MARYLAND BRIEFING

Swann was sentenced to life in prison this month and has appealed his conviction. Coates is set to be sentenced in October.

-- Matt Zapotosky

U-MD. MEDICAL SYSTEM

Chairman, 9 Others Resign

The chairman of the University of Maryland Medical System resigned yesterday, along with nine other members of the system's 27-member board, in the culmination of months of internal debate over the direction of the $1.6 billion medical system.

John Erickson, founder of Erickson Retirement Communities, resigned at a morning board meeting in Baltimore. He said he had been considering leaving the board "for several months" and had been in discussions with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and other state elected officials.

In a letter to the board this month, former chief executives of the system and the University of Maryland Medical Center said the board needed to heal divisions between the system's leadership and the medical school's staff and faculty. In less than a month, O'Malley has appointed seven people to the board.

-- Associated Press

COMMUTER RAIL

Train Purchase Approved

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the purchase of 13 double-deck coaches yesterday for the MARC rail system, at a cost of $22 million.

Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari told the three-member board that the rail cars will be used primarily on the Penn Line, which provides service between Washington and Baltimore, adding 1,700 seats.

The rail cars are being purchased from the Virginia Railway Express and will be modified before coming on line in Maryland, Porcari said.

-- John Wagner