Annapolis

Sports fans get pumped when a big game goes to overtime. As regulation expires, the broadcaster will excitedly announce, “We are going to overtime!” Fans are riveted to their seats since the outcome of the game hangs on every play. We are going to have overtime in Annapolis. The legislature couldn't get it done in regulation, also known as the “90-day session,” so we will have a least one extra period, maybe two. Most fans here are not excited about this overtime, however.  There is not much suspense about it since the outcome of the game has already been decided.

Once or twice in my adult life, I have agonized over my personal budget or some major financial decision. But most months, I manage to pay all the bills and still have a little left over for ice cream. Compared to the Maryland General Assembly, I am an absolute fiscal genius. Our state's legislators have done a lot of silly things before, but this year's budget farce was a stunner. In case you missed it: The General Assembly, required to produce a balanced budget every year, managed through a series of unfortunate events to miss the deadline for passing a bill to fund its approved budget (translation: income tax hike)

Comparing forum attendance Some Washington County delegation members expressed their appreciation Tuesday night for the sizable crowd - about 60 people - that attended a forum reviewing the recent Maryland General Assembly session. Del. Andrew A. Serafini and other delegation members preferred this year to have an evening meeting at no charge. That broke from an annual tradition in which the delegation publicly reviewed the 90-day session at a chamber of commerce breakfast.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich stopped in Annapolis on Tuesday, making brief comments to the state Senate and having lunch at a famous city eatery. Gingrich is running a distant third, behind leader Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, in the race for the GOP nomination. The next primaries will be April 3 in Maryland,Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin. During a news conference outside the State House, Gingrich called a proposed gas tax in Maryland “very, very anti-everyday working American.” He said he has an energy independence plan that could get gas prices down to no more than $2.50 a gallon - “although, apparently, it would always be higher here if the state gas (increase)

I've been reading a lot about Doomsday these days, and for sure I know it must be coming; I just don't know when. Just the other week, Sen. Mike Miller of our Annapolis legislature lectured the Maryland citizens: Either you give me some more of your tax dollars or a “doomsday” budget is coming to your neighborhood.  “We can no longer support the many programs we currently finance, such as our education funding and law enforcement allocations,” said...