Gov. Martin O'Malley and others who work in the State House will soon move to the William Donald Schaefer Tower in Baltimore for an 8-month renovation of the historic Annapolis building.

The Schafer building is the state's satellite governor's office in Baltimore. But working in a building named after "Hizzoner" (as Baltimoreans called Mr. Schaefer, their former, beloved mayor) might be just a little unwelcoming for Mr. O'Malley.

Mr. O'Malley, also a former Baltimore mayor, and Mr. Schaefer have battled famously. Mr. Schaefer frequently criticized Mr. O'Malley's handling of city school system.

Mr. O'Malley said he already works out of the Baltimore office a few times a week.

— Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter, The Washington Times

Gov. Martin O'Malley drove a semantic stake through the school construction "beg-a-thon" yesterday, renaming the grueling ritual a "hope-a-thon."

Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, and the two other members of the state's Board of Public Works awarded $108 million of the $333 million in school construction funding programmed in the state's capital budget. The annual meeting was formerly packed with local school officials and lawmakers lobbying for additional school construction money.

The lengthy meetings — which frequently last all day — earned the title of beg-a-thon for the vast number of local leaders who would parade, hats-in-hand, before the board. Mr. O'Malley, however, pushed to trim back the number of attendees this year.

— Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter, The Washington Times

The Republican-led lawsuit to overturn tax increases passed during the special General Asembly session made it to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals.

Here's my story in today's paper.

The court typically rules on high-level cases, including recent cases on the use of lethal injection in administering the death penalty and a challenge to the state law limiting marriage as being bewteen one man and one woman.

Arguments are scheduled for March 11. Keep your eyes here for updates.

— Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter, The Washington Times

Gov. Martin O'Malley appointed the General Assembly's long-time counsel, Robert A. Zarnoch, to the Court of Special Appeals yesterday. Mr. Zarnoch has provided legal and constitutional advice to lawmakers since 1979.

From the O'Malley press release:

"Bob Zarnoch's knowledge of Maryland law and legislative history is unsurpassed in the State," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. "Over the years, his counsel has been invaluable to the legislature, and I am confident that he will serve the State with similar distinction as a judge," said Speaker of the House of Delegates Michael E. Busch.

Mr. O'Malley also appointed Judge Alexander Wright Jr. to fill a second vacancy on the Court of Special Appeals.

--Tom LoBianco, Maryland political reporter

Good afternoon, LoM readers.

Here's the extended version of my story today on why Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley was unable to successfully transfer the political strategy former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner used to raise taxes and his poll numbers.

Some choice quotes from the players involved:

Former Warner spokeswoman Ellen Qualls, on the intensive communications and political strategy that ultimately propelled the former Virginia governor onto the national stage:

"It was an unrelenting, eye-on-the-ball communications effort, all four years, to make sure an overall tax increase wasn't a bad thing, but that Virginians saw it was getting the government they deserved without having that big a hit on their pocketbooks."

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., Southern Maryland Democrat, on O'Malley's choice not to make severe budget cuts:

"It would have helped him politically to do that, that's what Mark Warner was able build momentum in Virginia with. The governor didn't want to do that. He'd been through pain in Baltimore City — he didn't want pain spread around the state — he just wanted people to keep the state moving forward. He was willing to sacrifice his political capital to make progress occur."

Here are the original slideshows the two governors used in their respective tax tours: the Warner plan and the O'Malley plan. Adobe Acrobat required for both.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland political reporter

Former Sen. J. Robert Hooper, Harford Republican, died late last night of colon cancer. He was 71.

Mr. Hooper, who ailed through November's special session, becomes the third Maryland state lawmaker to die in the last three months. Sen. Gwendolyn T. Britt died two weeks ago and Delegate Jane Lawton died suddenly at the end of November.

Arrangements for Mr. Hooper will be at the:

Bel Air Church of the Nazarene
2430 Conowingo Road
Bel Air, MD 21015
410-838-8290

Monday, January 28: Viewing will be from noon to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesday, January 29: Viewing will be from 11 a.m. to noon, with a service to begin at noon.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Martin Watcher over at O'Malley Watch has the dirt on about $7 million cut in public special education funding in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed budget. (It's on page 44 here.)

The budget is a vast document, and, arguably, the most important policy-setting volume published each year. Keep your eyes on the the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and House Appropriations Committee throughout the start of the session here in Annapolis for regular budget updates. These two groups of lawmakers do most of the heavy lifting in parsing the state's $31.6 billion budget.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Dignitaries, elder statesmen and public leaders from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore packed the House chamber yesterday to listen to Gov. Martin O'Malley deliver his second state of the state address.

Even D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty -- who House Speaker Michael E. Busch inadvertently called "Michael Fenty" as he was ticking off the list of public leaders in attendance -- made the drive in from the District to hear Mr. O'Malley.

But Mr. Busch forgot to acknowledge one very important guest -- Democratic donor John P. Coale.

Mr. Coale loaned $500,000 to Mr. O'Malley during the waning days of his 2006. Many have said the last minute cash infusion helped carry the governor to victory over former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Mr. Coale, who is married to Fox News commentator Greta Van Susteren, sat in the balcony watching the governor's speech with top O'Malley staffers.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Good day, all. Here's my story in today's paper: The computer services tax is pretty much universally hated. It was thrown into a sweeping tax bill during the special session and signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

But both Democrat and Republicans lawmakers are looking for ways to repeal the tax -- all they need to do is find another $200 million for the budget.

Some of the options on the table: a gas tax increase, alchohol tax increase or a shift of teacher retirement costs to the counties.

And -- a Web bonus for LoM readers!

Gov. Martin O'Malley spoke to the lions in their den last night at a Maryland Tech Council dinner. The audience, about 100 computer service executives and professionals, was polite but also very unhappy.

Some of Mr. O'Malley's remarks from the dinner:

On lawmakers railing against the computer services tax

"Ironically, some of them that hollered most loudly against this package and then advanced the computer services sales tax are some of the same ones that are coming to you and saying 'Isn't it outrageous the way they did this.'"

And on the actual impact of the new tax

"I do think that we need to better understand what we're dealing with here. There will be some who want to portray this as something far more insidious and devastating than it might actually be."

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Good morning, all.

Here's my write-up in today's paper about continued concerns that the shaky economy may force further budget cuts in the state budget. (No talk of tax increases, yet.)

Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, submitted a $31.6 billion budget last week that increases total spending by 6 percent and spending controlled by lawmakers 4 percent, but does not completely close a long-term budget gap.

"It does represent a significant improvement in the financial position than that which faced the state in fall," said Warren G. Deschenaux, the Assembly's chief budget analyst. "By no means can we say the problem is completely resolved, but I think it is easier to envision a happier ending for the general fund than there was six months ago."

Here's my write-up from last week on the same problem. Keep an eye here for updates throughout the 90-day regular session, here in Annapolis.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

The Congressional race to represent Maryland's Eastern Shore easily has the nastiest campaigns in Maryland right now. And with any good campaign comes excellent political theater.

So I'm going to start tracking some of the nastier ads as they come out, and try to provide as much counterspin as possible.

This will hardly be an exhaustive list of all the advertising in the race — there are nine candidates, after all. But if you have any tips or want to shoot me more campaign ads from the First District, get me at tlobianco@washingtontimes.com.

First Up — "Pipkin, Hero to Democrats"

Who made it — Andy Harris' campaign

Counterspin — State Sen. E.J. Pipkin, Eastern Shore Republican, did indeed vote for Democrat Gov. Martin O'Malley's 2007 budget. But he was joined by six other Republican senators and Republicans routinely vote for Democrat budgets in both the House and Senate.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

President George W. Bush has endorsed Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest in his re-election bid.

From the President's letter to Republican voters in Maryland:

Wayne has worked with me to reduce taxes on working families and I look forward to working with him to make those tax cuts permanent. Wayne is also a strong advocate for the conservation and the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay area.

Mr. Gilchrest faces a tough battle from two state senators after he voted in March with only one other Republican to pull troops from Iraq.

Check back for updates throughout the day.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Opponents of legalizing slot machines picked up some top lobbying talent this week to campaign against a November measure to legalize slot machines.

Susan O'Brien, one of Annapolis' most persistent lobbyists, is fresh off a prior-session win banning smoking in restaurants and bars.

Scott Arcenaux ran former Montgomery County Douglas M. Duncan's unsuccessful primary campaign against Martin O'Malley in 2006.

The two join long-time anti-slots scrappers Aaron Meisner and W. Minor Carter at StopSlotsMaryland.

Slots supporters, however, boast backing from both Gov. Martin O'Malley and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. — and recent polling show most Marylanders favor legalizing slots.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Dispatch from the Eye-Glazing Department in the Annapolis bureau:

Here's my rundown today on how some of the budget numbers really work out in O'Malley world:

A state report of Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal 2009 budget shows less "fiscal restraint" than the governor maintains is within the budget.

Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, touted eliminating 500 state jobs in the $31.6 billion budget, but the report by the state's Department of Legislative Services shows that the governor created 898 more jobs.

The governor also said that his budget -- the second in his four-year term -- increases state spending by 4.09 percent and that the change was the smallest in state spending in the past five years. However, his proposed budget increases spending by 6 percent.

More here.

The indominitable Martin Watcher, over at O'Malley Watch, has the rundown on drunk driver fees which were made permanent in the the BRFA -- the regular supplement to the massive budget bill.

And like any good Democrat budget, it includes some "revenue enhancements" despite passing the largest tax increase in Maryland history just a few weeks ago. I present to you HB 101, the BRFA of 2008. The BRFA takes the HMO tax that the General Assembly passed a few years ago over the veto of the previous Administration that was to be used to keep malpractice insurance rates down, and diverts that to be spent by O'Malley. Also it increases the costs on drunk drivers and takes one of those "temporary fees" and makes them permanent. One thing Government is good at is saying "oh this will only be temporary" and then screwing you. Ever drive through the tunnels or the Bay Bridge? It also takes $41 million away from local governments.

Permanent disclaimer: There are many bloggers covering Maryland politics, with many of their own opinions and reporting (and solid insights, to boot.) Their work is their own, however, and does not represent my writing and reporting or The Washington Times'. That said, I like to stay up with what our citizen journos are doing, as much as possible.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Environmental activists rallied today — in the snow — outside the State House for legislation they hope will curtail global warming.

As part of the shtick, they asked for a birthday present for Gov. Martin O'Malley — stricter environmental regulations. They began singing 'Happy Birthday' to the green governor, but forgot one detail: his birthday's tomorrow.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday introduced his second state budget, which would increase spending by 5.7 percent.

While the focus for now is on the fiscal 2009 budget, which is balanced at $31.5 billion, many lawmakers are concerned the flagging national economy could open a new budget gap and require new cuts or taxes.

Here's today's write-up.

As Bill Clinton often said, "It's the economy, stupid."

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Gov. Martin O'Malley is having trouble pleasing most Marylanders already. Now his political base is turning on him.

SEIU Local 32BJ, which represents workers along the East Coast, knocked O'Malley's decision to bow to federal pressure and implement REAL ID.

The union's treasurer, Hector Figueroa, issued this statement this afternoon:

"The fact Governor O'Malley is implementing Real ID — despite his belief that it is a bad policy — is a sign of rhetoric overtaking reality. Real ID is a complicated system that will drain states of money and put civil liberties at risk, while doing nothing to address immigration and security issues. The State of Maryland should spend time lobbying the federal government to change the misguided policy instead of giving into fear-mongering politics."

Here's my story on REAL ID from today's paper.

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Welcome to my blog, be sure to check in frequently for updates on Maryland politics. I'll keep the intro short and sweet — because 15-minute introductory speeches only work at high-dollar fundraisers, and even then that's questionable.

The regular session of Maryland's General Assembly runs through early April. So keep your eyes here for updates throughout the day on some of the frontburner topics this session: taxes, homosexual "marriage," energy policy, the state's death penalty and illegal immigration.

I'll also link my stories for the day here and try to work in some of the best of the Maryland blogosphere from the state's citizen journos.

So let's get kickin' with my story today on the lack of civility in Gov. Martin O'Malley's "One Maryland."

cheers,
Tom

as always: questions, comments, hate mail? tlobianco@washingtontimes.com

-- Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter