MARYLAND BRIEFING

Wednesday, October 8, 2008; B02

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

7th-Grader's Death Last Week Attributed to Bacterial Meningitis

A seventh-grade student at a Prince George's County middle school died last week of what was believed to be bacterial meningitis, officials said yesterday.

Authorities said the girl, a student at Walker Mill Middle School, died Friday at a hospital.

A letter that was to be sent home with students yesterday from Donald Shell, the county's health director, said no preventive treatment was required.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms might include high fever, headache and stiff neck.

According to the federal Communicable Disease Center Web site, none of the bacteria that cause meningitis are spread by casual contact. Most people recover if treated soon enough with antibiotics.

Those with questions were asked to call the county's communicable disease office at 301-583-3750.

-- Martin Weil

STATE GOVERNMENT

New Round of Budget Cuts Could Hit All Services, O'Malley Warns

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley cautioned yesterday that education, health care and public safety will not be entirely spared when he presents a new round of budget cuts next week.

O'Malley (D) is planning to present cuts to the Board of Public Works on Oct. 15 to help offset a recent $432 million downward revision in expected revenue in the state's general fund for the current fiscal year.

" There are no painless options available to us any longer," O'Malley said.

The governor suggested the cuts could amount to $400 million, a figure that aides later said is not firm.

O'Malley is not required to cut the full $432 million to balance this year's budget because of the availability of some unallocated funds. But the governor has suggested he will cut more than necessary to get a head start on balancing the fiscal 2010 budget. Analysts project a shortfall approaching $1 billion that year, due largely to the sour economy.

-- John Wagner

SLOTS REFERENDUM

Franchot Asks O'Malley to Stop 'Swift-Boat Style' Attacks

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said yesterday that he was the victim of a "Swift-boat style" attack carried about by pro-slots forces and called on Gov. Martin O'Malley to "call off the attack dogs, stop the negative campaigning and return the foreign gambling money."

Franchot's comments came during an anti-slots rally in Baltimore, in which he appeared with ministers opposed to a November referendum that asks voters to authorize as many as 15,000 slot machines at five locations.

The "foreign gambling money" was a reference to $2 million in pledged donation to the pro-slots campaign by Magna Entertainment, a Canadian-based corporation that owns two Maryland racetracks, Laurel Park in Anne Arundel and Pimlico in Baltimore.

The attacks that Franchot (D) was protesting came Friday in a statement by For Maryland For Our Future, the leading pro-slots organization. The group, which has the blessing of O'Malley (D), said it was starting to air television ads in Baltimore to counter false information being spread by Franchot. The ads do not mention him.

-- John Wagner

ANNE ARUNDEL

Annapolis High School Meets Targets for No Child Left Behind

For the first time in six years, Annapolis High School has met state targets mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Anne Arundel County school officials said yesterday. The high school has been on a watch list and, without improvements, faces a state takeover.

Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell launched a preemptive effort last year, requiring the school's staff to reapply for their jobs and setting a year-round work schedule. The school must meet standards again this year to move out of the state-mandated restructuring process.

-- William Wan

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Castillo Can Be Tried In Children's Drownings

The Montgomery County man accused of drowning his three young children in a Baltimore hotel in March is mentally fit to stand trial, a judge said yesterday.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Gale E. Rasin said Mark A. Castillo's trial could take place before the end of the year. She ruled that he is competent after a psychiatrist said Castillo suffers from depression but has an "excellent working knowledge" of the criminal justice system.

Authorities say Castillo, 42, drowned his three children one by one in a bathtub on March 29, in part to spite his estranged wife.

-- Dan Morse