High Winds, A Possible Strike Or Lockout At The Port Of Baltimore, and MD's Largest Casino Now Open 'Round The Clock

Powerful winds last night forced two ships at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore to shift, causing some damage to a crane (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun). Those high winds knocked out power to some 6-thousand BGE customers yesterday, and while most service has been restored as of 7:05am, BGE warns that more outages could come today amid high winds (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun). The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for much of the listening area from 9am through 6pm; wind gusts could reach 50 mph during that period.

The Port of Baltimore's executive director is "pessimistic" that a strike or lockout will be avoided at the port. Maryland Port Administration head James White says he doesn't think the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance will come to terms before the deadline Sunday (via our wire service, the Baltimore Business Journal, and the Baltimore Sun).

Despite frustration nationally with attempts to pass gun control bills, Maryland’s record shows that gun law reform is possible. So says WYPR’s Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith in his weekly essay.

Maryland's largest casino plans never to close its doors again. The Maryland Live! casino near the Arundel Mills Mall will start 24-7 operations when it opens this morning. The state's other two operational casinos say they will stay open overnight on weekends -- for now. But they'll also likely start operating round-the-clock when they'll be allowed to run table games like blackjack and roulette, early next year (via the Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore Business Journal).

2012 was a lucrative year for lobbyists in Annapolis -- in part because of the summer special session that produced the legislation that led to the gambling referendum that allowed table games and 24-7 casino operations (via the Baltimore Sun).

A panel that the General Assembly convened to look at tightening campaign finance laws has come out with a list of suggested reforms (via the Baltimore Sun).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided more than a million-dollars to help Hurricane Sandy victims on the Eastern Shore (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Motorists who use Route 40 over the Patapsco River Bridge are being warned about delays for the next several months. The State Highway Administration says starting today westbound traffic will be shifted back to the newly reconstructed bridge but will be reduced to one lane so crews can dismantle temporary bridges (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's only scheduled public appearances this week will be with his Celtic rock band. "O'Malley's March" will perform two shows this evening at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis (via our wire service and the Washington Post).