Walter Baker

One man appears to be standing in the way of efforts to pry Maryland legislators' fingers from a $7.9 million pot of scholarship money.With less than two weeks left in the General Assembly session, bills to abolish the legislative scholarship program are stuck in a committee led by Baltimore Sen. Clarence W. Blount. Reformers fear that he plans to let the bills die there by refusing to schedule a vote.The measures would take the college scholarships away from legislators and give them to the nonpolitical Maryland Scholarship Administration to distribute.

Whipping post recommended for criminalsEach day, we read about the intolerable and almost unbelievable stories of violent crime and suggested cures. The most mentioned are more prisons, longer mandatory sentences and gun control.These would punish taxpayers. It costs from $25,000 to $30,000 a year to keep a criminal in prison. Gun control means taking guns from law-abiding citizens who need them more and more for personal protection.We should encourage the keeping of weapons by our citizens.

Former state Sen. Walter M. Baker, who had served in the legislature representing the upper Eastern Shore for more than two decades and also had been a Cecil County attorney, died Tuesday of complications from diabetes at Christiana Hospital in Delaware. The longtime Elkton resident was 84. "Walter was a lifelong Democrat. He was from a large family that was rural and poor, and he grew up with a great sense of values," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. "He was conservative, and loved the Eastern Shore and reflected its conservative values.

An article in Sunday's Sun misstated state Sen. Thomas L. Bromwell's campaign fund raising relative to that of Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. Miller has raised $452,297, exceeding Bromwell's $437,896. A chart accompanying the article misstated the amount of state Sen. Walter M. Baker's fund raising. He has raised $93,121.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 9/03/98

Michael E. Busch: House speaker flexes muscle, outmaneuvers governor, stops slots. Cas Taylor's shoes fit just fine. Delaware and West Virginia: Maryland's gambling dollars continue to pay for their schools and roads, at least for one more year. Brian E. Frosh: Nice-guy liberal senator makes Republicans miss ex-chairman Walter Baker. Blocks Ehrlich's environmental secretary, kills crime package. James C. DiPaula Jr.: The man known as Chip makes fluid transition from campaign manager to budget chieftain, winning friends along the way. Donald E. Murphy: The man behind medical marijuana proves more effective out of office than he was as a delegate.

Gambling is BIG business in this state. Yet much of wha goes on isn't regulated. Law enforcement agencies are often helpless to do anything about suspicious situations involving tens of millions in cash generated by this gambling mania.Look at the situation in Prince George's County. Only weeks ago, the Internal Revenue Service raided three casinos there suspected of falsifying their financial statements. Three other casino fund-raising establishments are also under active investigation by the IRS. In one case, a casino group reported XTC receipts of $800,000 over 18 months.

A key Senate panel yesterday approved a bill that would strengthen Maryland's drunken driving laws by making a .10 percent blood-alcohol level absolute proof of intoxication.The Judicial Proceedings Committee -- where many haexpected a pitched battle -- sent the bill to the Senate floor on a unanimous voice vote. A similar measure has already been approved by the House of Delegates.Supporters believed Senate Bill 256 was in trouble in the Senatcommittee because the chairman, Sen. Walter M. Baker, a Cecil County Democrat, opposed it.But the chairman voted for the bill after winning approval of an amendment that would require prosecutors to turn over to the accused the maintenance records of the Breathalyzer used to test the alcohol level.

The Maryland Senate approved a bill yesterday to increase mutual fund directors' protections against lawsuits, rejecting opponents' arguments that its retroactive provisions unfairly seek to influence a pending lawsuit. The Senate voted to pass the measure, which the Maryland State Bar Association had criticized as a "snake," by a 36-12 margin. Last week, senators rejected by a 24-22 vote an amendment stripping the retroactive provision. A "snake" is generally defined as an obscure piece of legislation, usually little understood by members and crafted to benefit a particular special interest.

Ramona Singer knows a thing or two about being camera-ready. As one of the original cast members of "The Real Housewives of New York," Singer is used to being in the public eye. That means being Paparazzi-prepared. Singer isn't trying to chance being included on anyone's worst dressed list. So she makes sure she keeps on top of trends at events. That means going to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. We caught up with the television personality at the Walter Baker show at Lincoln Center.

Christiane Amanpour was spotted Friday by our own Hilary Phelps at Bar Boulud, a restaurant near Lincoln Center frequented by New York Fashion Week attendees. The veteran journo was eating soup and sipping on what appeared to be a pink grapefruit cocktail, according to Phelps.   Ramona Singer was spotted Friday making her rounds at various shows. We first saw the "Real Housewives of New York" star at designer Walter Baker's show at "The Box" in Lincoln Center. Singer was dressed in a lovely form-fitting Moroccan blue dress, which is one of the top colors of the season.