WHO: The Maryland Board of Public Works
WHAT: The board Wednesday approved the purchase of a $14.4 million parcel of forest land — despite the fact that the state is facing around $2 billion in deficits in the coming fiscal year. Both Comptroller Peter Franchot and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp expressed deep reservations about making this land deal.
WHY IT’S A BAD IDEA: Gov. Martin O’Malley, who heads the board, said he was reluctant to use open-space funds to plug the state deficit as his predecessor, former Gov. Robert Ehrlich, did. O’Malley needs to stop talking and start listening. Marylanders elected Franchot and Kopp. That means we trust them (as much as one can trust a politician) to make financial decisions for our state. O’Malley has a history of ignoring their decisions — remember when they advised against increasing the amount of debt the state can take on? Now we’re up to our eyeballs in debt, state employees are facing furlough and we’ve just purchased almost 5,000 acres of forest. To quote “Sesame Street”: “One of these things is not like the others. One of these things does not belong.”
WHERE TO VENT: Call the governor’s office at 410-974-3901.
Today’s bright bulb: We’re No. 1
Education Week, the country’s leading education newspaper, said Maryland has the best school system in the country. We’ll admit it, we were surprised. But in the spirit of giving credit where it’s due, Nancy Grasmick deserves praise for doing a good job improving our schools. The ranking doesn’t mean Maryland scored high in every category, though. We’ve still got a lot of progress to go in several categories and must continue to strive for educational excellence.
Quote of the day
“I thought to myself, ‘This Kennedy fella knows how to throw a parade. … This guy knows how to do a little showbiz here!’ ” — Charlie Brotman, the man who will announce his 15th inaugural parade Jan. 20. He said the parade is a reflection of the president’s character
