- Lawmaker seeks to expand 'Wal-Mart tax'.
- Examiner, 20 Feb 2006.
A Democratic lawmaker is aiming to force Maryland's small businesses to pay a minimum level of employee health benefits, expanding the so-called "Wal-Mart tax" to nearly every business in the state.
The bill [HB 1510]by Delegate James W. Hubbard, Prince George's Democrat, would require businesses with fewer than 10,000 employees to spend 4.5 percent of payroll on employee health care or pay an equivalent amount to the state's Medicaid program. Nonprofit businesses with fewer than 10,000 employees would have to spend 3 percent or give the money to Medicaid.
[. . .]
"The Maryland General Assembly has put virtually every small business in the cross hairs for a new tax," [Ehrlich] spokesman Henry P. Fawell said. "Politicians are picking the winners and losers in the marketplace. ... It is government-run health care."
- Little Talk of Tax Cuts in Md. Even With Big Budget Surplus.
- wtopnews.com, 19 Feb 2006 (AP).
- UPDATE: Woman Who Was Set on Fire Vows to Speak for Other Victims.
- Post, 19 Feb 2006 (Allison Klein).
The hundreds of envelopes addressed to Yvette Cade have come from across the country. Most are emotional letters from abused women sharing their stories. Some of the women are angry; others sympathize with her horrors. An inmate at a women's prison enclosed $1.75 as a donation to help her.
The 32-year-old Prince George's mother was doused with gasoline and set on fire, allegedly by her husband, at the Clinton T-Mobile store where she was working Oct.10.
[. . .]
Three weeks before she was burned, Prince George's Judge Richard Palumbo dismissed a protective order Cade had obtained against her estranged husband, Roger Hargrave. . . .
[. . .]
A Web site maintained by Cade's family, http://www.yvettecadefund.org , says that Cade "works hard to get through two baths a day, which are necessary to remove her charred skin." This is described as "an especially grueling process since her fragile body has to be turned several times to accomplish this painful task."
She is eager to talk to women about "sexual, mental and physical abuse and their plight," the site says. At the end, Cade is quoted as saying: "Once my bandages are off I will be their voice."
- Pr. George's politicians slow to endorse.
- Examiner, 20 Feb 2006 (by Jonathan Marino, Examiner Staff Writer).
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley today will announce the names of a panel of Prince George's County legislators who have endorsed his bid to become the next governor of Maryland.
His rival for the Democratic nomination, Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan, announced a handful of Prince George's supporters on Saturday.
But most of the biggest names in Prince George's politics remain uncommitted. Some say they don't want to choose sides - but few will say why.
Jack Johnson is one who has not yet stepped forward with an endorsement.
[. . .].
- Some Donors Pick More Than One Horse in Md. Governor's Race.
- wjla.com, 20 Feb 2006 (AP).
- Senators develop fitness, allies in corridors of power walking; 6 O'Clock Club talks of slots, city schools while battling expense account calories.
- Sun, 20 Feb 2006 (by JoAnna Daemmrich, Sun reporter).
- Mentions Sen. Gloria G. Lawlah (D-26) and her support for slots.
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