I came across a bill introduced last week in the House of Delegates that proposes exempting fantasy sports from Maryland sports gambling prohibitions. Click here to read the two-page bill.

The legislation is sponsored by Del. John A. Olszewski, D-Baltimore, and co-sponsored by three others.

For a little context, the bill would not violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which exempts fantasy sports. More recently, New Jersey lawmakers are proposing legalizing Internet gambling and in Congress, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is pushing legalization of online gambling.

No hearing has been scheduled yet but it’s an interesting proposal. I mean, let’s be honest … if you play or have ever played fantasy sports, chances are you have played for money at some point. To me, it kind of seems like one of those bills where so many people are doing it anyway and it doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone, let’s just make it officially legal instead of looking the other way. After all, I don’t really think the fact that awarding prize money to the winner of a fantasy league isn’t legal in Maryland, is really stopping anyone. Please, someone — correct me if I’m wrong on that.

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With the Anne Arundel County Council scheduled to vote Monday on whether to allow zoning for slots at the Arundel Mills Mall, the Maryland Horse Council has issued an alert calling upon the industry to make its presence known that night.

The e-mail sent out by the council is pretty over-the-top — it implores people to “help save Laurel Park,” warning that the future of thoroughbred racing is in danger if the council votes to approve the zoning for Arundel Mills:

The Anne Arundel County Council will vote Monday on whether to allow the slots that we all expected to be put at Laurel Park Racecourse to instead go to a new non-racing facility next to Arundel Mills Mall. The Maryland Jockey Club predicts that if slots go to Arundel Mills, Laurel Park’s value will immediately plummet, the impending bankruptcy auction will be a disaster, and the land there will be used for a housing development. If zoning is denied for Arundel Mills slots on Monday, the Jockey Club will submit a proposal for slots at Laurel, it’s value will increase, and the track will be given a new future with new ownership.

Wow, talk about glossing over the details — first of all, it’s not even certain the county council will vote because they are hearing arguments before the vote. They have to vote before Midnight so if the hearings go over, the vote gets rescheduled.

Second, if the zoning gets voted down, while the MJC may WANT to submit a new application, there’s no guarantee that could be done. AND if the MJC (which is owned by Magna Entertainment Corp.) did apply for a license, Magna would most certainly take its Maryland tracks off the auction block and we wouldn’t have a new owner after all.

Does anyone else find this a bit too much?

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After tallying 5,000 votes between 42 candidates, the Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau (AACCVB) has announced 12 winners for its “More than a Pretty Face” contest.

Says the tourism bureau, “contest winners epitomize the spirit of giving and selflessness that make Annapolis and Anne Arundel County so appealing.” Here are some of your winners:

Longtime Annapolis resident and Maryland State Senator John Astle

Annapolis Chief of Police Michael Pristoop

J. Ernest Green, Music Director of Live Arts Maryland

Hands off ladies — these men are taken! Actually there were some women who made the final cut, but I couldn’t find pictures of them — sorry gals.

The More than a Pretty Face contest served as a prelude to the AAACCVB’s winter marketing campaign, which kicks off Monday with a new homepage look and feel. Visitors to www.VisitAnnapolis.org homepage can click on the “More than a Pretty Face” icon to read more about the winners, see their pictures, and view a video in which they describe what makes the destination special to them.

I’m all for promoting local figures…but it’ll be interesting to see if this campaign really makes any kind of splash with people OTHER THAN locals. When I think about destinations I’ve been to, I don’t really care what the chief of police has to say about it — I care more about what there is to do and how to get around.

But maybe I’m being cynical…thoughts?

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An interesting story came my way this morning out of the Cyphers Agency in Annapolis. It seems the agency’s latest recruit was found almost entirely by using social media sites. And what division was she hired for? You guessed it, Cyphers’ new Word of Mouth division called Push-n-Pull.

The new account executive, Julianna Wittig, was a casualty in a mass layoff this spring, so she focused on managing her online presence (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) while updating her resume and looking for new opportunities. When she saw the opening at Cyphers, she found colleagues at the Baltimore Ad Club who knew of the agency and could give her feedback on the work environment and culture there.

In Annapolis, Darren Easton, the agency’s vice president and creative director, checked up on Wittig with friends and through networking sites to see if she’d be a good fit for the firm’s social media’s side.

“By the time the actual interview came to pass, Darren just looked at me and said I already know everything I need to know about you,” said Wittig in the agency’s account of the story.

I had a friend a while ago who was a really good worker and pretty normal in other social situations but she just imploded during interviews because she’d get really nervous. She told me of several occasions where she knows her nervousness lost her the job.

It’s well known that future employers may look at Facebook sites and any other online profiles interviewees have to judge whether they’d be a good fit. If hiring continues along this trend of using more social media, does that mean people like my friend won’t get burned as often by a poor interview?

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Strolling around downtown Annapolis in the summer, I’m reminded that the city is a beautiful sight to behold — sailboats dot the horizon and line the docks along the waterfront, their tall masts making up a picturesque maritime skyline. My favorite downtown activity includes a big ice cream cone and a stroll on Main St. and West St. as friends stream in and out of bars and restaurants.

It’s no secret that our state capital relies on this busy atmosphere and plentiful tourist dollars to generate revenue.

Recently, in an effort to raise nearly $1 million for the state’s budget, the city council passed an amendment that would increase parking fees in the downtown area by as much as 60 percent. According to the Annapolis Capital, this decision is causing some backlash from local business owners who are concerned that this rate increase will drive away customers and make it impossible for their employees to afford parking.

In some locations, the monthly parking pass will increase from $150 to $240, and the hourly rate will jump from $1.25 to $2. Many citizens are claiming that there was no hint that a rate increase was being considered until after it had already passed — giving them no chance to protest.

In response, on Monday the Annapolis City Council met and unanimously decided to delay the start date of the new rates from July 1 to August 1. The council agreed that looking into different ways to generate revenue and hearing feedback from citizens could benefit the community.

Should parking rates be raised to increase revenue or are there better ways to make money that don’t drive away customers?

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In case you missed it, an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday berated the state for “fleecing the wealthy.”

It argues that by raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25% in 2008, Maryland pushed its highest earners to move out of state (or, more likely, to change their residencies to their second homes in tax-friendlier states.)

Here are the hard numbers:

• In 2008, about 3,000 million-dollar tax returns were filed
• In 2009, that number dropped to 2,000
• Because Baltimore and Bethesda, among other cities, impose additional income taxes, the WSJ notes “the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%“
• In 2008, MD projected an extra $106 million in revenue from the increase; because of the drop in returns, the wealthy actually paid $100 million less in taxes in 2009 than in 2008

Before you cry foul, the WSJ does concede that the majority of the loss in filings “no doubt” results from the recession. Regardless, some number of rich filers did leave the free state.

Moreover, the op-ed contends:

This is one reason that depending on the rich to finance government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of cash during good times that vanish during recessions.

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As if Maryland’s quest for slot machines wasn’t facing enough setbacks, Delaware is pouring salt on the open wound by trying to expand its legalized gambling options to include sports betting.

A Delaware house committee narrowly approved a bill Tuesday evening that would allow sports gambling at the state’s three casinos. Despite disagreement between between the governor and the gambling industry to parts of the proposed legislation, the bill’s sponsor told the Associated Press this week he is willing to delay the floor vote so both sides can resolve their differences.

Administration officials estimate the gambling proposal could generate $55 million in additional revenue for Delaware in its first year.

Meanwhile Maryland’s slot machines, meant to breathe life back into the state’s horse racing industry — which has been losing gambling business to other states like Delaware that have already legalized slots — have faced one blow after another this year. From the disqualification of the only bid that would put slots at a racetrack to the threat of losing the Preakness Stakes, it has not been a banner year for one of Maryland’s greatest traditions.

My guess is, at this rate, Maryland still won’t have slots next year while Delaware will be introducing sports gambling parlors in their casinos. Great — something else for Annapolis to play catch up on and something else for racing officials to point to and say, “Look, see this is why we’re not getting the revenues we should be.”

Maybe gambling isn’t the answer to saving the racing industry here after all — maybe the problem goes a lot deeper like oh, I don’t know, the people who were running the tracks? Was passing slots a needless waste of time?

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The presiding officers of the Maryland House and Senate say spending is going to be tight this year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be new policy proposals on the table. And though the cash-crunched state is trying to make every dollar count, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. says he doesn’t think too highly about any plans for new taxes.

He’s also not a big fan of Prince George’s Sen. Paul Pinsky’s perennial push to change the state’s corporate tax laws. Miller said at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s policy conference on Friday that he would not support a bill that Pinsky said he is going to introduce that would implement “combined reporting.”

The practice, which would require companies to pay income taxes based on the amount of business they do in the state (instead of where their headquarters is located), is very unpopular with the chamber. Each year, Pinsky gathers data from the Maryland Comptroller’s office in an attempt to calculate the amount that the state’s largest employers have paid, and whether that’s enough.

This time, Pinsky requested tax payment info from the 50 largest corporations. A lot of people at the conference were not pleased about this. The state has been asking for tax information from companies this year as part of a wider study of whether to implement combined reporting.

The debate always gets a little bitter around this time of year. Do you think the corporate reporting issue will settle down once the state starts to make progress on its study of the issue?

ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

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Above, the State House’s “fire suppression system” is tested today. Photo by Eric Stocklin.

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If you’re in Annapolis Thursday and you think the State House is on fire, don’t worry. It’s just a really cool “deluge system” that protects the capitol’s historic dome.

The Department of General Services is testing the fire suppression system at 9a.m. on Thursday morning. It “will pour up to 7,500 gallons of water over the dome of the State House at a rate of 1,500 gallons per minute,” according to a DGS release. I guess they don’t take any chances.

Anyway, the system creates a mist that can look like smoke to the untrained eye. It’s not.

According to the release, this blog entry could perform a public service by helping to prevent the Annapolis fire and police departments from getting flooded with calls. They already know about the test.

ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

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