Reporters Notebook: The truth comes out ... oops — really big oops

In January, Dimensions said it needed $5 million to stay open and the county should pay the last $5 million of the $20 million commitment it made.

The county said it was all paid up and castigated Dimensions for once again looking to the county to keep it afloat.

To find out who was right, we asked for documentation of all 2006 payments. The county could produce payment request forms for only $15 million in transfers, leaving $5 million due.

Three $5 million transfers were made on June 14, June 30 and Sept. 13 — exactly what Dimensions’ records reflected.

‘‘They’re short,” Dimensions spokeswoman Suzanne Almalel said. ‘‘They have it in their minds that they gave us $20 million. ... We met with them. We tried to explain to them that they were missing that funding, but they said that they made the payments.”

The county turned over the fourth $5 million in February.

So, all’s well that ends well? Not exactly.

The fourth $5 mil came with conditions, including that consultant Corbett Price get a fat contract to examine Dimensions’ financial records. If any more county help was forthcoming, the county could revamp the board of directors, the conditions said.

Johnson spokesman John Erzen said those conditions will stay in place.

‘‘They do exist. Dimensions agreed to them, so those conditions exist,” he said. ‘‘If any additional money goes to Dimensions from the county, those things would still be in play.”

— Judson Berger

McDonough as publisher?

Pat McDonough keeps finding new ways to make news.

Now, he’s got plans to start his own rag.

Rally for America, a monthly tabloid, will debut in September if all goes to plan. McDonough says the publication will focus on state politics with a conservative tilt. ‘‘We’re not going to masquerade it as an independent, objective newspaper,” he said.

The premiere issue will feature an in-depth report on what McDonough calls ‘‘the antics of the Maryland General Assembly.” It will also rail against Democrats’ fiscal plan and other liberal initiatives espoused by a legislature that ‘‘has dipped off the left end of the Earth.”

‘‘The people in this state are demanding that there needs to be another voice, another viewpoint and that can only be done through the power of the media,” he chirped.

— Alan Brody

Ah, hubris

While perusing the state GOP calendar, we found it peculiar that Kent County Republicans tapped McDonough as keynote speaker for its annual Lincoln Day Dinner.

The invite, a first for McDonough, is long overdue, the feisty delegate huffed.

‘‘I’m surprised I’m not asked to do more of them,” he said. Besides the Senate prez and House speaker, McDonough claims he’s the state’s most recognized lawmaker, thanks to his 15 years as host of a weekly talk radio show and a 7,000-person e-mail network.

And the award goes to ...

Dan Morhaim last week released a list of nominees for his ‘‘Legislative Unsung Heroes” award as part of the post-session scramble to claim credit.

Morhaim doesn’t trumpet clean cars or ground rent. Nope, he heralds ‘‘important bills that get overlooked,” for several reasons. They are ‘‘complex and defy easy coverage, sound bytes and grabby headlines” or they have passed without controversy.

‘‘As a result, the public does not get informed about progress in many areas,” Morhaim wrote.

In the interest of full disclosure, Morhaim neglected to mention that nearly 80 percent of his nominees for ‘‘unsung heroes” have his name on them. Of the 14 bills nominated, he was the lead sponsor of six and a co-sponsor of five.

Can’t wait to find out which bill wins.

— Alan Brody

Boh’s foe goes for mo’

Say this about James Cusick: He’s not afraid to buck his own party.

A year after being thumped by John Bohanan in a Democratic primary (receiving less than 500 votes), the Lexington Park Democrat announced last week he will mount a challenge to Steny Hoyer in 2008.

‘‘We need a Democrat with more conservative views,” he said.

Defeating Hoyer, a 14-term congressman who was elected House majority leader in November, is going to be a tough challenge. Especially for Cusick, who spent more than five years in jail for defacing government property in a quest to bring attention to child support reform.

‘‘I understand he’s very large and very powerful,” Cusick told us. ‘‘But I really believe that voters need to have an option and that voters shouldn’t believe this man is a shoo-in.”

Before you start snickering, remember Cas Taylor.

— Alan Brody

Session or social?

Reviews are still coming in from the 2007’s low-key edition of the Maryland General Assembly.

Mel Wenger, a lobbyist for Monty, offered this assessment to the County Council on Tuesday: ‘‘I think I’d describe it as a low-risk meet-and-greet.”

— Sean R. Sedam

Like the other Bay State

Gay rights advocates are anxiously waiting for the Court of Appeals to rule on whether to let same-sex couples marry.

In anticipation of the ruling, which could come any day now, the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality Maryland held a briefing on Thursday.

Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, was asked about the possibility of Maryland making history as the second state — behind Massachusetts — to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Advocates have ‘‘put a lot of effort into this lawsuit,” reaching out to clergy, civil rights groups and legislators, he replied, ‘‘to show people that [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people are no better and no worse and our families are not better and no worse.”

Then Rich Madaleno, an openly gay member of the Maryland Senate, chimed in.

‘‘On a humorous note, we’re used to being next to Massachusetts,” he said. ‘‘We’re next to them alphabetically, and they were just ahead of us in adopting the Constitution.”

— Sean R. Sedam

Movin’ on up

Streams of legislative staffers leave town after Sine Die. Some don’t return.

This year that includes Kelly Schulz, the House GOP Caucus spokeswoman and legislative aide. She’s off to D.C., having received a presidential appointment as a special assistant at the Environmental Protection Agency. ‘‘Contrary to popular belief, Republicans do care about the environment,” she quipped.

Schulz, who lives in New Market, has been politically active since moving to Maryland in 2004. She first worked for David Brinkley, then for Mike Steele’s U.S. Senate campaign and was involved in the 2005 Frederick mayoral race.

A return to the State House isn’t completely out of the picture. (Schulz only laughed when we asked about running for Brinkley’s seat.)

‘‘I don’t plan on walking completely away from it,” she said. ‘‘This is just another step in where I’m heading.”

— Alan Brody

Stone’d

The Board of Public Works was down a man Wednesday, forcing the deferral of a vote to set the state property tax rate to next week.

That’s because Peter Franchot was recuperating at home from an enlarged kidney stone. The comptroller went to the emergency room at Washington Adventist Hospital on Sunday night after experiencing severe pain, his spokesman, Joe Shapiro, told us.

The examination showed doctors could do nothing for the discomfort and the stone had to pass naturally, which happened Monday (ouch!). Franchot spent the following three days recovering and was expected back at work today.

The property tax vote was delayed because TreasurerNancy Kopp has said she will vote against a recommendation to maintain the rate at 11.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. She fears it would enlarge the state’s budget deficit. Franchot is likely to cast the deciding vote (Martin O’Malley supports holding the rate) in favor of the proposal, because he believes any tax hike should be part of a comprehensive budget solution.

— Alan Brody

Is nothing sacred anymore?

The Franchot Bureau of Investigations, a.k.a. the comptroller’s office, raided the Langley Park Boys and Girls Club on Saturday and seized $6,000 in contraband alcohol from an illegal after-hours club on site.

Franchot called the activities a ‘‘slap in the face” to state and county liquor license laws. More than 800 containers of alcoholic beverages were confiscated along with almost $1,000 in cash.

One can only wonder who’s next. Perhaps the Girl Scouts will be targeted for illicit cookie sales on state property. We can’t wait for that press release.

— Alan Brody

Testing the waters

Looks like Andy Harris is eyeing a potential run against Wayne Gilchrest in 2008.

The Baltimore County rabble-rouser showed up at the Anne Arundel Lincoln Day dinner full of anti-Gilchrest ammunition.

‘‘When I’ve gone out and talked to the Republican base, there’s some concern with Congressman Gilchrest’s voting record,” Harris told us.

Although he stopped short of formally announcing his run, Harris sounded like he was gearing up for a campaign. ‘‘The best elected officials come from contested elections,” he said.

Harris said he plans to be at other GOP functions in the 1st district in the coming months.

‘‘Wayne Gilchrest is a very nice fellow, very personable, but in the end, when you go to Congress, you’re expected to vote the way your congressional district would want you to vote. He has strayed away from his congressional district,” the doctor pronounced.

Gilchrest has come under fire most recently for being one of only two Republicans to vote for a bill that sets a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

— Alan Brody

Pep boy

Former guv Bob Ehrlich told the same crowd of Anne Arundel Republicans that the GOP is down, but not out.

He sounded more like a man on the stump than one knocked off it several months ago. He listed his administration’s achievements. He chastised Democrats for their policies, and opined that the immediate future is ‘‘not pretty.”

But he asked the faithful to hang tough and start gearing up for the next election season.

‘‘This is the most far-left agenda we have ever seen in this state,” said Ehrlich, with former wife, Kendel, looking on. ‘‘The hard left turn of the Democratic leadership needs to be highlighted.”

The GOP bench remains replete with candidates who ran last year who need to be re-recruited, he said. ‘‘One bad election does not wipe out a bench.”

— Alan Brody

Backing Obama

Last year’s U.S. Senate wannabe Josh Rales will host a May 16 fundraiser for Barack Obama at his Potomac estate.

He confirmed the date and location, but declined to disclose the cost of the private function. Obama’s campaign said no information was available.

‘‘I think it’s going to be very successful and it’s a privilege to do what little my wife and I can to support someone who we think is a very inspirational leader,” said Rales, a real estate investor who financed his own campaign and garnered just over 5 percent of the primary vote.

Rales says Obama espouses some of the same ideological beliefs he promoted during his candidacy: bipartisanship, solution-based government and a long-term strategy to restore the United States’ international image.

— Alan Brody

Showing their clout

A tight circle of Prince George’s activists and politicians who have thrown their names behind Obama hosted a high-dollar fundraiser last week at Union Station.

Former delegate Rush Baker, attorney Orlan Johnson, activist Tamara Davis Brown and Derrick Green, a former staffer for Jack Johnson, helped pull the event together.

The fundraiser was a sign that the man who hopes to be the first African American elected president has the support of leaders in one of the nation’s most prosperous black jurisdictions.

‘‘One of the things he wants to show is he can appeal to a majority African-American district ... we still are the most educated and highest income African-American district in the country,” Baker said. ‘‘He wants to show he’s going to raise money from across the board, and not just the traditional sources like the Hollywood types.”

Baker said the idea to host the bash was hatched in January, and was originally envisioned as a cozy, 50-person event at Orlan Johnson’s D.C. law office. But the event took on a life of its own as the campaign and other area groups got involved.

Johnson said 250 people attended last week, with Prince Georgians coughing up close to $150,000 of the $400,000 raised.

‘‘It went exceptionally well,” Johnson said. ‘‘Had a good turnout, and ended up hitting a pretty decent number.”

— Judson Berger

Still rocking

Obama has claimed another MoCo supporter: This time it’s former County Council contender, Silver Spring resident and political strategist Hans Riemer.

Obama tapped Riemer to leave a four-year gig at Rock the Vote and head up his national youth vote campaign — in Chitown.

With Riemer’s wife, Angela, still living in Silver Spring, the new job makes for a lot of mid-continental commuting. On top of that, the Riemers are expecting a baby in mid-September.

We’re hoping the baby’s first words won’t be ‘‘hanging chad.”

Speaking of hanging

It’s been more than two months since Martin O’Malley submitted his last Cabinet nominations, but three positions remain unsettled.

State police superintendent Tim Hutchins, Veterans Affairs Secretary George Owings and Adjutant General Bruce Tuxill were held over from the Ehrlich administration, but their names have not been submitted for re-nomination. Annapolis insiders have speculated that Hutchins and Owings will eventually be replaced.

An O’Malley spokesman said no decisions have been made.

‘‘It’s the same as where we left it just before the inaugural,” said Hutchins, a former Charles County delegate. ‘‘He asked me to stay on for a while so they could get a look at me and how I operated, and for me to get familiar with the governor.”

Hutchins has not had any conversations with O’Malley about his job and he’s focusing on his day-to-day responsibilities. ‘‘We communicate frequently, but it’s about departmental business and what the agency’s needs are,” he said.

Hutchins said he would like to continue as superintendent, but understands that it’s a political appointment and the preservation of the institution is more important than his job security.

‘‘I look at it much the same way as the Army,” he said. ‘‘I spent 40 years in the Army. Eight presidents came and went, and the Army never missed a beat.”

Owings and Tuxill could not be reached for comment.

— Alan Brody

Here’s to you

What do you get for unseating the lone MoCo Republican elected official? A seat in the state legislature and an award from the county’s Democratic Party.

The party has awarded Craig Rice’s campaign team its Kelsey Cooke Volunteer of the Year Award. On the team were Rice’s treasurer Steve Goldstein, fundraiser Daphne Bloomberg, youth activist Neal Carter and Rice’s mommy, Vivian Rice.

Rice was in Puerto Rico this week, but we’re sure he would have given the team a hearty thanks and an ‘‘I love you, Mom.”

The team will receive the award at the party’s spring ball on May 12.

— Janel Davis

New gig for Murray

Former delegate Gareth Murray re-emerged politically this week as president of the African American Democratic Club of Montgomery County. He succeeds Ann DeLacy.

— Janel Davis

What a ham

When Prince George’s top cop Melvin High and new D.C. top cop Cathy Lanier called a news conference to discuss cross-border cooperation, it was clear Lanier doesn’t sweat the media.

As more than a dozen reporters and cameramen filed in to the cramped conference room, Lanier joked that she’d have to call in the fire inspector.

‘‘Slow news day?” she quipped.

It was a noticeable juxtaposition: the playful and talkative Lanier standing next to the taciturn, media-shy High.

As they were leaving, Lanier referred to the chief by a casual term few have ever heard: ‘‘Melvin.”

— Judson Berger

There are worse things

Strip club attorney Jimmy Bell had some ‘‘harsh” words for former Prince George’s councilman Tom Hendershot, after the councilman’s legislation strictly regulating local strip clubs was struck down in court last week.

‘‘The person who drafted the law is a government lawyer — he’s never even been to a strip club,” Bell said of Hendershot.

Told of the insult, Hendershot laughed. ‘‘I’m not gonna dispute anything he has to say,” he said.

— Judson Berger

Magical

Move over, Peyton. Step aside, Air Jordan.

A new survey said the most in-demand athlete in the corporate world is Magic, as in former L.A. Laker and movie theater magnate Earvin ‘‘Magic” Johnson.

Johnson, who opened the AMC Magic Johnson Capital Centre 12 theaters in Largo in 2004, ranked first in a survey of 213 marketing executives, edging out Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning and Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods was fourth, followed by Maryland’s favorite son Cal Ripken Jr.

TSE Sports & Entertainment ranked athletes based on their total scores, on a scale from 1 to 10 in categories such as keynote speech, sales incentives, charity event, trade show and client meet and greet.

‘‘It takes a certain type of personality to be comfortable with giving a keynote speech or schmoozing with clients in a business setting,” TSE President Robert Tuchman said. ‘‘When you are interacting with executives, it’s appealing that you can hit a baseball 500 feet, but you also have to be able to hit it off with the people you are speaking to.”

— Sean R. Sedam