Well-known Annapolis civil rights leader Carl Snowden was charged for marijuana possession in Baltimore on Friday, state records show.

Hansel said there was another person in the vehicle and said further investigation will show this case to be a “nonissue.” He said the marijuana in question was a “trace amount.”

“I am confident he will not be found guilty,” Hansel said. He would not say who was in the vehicle with Snowden.

[...]

Snowden’s arrest occurred on April 20 or 4/20, a day that has evolved into a countercultural celebration of the drug.

It also came only weeks after Hansel contacted county lawyers on behalf of Snowden saying he wants the county to pay $20 million in compensation because he was the subject of a dossier compiled by the county executive’s security detail.

[...]

In February, a county judge reinstated a drunken driving conviction for Snowden following a 2010 arrest, reversing an earlier ruling that would have kept his record clear.

Snowden was put on probation for three years and and received a suspended 60-day jail sentence. Snowden was also arrested in 2003 by county police on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and received a probation before judgment ruling.

As of 12:30 p.m. on 4/22, a story at WBAL.com discussing Snowden’s leave of absence to pursue the lawsuit makes no mention of the arrest:

The director of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights of will take a sabbatical from his position in order to pursue a lawsuit against Anne Arundel County and County Executive John Leopold.

An attorney for Carl Snowden announced Snowden’s decision to take a sabbatical.

He writes:

To begin with, the “Fraudulent Fraulein” page is despicable and blindingly asinine in both its set up and execution. Let’s start with the term “Fraudulent.” Anyone who’s ever met Ms. Ambrose knows she is anything but a fraud.  Further, the morons who came up with the title and theme of the page write absolutely nothing even attempting to point out anything fraudulent she’s done.

So, to the geniuses who came up with the idea, remember this: In order for a lie to be successful in this modern age, it must contain at least a kernel of truth. On that front, you’ve earned an Epic Fail.

Secondly, the creator of the “Fraudulent Fraulein” page suffers from what I call “Writers Envy,”  a term I used to describe someone who has nothing to say and can’t actually write anyway…so they flail away by using big words and bewildering attempts at humor.  It’s their way of making up for being brain dead as concerns their ability to convey thoughts.

Thirdly, though it doesn’t need to be said I’ll say it anyway, this page is obviously written by an Audrey Scott supporter – someone who wants Ms. Scott to emerge victorious over Ms. Ambrose in the race for National Committeewoman.

Could this be a result of desperation on the part of Scott’s campaign?

Richard Cross writes:

Two of my fellow bloggers, Red Maryland and Monoblogue, have already reported on the controversy regarding former MD GOP Chairman Audrey Scott’s participation in a gas tax rally last week in Annapolis.

The latest development is that Mrs. Scott, a candidate for Republican National Committeewoman, has sent an email message to the entire GOP State Central Committee claiming that there is an “effort underway to discredit and misrepresent” her participation in the event.

Mrs. Scott accuses people with questions about her participation in the rally – including bloggers – of unduly attacking her. She made comments to that effect during an appearance before the Montgomery County GOP Central Committee last Tuesday, and her email message to the entire State Central Committee reinforces similar themes.

[...]

In her email message, Mrs. Scott states that the purpose of the rally was “to protest the perpetual raiding of the Transportation Trust Fund.”

According to an Associated Press article appearing in the Washington Post, the rally was organized by “members of a coalition backing new revenues for transportation” in order to “launch a tough battle for tax increases.” It also noted that some rally participants took to “(s)haking gas cans with only a dime inside” to spell out the event’s purpose to anyone who still harbored doubts.

Is Scott that desperate?

This appears to me to just be another reason why the Maryland GOP is a massive failure. It’s nothing but a party consumed with infighting by people like Audrey Scott. When they don’t have either house of the legislature or the governorship, you’d think the party would actually be more unified, but time and time again all you see is people getting into intra-party squabbles.

There is a modern day Witch Hunt going on in the debate over Climate Change. A political action group has started a movement , and a new website, to try and get as many TV Weathercasters “in line” with their beliefs about Climate Change as possible. They go by the title of Forecast The Facts, and have gone as far as e-mailing every TV News Director in the country urging them to get the on air talent to start doing more stories on Global Warming and to incorporate more of that information into the weathercasts. They have even put up a list of the “bad” weather people who have spoken out against the science behind this theory! Remind you of the 1950s in any way??? Hmmmm….

I am a scientist that does not agree with the science behind the man made Climate Change theory, but I am also an environmentalist…we can exist in the same space! This whole movement is a perfect example of why Science and Politics need to be separated. If you have any thoughts on this, please leave a comment below.

More at the Quinton Report.

For more background information click here.

As if the Sun isn’t reeling enough already from all the Tribune budget cuts, layoffs, and the paywall. The state would also be targeting Amazon and iTunes with the digital download tax plus another section of the proposal includes an Amazon tax that has been debated in other states. This continues the trend of the state to target businesses (the Wal-mart bill that was thrown out comes to mind.)

The questions of enforceability loom large over this idea too. Amazon will pull out of affiliating with any Associates in Maryland which will take money out of the hands of Marylanders.

I will be writing more about this at The Quinton Report over the next day or so.

Reigrut is reportedly a Maryland native and I have yet to find any ties that might move him to the Palmetto State. It would appear that after he was “disciplined” by Harris for his mistakes in the recent scandal that he may have been encouraged to look for something elsewhere.

Salary data from Legistorm indicates that Reigrut made $95,425 from 1/3/2011-9/30/2011. I’d estimate the annual salary for that would be somewhere in the $125K-$130K range. (If anyone with full paid Legistorm access has more complete data, leave a note in the comments.)

After that increase was phased in over the first three years, it would then automatically tie future gas tax increases to the rate of inflation without requiring any further action by the legislature or governor. As Bromwell correctly notes, this is taxation without representation. He notes that this tax would cost the average driver nearly $80 a year and the average truck driver $3000 a year. Bromwell’s email is below.

Bromwell previously wrote on this subject for Patch.com.

From Bromwell’s email:

During the 2011 General Assembly session, there was a proposal to raise the state tax 10 cents on the current per gallon tax of 23.5 cents. Neither the House nor the Senate approved the bill. Like most people, I thought a 10 cent gas tax increase during the worst recession since the Great Depression was unconscionable. Gas prices were already spiraling upward, and many people were shaking their heads wondering how some legislators could even consider such an increase.

People struggling to keep their jobs and their homes do not need a stiff tax increase on gas. Nevertheless, Governor O’Malley and many in legislative leadership are supporting a 15 cent per gallon increase on the price of gas. This increase would make Maryland’s gas tax the highest in the nation. The plan calls for the tax to be phased in at 5 cents a year for three years. After three years, the gas tax will be tied to inflation. In other words, as inflation increases, the gas tax will increase automatically. No vote to approve these increases will have to be taken. THE GAS TAX WILL INCREASE AUTOMATICALLY!

Talk about taxation without representation! There is no way I can vote for this gas tax increase, an increase that will cost the average driver $77.55 a year. According to the Maryland Motor Truck Association, it will cost a single truck driver $3,000 a year, a cost that will be passed on to consumers for the rising cost of consumer goods that the truck delivers.

Maryland citizens are dead set against any gas tax increase in any amount. A recent survey taken of Democrat, Republican and Independent voters showed that 78% opposed a 10 cent gas tax increase and 59% opposed a 5 cent increase. One can only imagine the percentage opposed to a 15 cent increase.

It is estimated that the gas tax increase will generate from $500 million to $800 million annually in new revenue. The revenue will go to the Transportation Trust Fund to pay for vital transportation projects. However, people have little faith in the Fund being used strictly for transportation projects. The Transportation Trust Fund was created in 1971 to pay for transportation projects. However, in the past 20 years, Governors have taken money from the fund 12 times to balance the budget. According to the Department of Transportation, a total of $671 million has been taken from the fund. Some of it has never been repaid. I strongly support and have already co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the fund from being used for anything other than transportation projects.

Those who support the gas tax increase say the bill will create transportation construction jobs and stimulate infrastructure investment. But no matter what they call it, the fact remains that it’s an unwelcome tax increase on Maryland drivers. I will be voting against any gas tax increase, in any amount, when the Legislature convenes in January for the 2012 Legislative Session.

Joe Steffen

Let’s recap the events of today related to this story.

Steffen reports that an underage intern in the office of Rep. Harris last summer was dismissed early from her internship program due to getting drunk at a going away party thrown for her in the Harris office. Steffen reports that Harris Chief of Staff Kevin Reigurt procured the alcohol consumed by the underage intern and that when she was dismissed from her program, Reigurt made a scapegoat out of another staffer, Laurel Schmuck (daughter of Peter Schmuck), who Steffen said was fired. Steffen also reported that Peter Schmuck confronted the congressman over the issue.

The Baltimore Sun reported that:

When the incident was brought to light, Harris, a Republican, disciplined his chief of staff, Kevin Reigrut, though Nawrocki would not say what action was taken.

WBAL Radio reported seemingly conflicting information:

“When it came to Rep. Harris’ attention that alcohol was being consumed in the office, he immediately made it clear that no alcohol is to be consumed by any one in any of his offices,” Harris spokesman Ryan Nawrocki told WBAL News.

Nawrocki would not say if Reigurt was disciplined, but he does say Reigurt remains Harris’ chief of staff.

Nawrocki also told WBAL News that Schmuck was not fired because of this incident.

Was Reigruit disciplined or not? Did the nuance in the differing statements from Nawrocki relate to when he talked to John Fritze of the Sun and when he talked to WBAL?

Both the Sun and WBAL say that Laurel Schmuck denied being fired. WBAL even ran her statement:

“I left Congressman Harris’s office in good standing several months after giving notice that I would be accepting a graduate fellowship in California in August. That was my only reason for leaving. I remain on good terms with the Congressman and appreciated the opportunity to work for him.”

That appears to be the only comment Laurel Schmuck made on the matter. The other facts as reported by Steffen don’t appear to be questioned by Schmuck or by anyone in Harris’ office.

Fritze of the Sun goes on to talk about “several” other drinking scandals in Hill offices but manages to only mention one (Rep. Larsen’s office) while leaving out the one in Rep. Palazzo’s office. I wonder where he got the idea for adding in that tidbit?