Christopher B. Shank

Flocking to their candidates Alliances are forming in Maryland’s 6th District Congress race, with four months to go before the primary and the general election 11 months away. When state Sen. David R. Brinkley, R-Carroll/Frederick, announced...

Bud Otis, U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett's chief of staff, has resigned after news circulated that he was testing the waters for a possible 6th District campaign if Bartlett didn't run again. Bartlett, R-Md., said "a flurry" of news stories about Otis'...

The phrase "war on rural Maryland" was repeated again and again Monday night at a legislative public forum at South Hagerstown High School as the Washington County delegation commiserated with constituents about state policies seen as unfair to rural...

In Annapolis, bills can be killed when they’re assigned to a committee and nothing happens. For Gov. Martin O’Malley’s state legislative redistricting plan, inaction will have the opposite effect — the new map will become law...

Brightman, Bruchey are official candidates Washington County Board of Education member Donna L. Brightman and Hagerstown Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II filed Monday to run for re-election, according to the Washington County Board of Elections. Both...

Washington County’s state legislators pursued some lofty but unattainable goals this year, along with several more grounded ideas that succeeded. Sen. George C. Edwards and Del. John P. Donoghue each won a share of the state’s capital...

The Maryland Board of Public Works voted 2-1 Wednesday to lease land at a prison complex near Hagerstown to a company planning a $70 million solar farm. The board — made up of Gov. Martin O'Malley, Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot and Treasurer...

Maryland Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot voted last week against a solar farm lease in Washington County, questioning why the state didn't seek a share of federal money the project could receive. Gov. Martin O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, the...

Slamming the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association for excessive overhead expenses and hoarded cash, state legislators Tuesday asked the county's volunteer fire and rescue companies to consider ways to streamline the association, leaving...

Donald F. Munson, who lost his state Senate seat last fall, has abandoned his plan to become a lobbyist. “I decided that lobbying wasn’t for me in life,” Munson said Wednesday. “My desire in life was to be in public service.&...

It cost about $96,000 to shelter, feed and transport eight state lawmakers representing Washington County during the last legislative session in Annapolis. All eight members of the Washington County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly were...

During a meeting with state legislators Monday, local construction contractors appealed for lower taxes, lower wage requirements for state contracts, fewer safety regulations and an end to a state program promoting use of minority-owned firms for state...