It was exactly the kind of response Kipke hoped to elicit as he showed the map, which he equated to "spider legs jumping all over the state," to voters from his county on Saturday morning.