Oliver Willis

What a load of crap.

As Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett works to raise taxes and eliminate 225 jobs, a construction crew is installing a bathroom in his locked suite of offices, complete with a small sitting room and shower. The cost to taxpayers: $65,225.

Leggett’s aides said yesterday that his security detail did not want him using the public restroom because walking to and from the facility could expose him to harm. The shower was included, an aide said, because Leggett lives about 40 minutes away from the Rockville office and regularly attends evening events without having time to freshen up at home.

“I don’t see this as a big expenditure,” Leggett (D) said. Describing himself as “the guy who flies coach and spends sparingly,” he said, “It’s not something I asked for.”

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Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, known around here as the scourge of Maryland, fails the middle class.

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He’s proud to be the only member of Maryland’s congressional delegation to vote against health care for poor children. Why does he continue to run without serious competition? And have we looked at demographic changes needed to move around Maryland’s congressional districts?

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Last year they had the governor’s mansion. This year, they don’t even have enough for a candy bar. Bwahahaha.

The Maryland Republican Party, reeling from the loss of the governor’s mansion, is nearly broke, according to a copy of its financial statement obtained by The Sun.

The state GOP treasurer’s report from July 31 shows the party had $4,615 in cash and $50,500 in debt. Because of lackluster fundraising, the party operated at a $103,536 deficit in the first six months of the year.

A report from the party’s accountants shows that funding from major donors has dried up, and that the party’s major annual fundraising event, the Red, White and Blue Dinner, netted $15,572, less than 10 percent of the amount the party had been counting on.

Once again, Republicans demonstrate their lack of skill at managing money. 2002 was the high water mark for the Republican party in Maryland, it’s all downhill from here. What’s even better, the far-right and slightly less right wings of the party are fussing with each other, while the Maryland Democrats actually govern the state.

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It’s not just coincidence that I happen to have gone to elementary (Highland Elementary) and middle school (Sligo Middle School, Banneker Middle School) in Montgomery County, Maryland - where I live now.

A new study by Forbes magazine ranks Montgomery County public schools fifth in the nation "for the buck," with nods to Howard and Loudoun schools for delivering return on educational investment. It ranks D.C. and Alexandria schools among the worst.

The analysis, "Best and Worst School Districts for the Buck," ranks 97 jurisdictions for performance — as measured by SAT data and graduation rates — relative to per-pupil spending. It focuses on locales with populations greater than 65,000 where more than half of school funds come from property taxes.

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Here in Maryland we’re strongly blue, and as such there’s nothing wrong with an internal fight to get a good Democrat in over a bad one. I met Donna Edwards last week and Maryland will be better off to have her in congress.

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State urges use of comic books with lessons tailored to standards

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck could become regulars in elementary and middle school classrooms after Maryland’s top educator encouraged teachers Thursday to use comic books to inspire students to read.

The state worked with Disney Publishing Worldwide and its educational division last year to develop a pilot project to put Mickey and Donald in eight third-grade classrooms. Disney took Maryland’s reading standards and created comics-based lesson plans, incorporating skills students needed to learn, such as how to understand plot and character.

The kids loved it, educators said.

“Reading is such an important activity for all children, and using comic book-related lessons offers teachers an important new tool to draw students into the world of words,” said state Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. “This project enhances other work that goes on in the reading class.”

Comic books and graphic novels should not replace other forms of literature, but they can be an entry point for some reluctant readers, Grasmick said.

I am a voracious reader, and in the average year I probably end up reading 40+ books and hundreds of magazines, not to mention all the stuff I read online. I would not have gotten there, I believe, if my mom hadn’t started me off by taking me to the library every Saturday (Hardy Boys!) and brining home Superman comics for me that she picked up after work.

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Here in Maryland, we’re discussing the death penalty. Newly elected Gov. O’Malley has written an op-ed in the Post discussing his opposition while it’s now up for discussion in the Assembly. It’s a good discussion to have, though I disagree with Gov. O’Malley. I think we ought to have the death penalty. It ought to be hard to do, but it should be a punishment the state has on the table for the most egregious crimes.

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As a born and bred Marylander I say YES!

Martin O’Malley became Maryland’s 61st governor just after noon today in the state Senate chamber, where he took the oath of office before hundreds of elected officials and dignitaries.

O’Malley, who turns 44 tomorrow, defeated Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in the November election to recapture the State House for Democrats. He spoke a few words in the Senate chamber ceremony, thanking the people of Maryland for the trust they have placed in him to lead the state.

“We will remember the call of Frederick Douglass, that we are all one and we must act as one if we are to succeed,” O’Malley said.

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The two top people in the House of Representatives - Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer - both have Maryland roots (Pelosi was born in Baltimore, Hoyer grew up in and represents Maryland).

Behold our awesomeness.

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A few days ago I said that Ben Cardin would win by double digits in Maryland. With 97% in, Ben Cardin has won by 10%.

I hope this puts a stake in the heart of the Republican-created and media advanced theory that somehow black people can’t make up their own minds, that somehow we’re just too stupid to see a phony for a phony because he’s got black skin.

The Free State comes through. Again. My home state. My Maryland.

Senator-elect Benjamin Cardin

Governor-elect Martin O’Malley

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