State Agencies

ONE BY ONE, public information officers for various state agencies arrived at the second floor of the State House on Wednesday for an unusual meeting. The governor's communications office wanted them together to discuss "creating a statewide communications, marketing and advertising effort that will improve how we communicate with Marylanders about what the governor and state agencies are doing to deliver services that will make their lives better," according to a memorandum from Paul E. Schurick, head of the governor's communications office.

More than 40 charities, nonprofits and government agencies in Maryland this week will learn if they are to receive anywhere from $5,000 to more than $300,000 as part of a settlement with Bank of America. Just in time for the holidays! The $67 nationwide settlement was announced about a year ago. According to Maryland Attorney General  Douglas F. Gansler, Bank of America was part of a scheme to “rig bids and engage in other anti-competitive conduct that defrauded state agencies, county governments, and non-profits in their purchase of municipal bond derivatives.”  Overall, Bank of America agreed last year to pay a total of $137 million to settle with states as well as the SEC, IRS, the Fed, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Nutcracker will grace the stage of the Amoss Center in Bel Air as Harford Dance Theatre presents the holiday production Nov. 26 and 27 and Dec. 4. There will be a full-length performance on Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. In addition, there will be matinees for youth ages 5 to 12 with post-show events on Nov. 27 and Dec. 4 at 1 and 4 p.m., when audience members can meet Clara and her Nutcracker Prince, Mother Ginger, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Uncle Drosselmeier....

Michael Dresser 's fine article "Foes, supporters clash over Plan Maryland" (Dec. 12) finally made clear to me the statist, collectivist underpinnings of this "plan. " Reading about it on the Internet was futile because I was unable to penetrate the political camouflage. Mr. Dresser quotes Maryland Planning Secretary Richard Hall as saying "the plan does not create new law. " But Senate Minority leader E.J. Pipkin says "it should be a bill. " Herein lies the crux of the deception by the proponents of the "plan.

The HCC Actors Guild will perform "The Pillowman" Feb. 22 and 23 and March 1 and 2 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 24 and March 3 at 3 p.m. at Harford Community College, Joppa Hall, Black Box Theatre. This dark comedy by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh tells the tale of Katurian, a fiction writer living in a police state who is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of bizarre child murders occurring in his town. The play received two Tony Awards and the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Play.

"The Nutcracker" will grace the stage of the Amoss Center in Bel Air as Harford Dance Theatre presents the holiday production Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 and 2. There will be a full-length performance on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. In addition, there will be matinees for youth ages 5 to 12 with post-show events on Dec. 1 and 2 at 1 and 4 p.m., where audience members can meet Clara and her Nutcracker Prince, Mother Ginger and the Sugar Plum Fairy. All of their favorite ballerinas will be signing autographs, so be sure to bring a pen. Tickets cost $8 to $15 and are available online at tickets.harford.edu or in person at the HCC Ticket Office in the Chesapeake Center.

Theatreworks USA is presenting "Seussical the Musical" on Sept. 30 at the Amoss Center at Harford Technical High School in Campus Hills. Adapted from the Broadway version, The Cat in the Hat hosts this fun-filled musical romp through the Seuss classics featuring the beloved characters who intertwine themselves in an incredible crazy-quilt adventure. This show is recommended for all ages. Tickets are $7 to $12 and may be purchased by calling the Harford Community College ticket office at 443-412-2211.

In the middle of this year's legislative session, a powerful state senator lobbied the governor and two state agencies in a last-ditch effort to derail an incinerator that could take business from a company he's paid to represent.The state budget was still pending before his Budget and Taxation Committee when Sen. Laurence Levitan contacted Gov. William Donald Schaefer and the natural resources and environment departments on behalf of a law client,Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.Mr. Levitan was hoping that state officials would block a $360 million incinerator project in Montgomery County.

Can former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., now running for his old job this year in a rematch against Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley, continue to host his popular talk show on WBAL Radio without declaring his time on the air as an in-kind campaign contribution? That's the question Maryland Democrats are asking the state elections board to resolve. Mr. Ehrlich says he doesn't have to report the air time's value — which potentially could be worth tens of thousands of dollars — until he formally files as a candidate with the state elections board in July.

Gov. Martin O'Malley called Maryland's often lengthy and confusing business permit process "one of the weaknesses of our state" Thursday — and then signed an executive order aimed at easing it. The new program he ordered, called "Fast Track," is supposed to help speed projects with significant economic impact in specific areas — so long as they would not adversely affect the state's environmental and Smart Growth goals. A developer who qualifies for Fast Track will be told up front whether his or her proposal has any chance of being approved, or whether the state will fight "tooth and nail" against it, O'Malley said.