Maryland legislators will be cutting their summer vacations short after Gov. Martin O'Malley announced a special session for Aug. 9 to address gambling questions left unanswered in the spring.
Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III hailed Christopher Lawson as an "incredible and experienced" leader last year when he named the Bowie businessman as a director helping to oversee the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC).
Outages numbered in the hundreds of thousands for a second day, as officials warned residents across Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia that power might not be restored until late in the week, and crews worked in temperatures nearing triple digits to make repairs from a devastating storm that claimed more than a dozen lives.
Gov. Martin O'Malley blasted House leaders Thursday for balking at a proposal to expand gambling, as lawmakers said they will keep working toward a possible compromise and special session this summer.
Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III was decidedly cool about the prospect of gambling in Maryland back when he was a state delegate, but he warmed up to the idea in February as a county-commissioned study picked National Harbor as an ideal spot for a casino.
Supporters of a possible casino in Prince George's County are holding out hope to get the issue through the General Assembly and onto this November's ballot, but one county developer says he is unfairly being shut out of the process.
A prolific campaign donor under federal investigation for contributions in D.C. elections is also linked to a quarter-million dollars given to Maryland politicians, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, two likely Democratic candidates for governor in 2014 and two prominent county executives over the past 13 years.
A key figure in the federal investigation into widespread campaign irregularities in Washington has twice faced misdemeanor criminal charges over election-law complaints in Maryland, records show.
Prince George's County officials are urging state lawmakers to act quickly in passing a bill that could pave the way for a $1 billion casino in the county, but some legislators have lingering doubts about the proposal.
