MARYLAND BRIEFING

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Transgender Referendum Fought

Proponents of broad new protections for transgender individuals in Montgomery County were back in court yesterday, trying to block a referendum that seeks to repeal the law passed last fall by the County Council.

Lawyers for Equality Maryland and Lambda Legal -- gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy groups -- asked a Circuit Court judge to invalidate the referendum, certified by the Board of Elections in March. Foes of the law kept it from taking effect by collecting more than 25,000 signatures to qualify for November's ballot. Citizens for Responsible Government contends that the law would give cross-dressing men access to women's locker rooms.

The contest to be played out in court concerns the validity of petition signatures. Jonathan Shurberg, an Equality Maryland attorney, said blocking the law was an act so drastic that valid signatures must meet the high standard of including full names as they appear on the state voter register.

Board of Elections attorney Kevin Karpinski said the county followed the guidelines of the state Board of Elections, which has filed a brief siding with the county.

-- Ann E. Marimow

CHARLES COUNTY

Md. Suit Accuses Mirant of Pollution

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) filed a lawsuit Friday accusing one of the region's largest power companies of releasing toxic metals into Zekiah Swamp in Charles County.

Gansler, who has highlighted his record on environmental issues, is seeking civil penalties of as much as $10,000 per day against Mirant Mid-Atlantic until the company reduces the levels of cadmium and selenium that flow from its Faulkner Landfill into the ecologically valuable swamp. Environmental groups have alleged that the amount of those metals in the swamp is high enough to kill plant and animal life.

Experts have determined that Mirant's "passive treatment systems failed to prevent adverse impacts to waters of the State . . . and that additional corrective measures are needed to abate water pollution and adverse impact to aquatic resources," said the complaint filed by Gansler's office in Charles Circuit Court.

A Mirant Mid-Atlantic spokesman did not respond to messages seeking comment.

-- Megan Greenwell

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Landover Area Beating Victim Dies

A 56-year-old man who was found beaten in the Landover area last week has died, and his death has been ruled a homicide, Prince George's County police said yesterday.

Aboubacar Camara was found Wednesday in the 4900 block of Annapolis Road. Camara, of the 3800 block of Thornwood Road, died Friday.

-- Hamil R. Harris

Mt. Rainier Slaying Victim Identified

Prince George's County police yesterday identified a man who was slain Saturday in Mount Rainier as Rennie Jeffrey Mason, 26.

Mason, of the 3700 block of 36th Place, was found fatally shot shortly before 1 a.m.

-- Hamil R. Harris

Storm Not a Tornado, Survey Finds

What appeared to witnesses Saturday to be a possible tornado in Prince George's County was not a twister, the National Weather Service said yesterday.

After a survey, the weather service has attributed the toppling of trees in the Silesia area and damage to trees and small airplanes at Potomac Airfield in Friendly to microbursts of up to 80 miles an hour.

Firefighters said Saturday that they might have spotted a tornado when debris was thrown up in a rotating fashion.

-- Martin Weil

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

Toddler Wanders, Drowns in Pool

A Pasadena toddler left the house while his parents were sleeping and drowned in a swimming pool Sunday, Anne Arundel County police said yesterday.

Police said 20-month-old Dayden Alexander Dunn was pronounced dead at Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie.

Lt. Jeffrey Silverman, spokesman for county police, said the parents woke up about 7:45 a.m. and noticed he was gone. They searched the house and then found the child floating in the pool, Silverman said.

"It was just a tragic accident," he said.

-- Hamil R. Harris