Washington And Baltimore

A futuristic 300 mile-an-hour train that would run silently between Washington and Baltimore moved one step closer to reality yesterday as Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke appointed a committee to help promote the magnetic levitation rail line for Baltimore.The maglev train, as it is known, could rush commuters between the two cities in as few as 15 minutes, not counting a stop at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. But it probably won't be built here unless the mayor's Maglev Advisory Committee can raise $500,000 from non-federal sources to match a grant included in the U.S. Transportation Department's appropriation bill.

WASHINGTON -- It came as no surprise when President Bush ordered special 8 percent raises for federal employees in the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas last week.And while union leaders hailed the move -- taken under authority granted Bush in the new pay comparability act to help agencies in areas with recruitment-retention problems -- lawmakers in the Baltimore-Washington area felt left out.When Bush signaled early on that he wanted to aid the three cities, key members of Congress, including Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-5th, made sure that there was language in the pay comparability act to allow other areas to be considered.