MARYLAND BRIEFING

Thursday, May 8, 2008

PHOSPHATE BAN

O'Malley Likely to Approve Delay

Gov. Martin O'Malley indicated yesterday that he will probably sign legislation to allow a six-month delay in complying with Maryland's upcoming ban on phosphates in dishwasher detergents.

At the request of detergent maker Proctor & Gamble, lawmakers agreed to push back the effective date of the ban to July 2010. The ban is aimed at improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

"The way that some would look at it is . . . they've been doing it for so long, we should put an immediate stop to it," O'Malley (D) said on WTOP (103.5 FM). "The way others would look at it is that after changing their practices and changing their products, that a six-month accommodation is not unreasonable, and I tend to come down on that side of that argument."

Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), sponsor of the ban, said he will continue to lobby O'Malley to veto the bill. "I think they've gotten too long an extension as it is," Frosh said.

-- John Wagner

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Pedestrian Struck, Killed by Train

A male pedestrian was fatally struck by a freight train in Garrett Park yesterday morning, Montgomery County police said.

Police said he was spotted about 6:25 a.m. by the engineer of an eastbound CSX train, who blew the whistle and tried to stop. The pedestrian remained on the tracks and was struck. His name was withheld until family members could be notified.

-- Martin Weil

PURPLE LINE

Open Houses to Offer Information

The Maryland Transit Administration has scheduled five open houses, the first for tonight, to share its latest findings from a study about where a Purple Line transit link would run and whether it should be a light rail or rapid bus line.

Michael D. Madden, project manager of the study, said it was determined recently that the 16-mile line between New Carrollton and Bethesda would have 20,000 more daily boardings than estimated. The new estimates range from 37,000 daily boardings for the cheapest rapid bus system to as much as 68,000 for the most expensive light rail system.

Madden said earlier figures hadn't properly accounted for the number of Metro and MARC train riders who would use the transit link.

Also to be provided are better estimates of travel times between the potential 22 stops and the numbers of projected boardings at them.

The open houses are scheduled today, from 5 to 8 p.m., at College Park City Hall, 4500 Knox Rd., in College Park; Monday from 5 to 8 p.m. at West Lanham Hills Recreation Center, 7700 Decatur Rd., in Landover Hills; Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at East Silver Spring Elementary School, 631 Silver Spring Ave., in Silver Spring; next Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School cafeteria, 4301 East-West Hwy.; and May 21 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Langley Park Community Center, 1500 Merrimac Dr. in Hyattsville. Information from the meetings will be available at http://www.purplelinemd.com.

-- Katherine Shaver