State House

That recent 90-day stand-off in the Maryland State House between Gov. William Donald Schaefer and the General Assembly could pose major obstacles to the smooth running of state government in the months ahead. Unless the two sides lower their voices, restrain their tempers and work cooperatively, there could be unprecedented gridlock in Annapolis.Government paralysis benefits no one. Mr. Schaefer cannot do his job effectively without approval of his plans by the legislature. At the same time, lawmakers cannot implement their own policy initiatives without the help of the administrative arm of government run by Mr. Schaefer.

Is former Del. John S. Arnick of Baltimore County unfit to serve as a District Court judge because of obscene and abusive comments he made to two women, as one witness alleged this week? Have similar incidents occurred? Without firm action in Annapolis, we may never find out. The approval process in the State House for judges and other appointees is so superficial that Mr. Arnick's appointment may never receive careful scrutiny.That is unfair -- both to the public and to Mr. Arnick. The Senate's Executive Nominations Committee, which handles approval of the governor's appointments, is little more than a rubber-stamp.

Casper R. Taylor won a one-year tryout from Democrats in the House of Delegates yesterday. If the 58-year-old Cumberland delegate handles the job of House speaker with skill and finesse, he could wind up with a five-year run. But if dissatisfaction arises, or if Mr. Taylor's coziness with special-interest lobbyists becomes an issue, his show could close after next year's election.It will be a delicate high-wire act. Ambitious delegates from the Baltimore and Washington regions are already maneuvering for a battle with Mr. Taylor following the 1994 elections, in which incumbents must run in redrawn districts.

Vandals spray-painted graffito on a wall around the State House and at least five other locations in the Annapolis historic district, Annapolis police said.The graffito -- including racial slurs and white 3-foot-high "KKK" letters -- were discovered Tuesday morning on several houses, the First Church of Christ Scientist, benches outside the James Senate Office Building and the Legislative Services Building, police said.

David Nitkin, whose reporting as The Sun's State House bureau chief made him the target of a ban by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was named yesterday the paper's state political editor. In announcing the promotion, Sun editor Timothy A. Franklin said it was not related to the governor's order from last fall that bans state employees from speaking with Nitkin and columnist Michael Olesker. Nitkin has said the order has made his job more difficult, as regular sources no longer speak to him. But in a note to the newsroom staff, Franklin wrote, "Frankly, that was not our concern in making this decision.

Hundreds of Maryland state troopers and their families marched in neat formation to the State House in Annapolis this morning to protest the governor's plan to fire more than 100 of their co-workers.Uniformed officers carried banners reading "Save Your Troopers." They formed a sea of khaki as they walked down Rowe Boulevard, forcing that main route into Annapolis to close temporarily.As they passed state government offices along the way, office workers leaned out windows and shouted their support.

All politics might be local but, in Maryland, if you're a lobbyist for companies that make cigarettes, you'd much rather wage your battle in Annapolis.First of all, you know Annapolis. As a matter of fact, you might have gone there once as an elected official, way back when the world was young and you were not yet jaded.Second, you know all the restaurants, hotels and other schmoozeries. You know how to schmooze the schmoes, having been schmoozed yourself once. Third -- and this might be the most important reason -- all your pals are in Annapolis, including the president of the Senate.

The cornerstone for the Annapolis State House was laid in March 1772 by the governor of the colony, Robert Eden. It was a propitious period in the thriving seaport, poised on the edge of revolution. Yet the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a regular presence, too, with human cargo disembarking from the docks a short walk from the State House site. The project was unfinished in 1783 when Annapolis was briefly the national capital and Congress met here, under a leaky roof. The handsome dome that we see today was not done until 1788.

A St. Mary's County man was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday for spray painting slogans on columns outside the State House in Annapolis. James P. Cusick Sr., 44, of Hollywood, was sentenced in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court for spray painting "THIEVES OF CHILD SUPPORT" and "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL" in large red letters, state police said. He had been arrested for writing the same graffiti on a St. Mary's County government building in 1999. Cusick was also fined $2,500 and sentenced to make $1,250 in restitution, police said.