O'Malley's (Likely) New Post At The DGA, Baltimore's New Recreation And Parks Director, Foreclosure Relief For Those Affected By Hurricane Sandy, and Baltimore's Vacants To Value Program

Governor Martin O'Malley will step down from his post as Chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association next week. But he'll likely get a new leadership role in the organization; sources within the Democratic Party say that O'Malley will transition to the job of Finance Chairman at the DGA (via the Washington Post).

Baltimore City has a new director of its Department of Recreation and Parks. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has tapped Ernest Burkeen Jr. for the job. He comes with years of experience in managing similar departments; for the past six years, he's headed up Miami's Department of Parks and Recreation, and before that led Parks Departments in Fort Lauderdale and Detroit (via the Baltimore Sun).

The dispute over who'll fill the seat in the House of Delegates formerly held by Prince George's County Democrat Tiffany Alston is getting more complicated. Yesterday, a Prince George's County judge said that a full judicial review is necessary to examine the issues surrounding the nomination of businessman Gregory Hall to the post. Also yesterday, former Delegate Alston filed a lawsuit arguing that she should have been allowed to return to her seat in the General Assembly, after a judge modified her suspended jail sentence to a probation before judgement. Both matters are scheduled for a hearing on December 4th (via the Washington Post).

Help is on the way for Marylanders who were forced out of their homes by Hurricane Sandy. Yesterday, the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said that HUD will offer foreclosure relief and other assistance to families in parts of our state hit hard by the storm (via the Baltimore Sun; more here from the Frederick News Post).

Baltimore has thousands of abandoned houses. It also has one of the nation's most comprehensive programs to clean them up. It focuses on selling houses in neighborhoods near key employers and other attractions, and demolishes buildings in less viable areas of the city. But the plan requires government officials to make some hard choices about which neighborhoods are worth saving. WYPR's Stephanie Hughes has more.

Federal agents in Baltimore are saying they seized 36 websites selling counterfeit goods. The sting was part of "Operation Cyber Monday Three," which nationwide seized a total of 101 website domains (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun). 

Maryland State Police say their increased traffic patrols over the holiday weekend paid off in a big way for protecting drivers. Troopers stopped more than 89-hundred vehicles and nearly a hundred drivers were arrested for drunk driving. Fifty-six people were arrested for drug violations, and troopers also recovered guns during several traffic stops (via our wire service; more here from the Baltimore Sun).

The Baltimore police commanders' meeting called Comstat is letting the public in -- for the first time. This week's meeting will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Public Safety Training Facility at 35-hundred W. Northern Parkway (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

A 20-year veteran of the Frederick City police force will become its acting police chief. Captain Thomas Ledwell was named to the position yesterday by Mayor Randy McClement (via our wire service and the Frederick News Post).

Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld has a new job as a college instructor. Bealefeld is now part of the full time faculty at Stevenson University, where he'll teach teach criminal justice (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

The interior St. Mark's Lutheran Church on St. Paul Street is being recommended for designation as a Baltimore landmark. The City Council will take a final vote on the designation December 3rd (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

A former Baltimore County teacher is filing a complaint, saying the decision on the University of Maryland's move to the Big Ten violated the state open meetings law (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun; we'll have more on UMD's switch to the Big 10 on Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast).