Walter Baker

TCQuote of the day"If I was hungry, I'd buy myself a meal before I hired a lawyer -- and I'm a lawyer."Sen. Walter M. Baker,D-Cecil, complaining thatMaryland Legal Services Corp.has more money than itneeds to serve the legalneeds of those who cannotafford themTodayB6 10 a.m.: Board of Public Works meets, State House.10 a.m.: House and Senate convene, State House.p.m.: House Judiciary Committee considers Senate bill to prohibit possession of child pornography, Room 120, House Office Building.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland's title companies won Round One in a legislative fight that they said threatened to raise home settlement costs by imposing millions of dollars in taxes on the industry.The victory came from Sen. Walter M. Baker, D-Cecil, the sponsor of a bill that would have required title companies to pay the state some of the interest they earn by holding client trust accounts.Currently, law firms, which do many of the same real estate settlement services as title companies, must give up that earned interest to the non-profit Maryland Legal Services Corp.

The House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly last night to regulate a wide variety of legal gambling in Maryland, including commercial bingo parlors, slot machines, casino nights and tip jars.Sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Kent County Democrat R. Clayton Mitchell Jr., the bill was approved, without debate, by a vote of 123-1.The measure now goes to the Senate, where its reception is unlikely to be so warm."I've not seen where there's a problem," said Sen. Walter M. Baker, a Cecil Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

Dinah Lynch knew someone wanted to hurt her. But she had to wait until the man fired 11 rounds into her bedroom, missing her by inches, before she could use the law to put him away for more than 30 days.The Bowie woman had been stalked for more than a year by a co-worker, an Amtrak passenger engineer like herself. He followed her everywhere, taunted her on the telephone, and even moved to her neighborhood.Under current Maryland law, all she could do was complain of harassment, a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

WalterBaker (Friday in Lincoln Center) Walter Baker decided to showcase his collection in "The Box," which is where models actually do live mannequin-like modeling. This is a cool concept because you are able to get a close view of each garment. It also exposes any imperfections and weaknesses in the collection. Baker didn't have any. His pieces from this W118 collection were diverse. The colors were eye-popping. And the silhouettes were stunning. The models, wearing and earphones, stood alongside a stage in a V formation.

Lawyers and title agents are warming up for their annual battle over interest on client escrow accounts -- the interest earned on the large sums of money they hold briefly when their clients buy homes.Last year's struggle became particularly nasty as various lawmakers dragged legal and housing programs for the poor into the fray. After dozens of late-session machinations, the fight ended in a stand-off.This year's legislative proposal has Sen. Walter Baker, chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee and a longtime enemy of the Maryland Legal Services Corp.

There's no backing down for Gov. William Donald Schaefer. This may be his final year in office, but he's in there battling aggressively for his "people programs." His State of the State address yesterday was typically Schaeferesque -- warm, informal, ambitious and, above all, caring."We can be so good, we can do so much," he reminded members of the General Assembly. He correctly challenged them to make this session more than an election-year gathering where little is accomplished. His package of proposals serves as an able guidepost for senators and delegates.

Those who expected Gov. William Donald Schaefer to deliver a tepid and meek final State of the State address yesterday were off-base. Mr. Schaefer is a battler. He set out yet another ambitious agenda for lawmakers, challenging them to mock the notion that all of them are lame ducks.In many ways it was a typical Schaefer pep talk. "We help people. That's our job," he said at the outset. His long shopping list targeted a variety of people-helping subjects -- public safety, public health, welfare reform, public school aid. Legislators would make a mistake by ignoring these proposals.

With the halfway point of this year's General Assembly session behind us, there's not much encouraging news. Lawmakers seem stuck on issues of sports: Is the cost too high for Maryland to open its arms and welcome Jack Kent Cooke's Redskins to Laurel? Can electioneering legislators kill plans for a Baltimore football stadium and divvy up the cash for pet projects?These are the questions that dominate State House discussion. Yet lawmakers are supposed to be dealing with such knotty social issues as handgun control, health-care reforms, scholarship reforms, procurement reforms, welfare reforms and a needle-exchange program for the city.