Calls For A Disaster Declaration, The Creation Of Gambling-Related Jobs, and A Proposal For Higher Cigarette Taxes

Maryland's entire congressional delegation is calling on President Obama to declare the state a major disaster area (via our wire service, the Gazette, and the Baltimore Sun).

The Maryland Live! casino in Anne Arundel County is looking for a few good blackjack and poker dealers... and it's willing to teach folks the dealing skills necessary. The casino will be opening a free dealer school to train new employees to run the table games -- including blackjack, roulette, and craps -- that will be featured at the casino by the spring. The table games replace up to 10 percent of the nearly 5-thousand slot machines already at the casino. Maryland Live! says it'll soon be open 24-hours a day, as soon as the gambling expansion approved last week by Maryland voters takes effect (via our wire service, the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Business Journal). It's not just jobs at Maryland casinos that are being created following voter approval of a gambling expansion. Yesterday, the state Board of Public Works approved 44 new jobs to regulate gambling (via marylandreporter.com). 

A health advocacy group is pushing state lawmakers to raise Maryland's cigarette tax to help pay for health care. The group Health Care For All is calling for an increase in the state tax on cigarettes from two dollars to three dollars a pack. The group says a higher cigarette tax would encourage people to quit smoking; 2007's increase in the tax reportedly reduced smoking in Maryland by 32 percent. A higher cigarette tax could also be used to help pay for Maryland's new health care exchanges required by the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act (via marylandreporter.com, the Baltimore Sun, and the Baltimore Business Journal). 

WYPR Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith is still absorbing President Obama’s re-election. Fraser comments in his weekly essay.

Maryland now has its own petition to secede from the United States. The petition was created on Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov, which allows citizens to engage the government on any issue. If the number of signatures reaches 25-thousand, the White House will provide an official response. All 50 states have started secession petitions since President Obama's re-election (via our wire service).

Ousted Prince George's County Delegate Tiffany Alston is hoping a private meeting with Governor O'Malley will help her get her old job back. The General Assembly's top lawyer said that Maryland law automatically removed Alston from her post last month, after she agreed to a plea deal on a charge of misconduct in office; but earlier this week, a judge changed her one-year suspended jail sentence to a probation before judgement, effectively strking an earlier conviction from her record. An O'Malley spokeswoman won't give details on what was discussed at yesterday's meeting; the Governor has until Thanksgiving to decide whether to approve a replacement for Alston, chosen by the PG Democratic Central Committee (via our wire service and the Washington Post).

Parents and students in Baltimore County are being warned after a 5th grade teacher at Harford Hills Elementary was diagnosed with a possible case of Whooping Cough on Monday (via our wire service and WJZ). 

Some folks are getting a chance to move through the lines at BWI airport faster... under a passenger pre-screening program unveiled yesterday by the Transprotation Security Administration. To be enrolled in the program, people have to apply online at the TSA's website and pay a fee of 100 dollars (via the Baltimore Business Journal).

Frederick's Police Chief, Kim Dine, is stepping down. Dine has held the post for 10 years. He's leaving for a new job as Chief of the US Capitol Police in Washington DC, where he'll be tasked with policing the area around the Capitol and protecting members of Congress and their families (via the Frederick News Post and the Gazette). 

Frederick County Commissioner Billy Shreve is pushing for service improvements in the county's TransIT buses. Shreve's comments come at the same time TransIT is reporting a rise in ridership of nearly 9 percent this year (via the Gazette).

Ocean City's Boardwalk rebuilding project is ahead of schedule. Even though Hurricane Sandy put most of downtown Ocean City under water two weeks ago, the waves never got into the work site -- and the city lost only two days of construction work because of the storm. The Boardwalk is set to be complete by April of next year (via the Daily Times).