Legislature

Sometimes even if you don't deserve it, you get lucky anyway. That's apparently what has happened to the members of the Maryland General Assembly and the administration of Gov. Robert Ehrlich. Despite a lack of agreement over slot machines and other revenue-enhancing measures, the state's elected officials have managed to gather $400 million in uncommitted funds that they can use to ensure smooth sailing during the 2006 session. That amount is over and above what is a required for the state's "rainy day" fund and according to The Associated Press, it happened not because of any grand strategy, but because the economy improved and citizens kept on playing the lottery.

tammyb@herald-mail.com ANNAPOLIS - It's one of the most ceremonial and best-attended events of the annual legislative session, and while the compulsory pomp and circumstance was evident, this year's opening of the Maryland General Assembly on Wednesday seemed anti-climactic - at least on the surface. Legislators had gathered in Annapolis a day early to resume the special session called by Gov. Robert Ehrlich last month to consider legislation to reform the state's medical malpractice laws.

Ever walk into a party and notice someone who was horribly underdressed? And you feel sorry for him - him and another guy you notice, who is also underdressed. Then you see another and another and finally it hits you: You are the only one in the room wearing a suit and tie. Yes, you are the oddball. Not them. There was an uneasy breeze wafting over our local legislative delegation this week as it started to come to grips with the unpleasant reality that Maryland is not made up of Washington County.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - When the state Legislature holds its interim meetings in Shepherdstown, W.Va., in October, lawmakers from other parts of the state will be able to see firsthand exactly what kind of problems are present here, two local legislators said Tuesday. The meetings will be held from Oct. 10 to Oct.12, with most meetings likely to be held at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center. Others could be held on the Shepherd College campus or at the National Conservation Training Center outside of town, said Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley.

ANNAPOLIS - For P.J. Donoghue, as a young boy, opening day of the Maryland General Assembly mainly meant good free food. Now 19, he's more in tune with the meaning and importance of the pomp and circumstance. "The older you get, the more you know," said Donoghue, who will be at the State House today to watch his father, John, begin his 17th year as a delegate. "It's a ceremonial day," said Donoghue, the lone Democrat in Washington County's delegation. "We formalize that we are in session.

Shortly after sunrise on Wednesday, Dec., 8, the Washington County delegation to Maryland's general Assembly will meet the public for a pre-session breakfast at the Plaza Hotel near Valley mall. And while there may be sausage on the breakfast menu, there's a good chance that those attending will be more interested in how much bacon the delegation can bring home from Annapolis. Like no other years in recent history, for Washington County the 2000 session will concern money, for schools, the water and sewer debt and a host of other projects.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Most of the customers at the nightclub were men. Most of the women were naked. Women seductively shed their clothes to thumping music, stepping and whirling on a long runway stage - they were the show. A mostly male audience drank it in with their eyes and with help from the bar. A spring Saturday night was flowing into Sunday morning in Berkeley County, W.Va., where strip bars draw cheers from customers and jeers from government officials who want to stop them from spreading.

By GUY FLETCHER Staff Writer Local representatives in the Maryland General Assembly will face a variety of potentially contentious issues when the legislature convenes next month - including school funding, Pfiesteria and new minor league baseball stadium for the Hagerstown Suns. The stadium effort received a boost Friday when House of Delegates Speaker Casper R. Taylor, D-Allegany, told members of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce he supports state funding for a new stadium.

ANNAPOLIS - Considered a dead issue in the Maryland General Assembly less than a week ago, legislation for milk price supports for Maryland dairy farmers has been given new life in the General Assembly. A vote on the legislation that would allow Maryland to join a compact of dairy-producing states could come today in the House of Delegates. "We're feeling really good about it," said Del. J. Anita Stup, R-Frederick/Washington. The bill likely would face an uphill climb in the Senate, where the Economic and Environmental Matters Committee voted 8-3 early this month to reject another version of the legislation, labeled "a milk tax" in a fierce lobbying campaign waged by grocery retailers and other opponents.