State Address

Gov. Martin O'Malley charted a course for the state through a national recession yesterday, pledging to protect safety net programs, freeze college tuition and eradicate childhood hunger. The Democratic governor laid out the vision in his third State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly, which must approve many of his plans. In a 30-minute speech, O'Malley said he "never felt more energized" despite bleak economic times, and repeatedly invoked President Barack Obama's name, drawing applause in the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature.

On a day marked by pomp, pageantry and a parade, Gov. Parris N. Glendening began his second term yesterday with a declaration that "we have only just begun" to address the challenges of education, the environment and civil rights.Buoyed by his strong electoral showing in November -- a striking contrast to the slim margin by which he won his first term in 1994 -- Glendening delivered an inaugural address that was uncompromising in its liberalism."In the next four years, we will build more, invest more, do more to raise standards, expect more in our classrooms, and make teaching a more rewarding and more honored profession," the governor said.

The text of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's State of the State address delivered to a joint session of the Maryland House and Senate yesterday:Senate President Mike Miller; Speaker Cas Taylor; members of the General Assembly; Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Attorney General Joe Curran; Comptroller Bobby Swann; Comptroller-elect William Donald Schaefer; Treasurer Richard Dixon; Chief Judge Bob Bell; Secretary of State John Willis; my wife, Frances Anne,...

IN celebrating his second inauguration as governor of Maryland, Parris N. Glendening challenged listeners to answer some big questions. "What should we become?" "What is in our hearts?" "What ought we to be, as a people, and as a society?"Mr. Glendening's answer can be boiled down to "three e's" -- education, environment and equality.His vision of the next century focuses on better classroom learning, open access to college, protection of Maryland's "green infrastructure," and tolerance of the state's diverse population.

The new year of 1998 finds us blessed. The state of the state is good. The state of the state is very good. We are enjoying the best economy in more than a decade. Our citizens enjoy enhanced security and feel a renewed sense of optimism.Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Speaker and each member of this General Assembly for your hard work. Thank you also for your dedication to the citizens of Maryland.You can be rightfully proud of your efforts, and our efforts together, over the past three years.

EARLY IN HIS State of the State address yesterday, Gov. Parris N. Glendening told state legislators, "The 'state of our state' is sound." Maryland has emerged, slowly, from the recession and is experiencing modest growth. But is that enough to support Mr. Glendening's sweeping agenda?This is the pivotal question for lawmakers. Within his $15.5 billion budget, the governor has included some costly initiatives, such as a 10-percent income-tax cut, free-tuition for B-average students and free medical care for pregnant women earning up to $39,000 a year.

In a State of the State address focused on families and children, Gov. Parris N. Glendening made the case yesterday for an ambitious legislative agenda highlighted by an income tax cut and new spending on education, health and the environment.Hoping to develop momentum for a General Assembly session that could be crucial to his re-election chances, Glendening offered proposals with potentially broad public appeal, but which legislators say could be too expensive.The goal, Glendening said, is straightforward.

Governor invites 5th-grader to State of the State addressSherkia Collins, the Mills-Parole Elementary School fifth-grader who spoke in October at the unveiling of the Thurgood Marshall statue on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis, has been invited by Gov. Parris N. Glendening to attend today's State of the State address.Math competition team to receive trophies todayCentral Middle School's mathematics competition team will receive trophies today, and its adviser, Paul Marshall, a plaque.The school is on Central Avenue in Edgewater.

Here is a partial text of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's State of the State address:Last Monday, like most Monday mornings for the last 12 years, I was at University Park Elementary School. That is where Raymond attended school. And that is where I have volunteered in the library several times a month stacking books, reading with children and working with small groups of students.Besides having the pleasure of watching the professionals at University Park Elementary School do a very good job well, I get to see really eager, earnest faces of Maryland's future and each time I am reminded of the real purpose of why you and I are here: for our children.

ANNAPOLIS -- What we have here in the state Capitol is the rolling of eyeballs, the shrugging of the shoulders. You ask about the promised state money for the schools of Baltimore. The eyes go 'round. You watch legislators' reactions to their governor, who talks of tax cuts and scholarships and little children. And the shoulders hunch into the neck, the gesture of mixed emotions.When Parris N. Glendening stepped into the House chamber last week to deliver his State of the State address, he was greeted by an avalanche of ambivalence.

Gov. Martin O'Malley charted a course for the state through a national recession yesterday, pledging to protect safety net programs, freeze college tuition and eradicate childhood hunger. The Democratic governor laid out the vision in his third State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly, which must approve many of his plans. In a 30-minute speech, O'Malley said he "never felt more energized" despite bleak economic times, and repeatedly invoked President Barack Obama's name, drawing applause in the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature.

As he delivers the State of the State address Thursday, Gov. Martin O'Malley reaches the midpoint of his term. On the morning the General Assembly opened its 2009 legislative session, I sat down with him in Annapolis to take stock of the state of his governorship at the two-year mark. As he munched a bacon-and-egg-on-rye sandwich in the specially designated governor's booth at Chick and Ruth's Delly on Main Street, I asked him to rate his performance. He rattled off various policies, assigning mostly A's and B's on everything from public safety to energy conservation.

A week before the governor delivers his "State of the State" address in the ornate Maryland House of Delegates chamber, the state's tax collector will today orate on the "State of the Treasury" in a Bethesda bank building. It will be the first such address in recent memory by a state comptroller -- and one sure to raise eyebrows about Peter Franchot's political aspirations. He says he's just following the law of the land. "It's very specific in the state constitution," said Franchot, a Montgomery County Democrat.

Here are selected excerpts from Gov. Martin O'Malley's first State of the State address to the Maryland General Assembly: Overview "Fourteen days into the four years the people of our state have given to us to make progress, I am glad to join you today and report that thanks to the hard work of our fellow citizens for decades, maybe indeed centuries past, and despite the drift of recent years, the state of our state, today, is strong. "Today Maryland is the second-wealthiest state in the union.

Gov. Martin O'Malley used his first State of the State address to strike a cooperative tone with Maryland lawmakers, calling for more corrections officers for a beleaguered prison system and for a program to help small businesses find more affordable health coverage, while reiterating his pledge to push for $400 million in school construction funds. The former Baltimore mayor also used sharp language to call for "an end to the cruel and antiquated practice of using ground rents to evict families from their homes."

When a slate of bills sponsored by Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. reached a state Senate committee last year, his supporters had to wait in a hallway for three hours before getting the chance to testify, only to be told by irritated Democratic lawmakers that they had heard about those issues "a zillion times." Yesterday, after Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley delivered his first State of the State address, punctuated with pledges to partner with legislators, a bill that would create a new state accountability program was promptly heard by the Senate's Budget and Taxation Committee.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has crafted his first State of the State address around the lives of five Marylanders he met during the past year, using their stories today to illustrate his administration's goals. During the 45-minute speech to be delivered at noon inside the State House chambers of the House of Delegates in Annapolis, Ehrlich will introduce an Eastern Shore waterman, a family torn by gun violence and residents who represent the benefits of education, drug treatment and services for people with disabilities.

Today's highlights 11:30 a.m.Senate meets, Senate chamber. 11:45 a.m.House of Delegates meets, House chamber. NoonGov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. delivers State of the State address, House chamber.

Today's highlights 11:30 a.m. Senate meets, Senate chamber. 11:45 a.m. House of Delegates meets, House chamber. Noon Gov. Parris N. Glendening delivers his final State of the State address, House chamber. 3 p.m. House Appropriations Committee, briefing on privatization of child support enforcement programs, Room 130, Lowe House Office Building.

This is the prepared text of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's State of the State address, delivered yesterday: Senate President Mike Miller, Speaker Cas Taylor, members of the General Assembly, Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Chief Judge Bob Bell, Attorney General Joe Curran, Treasurer Richard Dixon, Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, Secretary of State John Willis, friends and fellow Marylanders: It is my pleasure and great honor to come...