Gov. Martin O’Malley has quite the run going — he’s been booked on a national network’s Sunday news program four out of the last seven weeks.

This Sunday, O’Malley will be on ABC’s “This Week” at 9 a.m., where he’ll tangle with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal over Friday’s less-than-stellar jobs report. Jindal is a potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

O’Malley fired the first shot Friday, in a statement released through the Democratic Governors Association, which he chairs.

“Unfortunately, Tea Party Republicans in Congress continue to obstruct the president’s jobs bill — and the head of their party, Mitt Romney, continues to bet against the American worker, while suggesting that our vital public sector doesn’t need more teachers, firefighters and police officers on the job,” O’Malley said. “Our continued economic recovery demands that Republicans stop rooting for failure and trying to score cheap political points and instead work with Democrats to create jobs and move forward.”

O’Malley, a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2016, was in high demand last weekend, too, following the Supreme Court’s health care ruling. Maryland has been preparing for the Affordable Care Act since it was passed by Congress.

Last weekend, O’Malley was on CBS’ “Face the Nation” to defend the act. Before that, he took a two week break after a previous “Face the Nation” appearance on June 10.

The run of national television spots started May 27 on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Before that, the governor hadn’t appeared on the Sunday stage since a March 11 “Meet the Press” appearance.

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Harford County has won the “House of Cards” sweepstakes, landing the production of the political drama to be distributed by online streaming service Netflix.

County Executive David R. Craig announced the deal this week.

“This represents a tremendous opportunity for Harford County and will provide a noticeable boost to our economy,” Craig said in a written statement. “Between the number of jobs created, office and studio space leased, hotel rooms booked, and businesses utilized, this is yet another indication that industries of all types recognize that Harford County is a good place to do business.”

The statement said the county expects “House of Cards” to have a “major impact” on its economy.

“House of Cards” will star Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey and its pilot will be directed by David Fincher, whose recent credits include “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Social Network.”

The Maryland Film Office estimates the series of 13 hour-long episodes will spur $75 million in spending in the state and create more than 2,000 jobs for local crew, actors and extras.

Filming is expected to take place in and around Baltimore, so those effects will likely be spread throughout the region.

“House of Cards” will be Harford’s first major film production since “Tuck Everlasting” in 2002.

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Tune into President Obama’s jobs speech Thursday and you may see a familiar face in the crowd.

Gov. Martin O’Malley will attend the president’s economic speech before a joint session of Congress, the governor’s office revealed Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for O’Malley said the invitation was extended by the White House earlier this week.

“It was definitely last-minute,” said Takirra Winfield, the spokeswoman.

“I think the White House does recognize the governor’s stance on jobs and job creation,” she said. “He’s right there with the Obama administration in finding innovative ways to invest in and create jobs.”

Indeed, not only is O’Malley an easy choice for a short-notice invite — the Maryland State House is a 32 mile drive from the White House – but the two men haven’t been shy about promoting what they believe to be the government’s ability to spur job creation.

Just last week, O’Malley appointed nine members to a board that will oversee a venture capital program filled with $75 million in state funds.

“For a modern economy to create jobs we need to make modern investments,” O’Malley said then.

Then there was Obama’s $787 billion stimulus program and the plan he’ll unveil Thursday is expected to cost at least $300 billion. It will include tax cuts and infrastructure spending, according to The Washington Post.

O’Malley will “be there to listen and see how this affects Maryland,” Winfield said.

No word yet on whether or not O’Malley will get a presidential shout-out during the speech. You’ll just have to tune in and find out, unless you’d rather watch football. (If nothing else, the jobs speech will effectively push football previews onto G4 and SyFy, channels better known for coverage of video games and this. That’s some kind of accomplishment.)

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Jim Dinegar, the president and CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, has a unique point of view on the Maryland vs. Virginia economic development battle because his constituency hails from Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland and the city in between.

He briefed the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday about a range of business issues, including the differences between Maryland and Virginia with a frankness that one doesn’t often see from business representatives.

One of the key factors that separates the states is the degree to which businesses can predict what action lawmakers will take in statehouses in Annapolis and Richmond, Dinegar said.

“You don’t have a reputation for being business friendly,” he told the committee. “The certainty, you don’t want people [in Annapolis] trying to battle on taxes. Decide. There’s a higher degree of certainty in Virginia.” Read the rest of this entry »

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After months and months of the race between Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and challenger Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. churning inside the margins of error in poll after poll, The Washington Post released the results of a new survey Tuesday night that shows O’Malley ahead by 11 points.

The Post’s poll put the gap at 52-41 — among likely voters with a 4 percent margin of error — with five weeks left to go in a rematch of the 2006 gubernatorial contest, when O’Malley beat Ehrlich 53-46.

Just eight days ago, a Rasmussen poll showed the two men statistically tied (as they have been for much of the summer and early fall), with O’Malley’s 50-47 lead just within the 4 percent margin of error.

O’Malley, who carried a huge cash advantage into the race, has been outspending Ehrlich on the airwaves. O’Malley launched his first TV ads in the Baltimore market in July, while Ehrlich waited early September. (TBD.com has some quick analysis of the poll posted. And a hat tip to them for the tweet that called my attention to the poll.)

Despite the bottom-line number, there are some trends in the Post poll that mirrored those in other polls released on the race.

Ehrlich enjoys strong support in his own party and appears to be winning over more independents than O’Malley. But in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1 and make up half of the likely voters, Ehrlich doesn’t seem to be making enough headway in building support across party lines.

Ehrlich pulled 22 percent of the Democratic vote in 2002, when he became the first Republican to be elected Maryland’s governor in a generation. The Post poll showed only 15 percent of Democrats back Ehrlich, and O’Malley has actually strengthened his hold on vote-rich Montgomery County.

And the economy remains the top issue for voters. According to the Post’s story, 43 percent of voters trust Ehrlich to handle the $1.1 billion budget shortfall, while 40 percent trust O’Malley. The paper takes this to mean that Ehrlich is in a tight spot because he’s already ahead on the top issue, but still behind in the race.

I’m not sure how strong the connection is between budget issues and economic woes in the minds of most people — gauging voters on who they trust to tackle unemployment would hit closer to that point — but it still can’t be seen as a positive for Ehrlich. It could indicate the issues and the records of the two men who have both held the office for four years aren’t important enough to sway a large swath of voters one way or the other.

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Northrop Grumman Corp., the one that got away, has finally settled on a new place to call home.

The defense giant that had drawn multimillion-dollar dowry offers from Maryland, Virginia and the District, chose in April to focus its search south of the Potomac in the fast-growing areas in Northern Virginia. The company chose a building near Falls Church on Monday, The Washington Post reported.

The Post’s story offers a few more clues as to what Northrop was looking for, and why Maryland didn’t fit the bill. The company’s decision has been influenced all along by the size of the buildings available, their locations and the incentives doled about by different jurisdictions.

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Every month, the state reports unemployment statistics and every month, at least lately, the message that accompanies those statistics follows a formula, something like “things have gotten worse, but they’ve gotten worse less quickly than they have before, so that’s a good thing.”

The numbers released by the state on Friday were made more interesting by the context provided by Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday.

O’Malley signed into law a $20 million tax credit program that will give businesses $5,000 for every unemployed Marylander they hire in 2010, up to $250,000 per business. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation expects to start taking online applications for the credits next week.

Less than a day later, DLLR reported that the state’s unemployment rose to 7.7 percent in February, up from 7.5 percent in January. The number of unemployed Marylanders hit 227,524, up from 222,196 the month before.

If businesses decided to take advantage of all the available tax credits and hired 4,000 people immediately, that still would not bring the state’s unemployment situation from the February level down to the January level. That probably says more about the enormity of problem, rather than the scope of the solution.

“While there continue to be signs of improvement in the economy, we are still seeing significant pressure on the job market,” said Labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez in a written statement. “Both the unemployment rate and job creation statistics may continue to move erratically as the economy strives to move ahead.”

Maryland lost 68,300 jobs from Feb. 2009 to last month. Of those losses, 13,800 were lost between January and February.

Those figures also have big implications for the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which was the focus of another bill the governor signed Thursday. His overhaul of unemployment benefits will bring the bankrupt trust fund $126.8 million from the feds.

The fund has opened a line of credit with the U.S. Department of Labor to keep paying benefits and state officials hope the one-time infusion brought by the overhaul will keep the state from borrowing again this year. But that assumption is based on the employment situation improving this year. Persistent, high levels of unemployment would be bad news for the fund.

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The tax credit for businesses who hire unemployed Marylanders was passed out of the General Assembly Thursday morning and will make its way across Gov. Martin O’Malley’s desk in the afternoon.

Businesses will receive $5,000 refundable credits for hires in 2010. Both the Senate and the House amended the bill, an O’Malley initiative, up from the original $3,000 credit, a change requested by the business community. The program will be capped at $20 million. Businesses will be eligible for up to $250,000 in credits. Here’s our story on the Senate’s changes.

The Senate passed the legislation 47-0 on Feb. 26 and the House passed it 134-6 on Monday. The Senate concurred Thursday with minor changes the House made to the legislation, sending it to the governor’s desk.

O’Malley will also sign into law his unemployment insurance reform bill and another measure that would restore manufacturer bonuses for car salespeople.

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The state Senate has given preliminary approval to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s much-amended plan to expand unemployment benefits. (Here’s our most recent story on the compromise bill.)

The legislation will likely be up for a final vote in the chamber this week.

But, one lawmaker said, there is at least one part of the plan that must still be worked out.

As part of the compromise with business groups on the bill, a cut of $83 million to the record-high unemployment taxes in 2010 was removed. The groups argued the cut would hurt the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund in the long run, and keep businesses paying higher taxes in the years to come.

Sen. Thomas M. “Mac” Middleton, the Charles County Democrat who led the negotiations on bill, said he is working with the governor’s office to create a program that would give businesses loan guarantees to help them pay their unemployment insurance taxes.

One option would be to rededicate part of a small-business loan guarantee program, which is already part of O’Malley’s business agenda this year. Middleton said he is looking for $3 million to $5 million.

“We’re hoping we can take part of that money for a loan guarantee program, a no-interest or low-interest loan program,” he said.

The move could help some small-business owners. The National Federation of Independent Business, which does not support the compromise legislation, had supported the original tax cut provision.

Unemployment insurance taxes shot up for businesses in 2010 as the high jobless rate weighed on the trust fund. The minimum rate in 2010 is $187 per employee, compared with $51 last year. The 2010 rates top at out $1,147.50 per employee.

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Today, exactly halfway through the legislative session, two of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s high-profile business initiatives took significant steps forward.

The governor, by the way, was not on hand to see them – he’s in Iraq, visiting soldiers.

While he was away, his unemployment insurance legislation appeared to move toward compromise, with business groups saying a host of proposed amendments address most of their concerns. The governor’s plan would have expanded benefits to qualify the state for $126.8 million in federal funds. The amendments reduce benefits by about the same amount. See our brief story here and stay tuned for more coverage.

Earlier in the day, the Senate passed a job creation tax credit proposal championed by the governor. The amended bill upped the credit from $3,000 to $5,000 for each unemployed worker hired by Maryland companies.

Del. Kumar P. Barve, D-Montgomery, said Friday he expects the House to make a similar change to the plan.

The Senate bill passed 47-0.

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