PGCo, Did You Know

O’Malley’s trip to Superbowl cost us $5,600+, Lt. Governor Brown to announce run for Governor, Letter containing poison ricin intercepted at Landover facility

Letters addressed to the President and Senator Wicker and now a suspicious package under investigation at the Senate’s Hart Building.  What the devil is going on?

While Governor O’Malley was at the 2013 Superbowl cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, his security detail was costing the fine taxpayers of Maryland $5627.00, according to reports.  The soon to be defunct Examiner newspaper reported, “Maryland paid more than $5,600 to send a security detail when Gov. Martin O’Malley traveled to New Orleans to watch the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl.  The Maryland State Police say $5,627 was spent on airfare, meals, vehicles, hotels and overtime for O’Malley’s Executive Protection Unit during the governor’s trip, according to spokesman Greg Shipley. The agency did not say how much was spent on each, because disclosing the number of troopers on the detail would jeopardize security, Shipley said.  That figure does not include the price of game tickets for all but one member of the security detail.

There was a lot of bemoaning O’Malley’s trip costs by conservative “leaders” but for this one, I say get over it.  I’m not a political liberal or a supporter of O’Malley (neither am I a political conservative) but a trip to the Superbowl by the Governor of Maryland when a MARYLAND team is competing for the trophy is NOT a big whoop.  Stop it.

Lt. Governor Brown and wife Karmen W.
Photo Courtesy PGC Blog

Washington Post reported that May 10th is the day Lt. Gov. Brown will make his big announcement, “Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D), who has been eying a bid for Maryland governor next year, plans to kick off his campaign next month. An invitation from Brown that has started to circulate asks supporters to save the date of May 10 for a “very special announcement” at Prince George’s Community College in Largo. Brown, a former delegate from Prince George’s, will be joined at the event by “a host of elected officials, community leaders and citizens from around Maryland,” according to the invitation, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. Supporters are told to “bring the entire family to enjoy food, entertainment and fun!” As of now, it appears Brown will be the first to make his bid official among a competitive field of Democrats seeking to succeed Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). The primary is in June 2014.

 Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D), who is sitting on a much larger bank account than other hopefuls, is also widely expected to run. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (D) and Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery) are also taking a strong look at the race.   A spokeswoman also confirmed Thursday that U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), a former Baltimore County executive, is also considering the race. “He’s considering it, but right now he’s very much focused on representing Maryland’s Second District,” said Ruppersberger spokeswoman Jaime Lennon. “He loves the job he has.”

Brown will have the backing of O’Malley, who wrote in an e-mail to supporters last year that “no matter what lies ahead for Anthony in public service, I know that I will be with him 100 percent.” Republicans looking at the 2014 governor’s race include Harford County Executive David R. Craig (R), Frederick County Commissioner Blaine R. Young (R) and former Ehrlich Cabinet secretary Larry Hogan, who now runs the group Change Maryland.

A letter containing the poisonous substance ricin was intercepted at a facility in Landover, MD that processes all mail for Congress.  Senator Wicker’s office also told associates that no one at the Post Office was exposed to the substance.   This just in, that same facility has intercepted a letter intended for President Obama too AND now there is a letter with a suspicious substance being investigated at the Senate Hart Building.  From NBC4, “The envelope containing a white granular substance was intercepted about 11 a.m. Tuesday, not last week as originally reported. It was intercepted at the Landover, Md., mail facility and did not reach the Capitol. Capitol Police spokesman Shennell S. Antrobus said police were notified that the mail facility had received “an envelope containing a white granular substance.” “The envelope was immediately quarantined by the facility’s personnel and USCP HAZMAT responded to the scene,” Antrobus said. “Preliminary tests indicate the substance found was ricin. The material is being forwarded to an accredited laboratory for further analysis.

 The FBI Field Office in Baltimore said the first test in the field was preliminary. The letter must now be sent for further testing. One congressional official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation wasn’t concluded, said evidence of ricin appeared on two preliminary tests.

Terrance Gainer, the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms, said the envelope bore a Memphis, Tenn., postmark but had no return address or suspicious markings. Mail from a broad swath of northern Mississippi, including Tupelo, Oxford and DeSoto County, is processed and postmarked in nearby Memphis, according to a Postal Service map. The Memphis center also processes mail for residents of Western parts of Tennessee and eastern Arkansas. Antrobus said operations at the Capitol complex had not been affected by the investigation.”