Legum’s New Line

Attorney General Doug Gansler says he supports tightening evidence requirements in death penalty cases, but the bill working through the General Assembly is “clumsy” and needs to be “reworked or abandoned.” Any amendments to the bill would likely kill the effort, as Senate President Mike Miller has announced his chamber is done debating the issue this year. [Washington Post]

The State Senate approved a ban on driving while texting. [WBAL]

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) goes off on AIG for awarding large bonuses to executives. Cummings “sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, asking that Treasury do everything in its power to keep bonus payments to AIG as low as possible, or possibly eliminate them.” [Maryland Politics]

Outgoing Salisbury mayor identifies a great danger to the future of the city: bloggers. [Eye on Annapolis]

Maryland is “among the top five states reporting the highest incidents of mortgage fraud.” [WBAL]

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O’Malley abandons his effort to repeal the death penalty this year. [Maryland Daily Record]

Room for improvement on state transparency. Maryland ranks 18th in the nation on making records public online, according to the 2009 Survey of State Government Information. [Baltimore Sun]

Poultry farmers complain about new federal rules that restrict the runoff of chicken manure into the Chesapeake Bay. Agriculture, including poultry farms, is the number one source of pollution in the Bay. [WTOP]

A new focus for Steele. RNC Chair Michael Steele, reeling from several controversial television appearances, turns his attention to fundraising. [WBAL]

Anne Arundel County faces a $116 million budget shortfall. County Executive John Leopold is considering layoffs. [Baltimore Sun]

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is open for business. The zoo, which is the third oldest in the country, stayed closed longer than usual this year due to financial difficulties. [WJZ]

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Former Rep. Wayne Gilcrest (R) comes to Annapolis to testify in support of same-sex marriage. [Baltimore Sun]

Maryland has lost 39,000 jobs since January 2008 [Gazette.net]

The Maryland House of Delegates revives a controversial domestic violence bill that would allow subjects of temporary restraining orders to have their records expunged. [Baltimore Sun]

Michael Steele “clarifies” his position on abortion, saying he opposes it and that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. A day earlier he said abortion was an individual choice. [MSNBC]

Kellogg, which dropped spokesman Michael Phelps after a photo of him smoking a bong surfaced, donates two tons of cereal boxes with Phelps’ image to a San Francisco food bank. [USA Today]

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Tumbling tax revenues have created a “$515 million shortfall” in Maryland’s budget. Gov. O’Malley says the new data sends the state’s efforts to balance the budget “back to the drawing board.” Worker layoffs and tuition hikes, which O’Malley hoped to avoid with the help of federal stimulus, are back on the table. [Baltimore Sun]

Environment Maryland, a prominent environmental group, says that the state’s “Smart Growth” program has failed to reduce suburban sprawl over the last decade. [Maryland Moment]

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon’s trial for “theft, perjury and misuse-of-office” is tentatively scheduled for early September. [Baltimore Sun]

A hole in a pipeline that carries coal ash from a paper plant in Luke, Maryland spilled 4,000 gallons of ash slurry into the Potomac River. [Bay Daily]

Annapolis considers using eminent domain to regain control of the city’s iconic Market House. The building has lost nearly all its vendors amid botched repairs and a legal dispute between the city and privately contracted managers. [The Capital]

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A new report by the National Center on Family Homelessness finds there are 12,810 homeless children in Maryland. [WBAL]

The Chesapeake Bay restoration effort goes high tech. Maryland is using satellites to monitor a cover crop program designed to reduce nutrient pollution from farms. [PA Farm News]

The ACLU obtained records from the Maryland State Police showing that files were kept on at least 20 political groups considered “potential security threats.” The groups included “the anti-war group Women in Black and the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization.” [AP]

Santa Bob busted. A retired high school teacher and ecologist in Hartford County, Robert Chance, received 18 months probation for growing marijuana and possessing psychedelic mushrooms on his farm. Chance was known as “Santa Bob” to children who visited his farm to buy Christmas Trees. [Baltimore Sun]

Arbitron, the company that tracks ratings for radio programs, is moving its top executives from New York to Columbia, Maryland. [Gazette.net]

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Maryland’s oyster industry is exploring aquaculture as a way to survive. On the Choptank River “8 million oysters are suspended in sturdy mesh bags floating on the surface.” [The Capital]

As the economy sinks, enrollment in GED classes soars. [WBAL]

The competition for federal stimulus dollars could dramatically reshape Maryland schools. [Baltimore Sun]

Attorney General Doug Gansler is interviewing candidates for Maryland’s U.S. Attorney. Rod J. Rosenstein, who was appointed to the position by President Bush, will remain in place until at least July. [Baltimore Sun]

Roscoe Bartlett, Maryland’s remaining GOP member of Congress, says the stimulus package will result in more people losing their jobs. [WCBC]

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Anne Arundel County Council clears the way for slots at Arundel Mills Mall. [Baltimore Sun]

The New York Times profiles former Maryland Lt. Governor and current RNC Chair Michael Steele. [New York Times]

Traditionally, power companies are prohibited from shutting off power to consumers in Maryland during the winter. The restriction ends April 1 and over 80,000 customer may get their power shut off. Gov. O’Malley is asking the Public Service Commission to extend the deadline. [Baltimore Sun]

Maryland lawmakers are skeptical about funding a new stadium for the D.C. United in Prince George’s County. [WBAL]

A handy chart of major earmarks for Maryland in the pending omnibus budget bill. [Baltimore Sun]

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Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich launches a new website, fueling speculation that he may seek a rematch against Martin O’Malley in 2010. [Real Clear Politics]

A record number of Marylanders may have their power disconnected next month. Utilities are prohibited from pulling the plug during the winter but “84,000 families who are behind on their utility payments could face a shutoff in April.” [WBAL]

Magna Entertainment, the owner of racetracks at Laurel and Pimlico, declares bankruptcy. [Baltimore Sun]

State senate passing legislation limiting, but not repealing, capital punishment in Maryland. The issue now moves to House of Delegates. [Capital News Service]

After bruising battle over slots referendum, comptroller Peter Franchot works on mending fences. Senate President Mike Miller doesn’t appear won over yet, saying “He put us through a year of hell with his demagoguery.” [Gazette.net]

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Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold “exchanged about 200 calls” with the cell phone number of a county employee “between mid-September and mid-February,” according to a public information request. Councilman Ed Middlebrooks suggested on Tuesday that Leopold was with a county employee when police investigated a report of sexual activity in his car in a mall parking lot. [Baltimore Sun]

Maryland sells $500 million in general obligation bonds, including $291 million ot the public. The Board of Public Works says the sale “shows the strength of Maryland’s financial management.” [WJZ]

State of Maryland eliminates nearly 900 mostly vacant state positions in an effort to trim the budget. [AP]

Baltimore school chief Andres Alonso is demanding an apology from RNC chairman Michael Steele after he made a disparaging remark about a city school on national television. [Baltimore Sun]

The General Assembly considers bills to ban trans fat and require chain restaurants to post calorie counts on menus. [Washington Post]

A Maryland man is arrested for carrying 16 pounds of cocaine disguised as soup. [WBAL]

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Andy Harris is already raising money for his 2010 rematch against Rep. Frank Kratovil. In a fundraising letter, Harris told supporters he hopes to raise $100,000 this month. [Maryland Politics]

At a meeting of the county council, Anne Arundel Police chief defends the response to a report of sexual activity in the car of County Executive John Leopold. Councilman Ed Middlebrooks “suggested that members of the council believe that a county employee had been present with Leopold that day and that her silver-colored sport utility vehicle had been parked next to the county executive’s. ‘We all know whose SUV it was, by the way, but we don’t have to go down that road,’ he said.” [Baltimore Sun]

In a statement, Leopold characterized the proceedings as a “political circus.” [WBAL]

Editor Karl Blankenship says the collapse of the region’s newspaper industry is a major threat to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. [Bay Journal]

The debate on death penalty repeal continues in the State Senate today. [Capital News Service]

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