Roundup on the Special Session

Everyone is talking about the special session, opened yesterday with a speech by Gov. Martin O'Malley to a joint session of the legislature.

The Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun both covered the opening session. The Post ran stories on the difficulty of analyzing bills in the speedy special session and the tough calls which will have to be made. Tax mavens may also be interested in the comparison to other states in terms of tax burden.

The Sun has a story on Republicans doing what Republicans do: protesting against tax increases without making any concrete proposals for what to cut in the budget. The Sun's columnists, including C. Fraser Smith, Jean Marbella, Susan Reimer (against slots), are also talking about the session.

The Gazette reports that Peter Franchot has found religion in the fight against slots. Columnist Blair Lee has a hard hitting column claiming that O'Malley's plan would rob Montgomery blind and is driving people and business out of the County and State. Barry Rascover and Laslo Boyd tries to forecast the outcome of the session.