Lutherville-Timonium, MD|News|
O’Malley Makes Historic Court Appointments
The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.

I'm a child of the eastside of Baltimore County and have lived here most of my life — first in Middle River then in Perry Hall, where I graduated from high school. I now live in Towson.
I'm a county history junkie and have a fondness for all the places that make my "hometown" special. You'll frequently find me hiking around Oregon Ridge with my dog or grabbing a slice at Pizza Johns in Middle River.
Over the years I've worked for a number of area publications including The Times in Perry Hall, The Avenue and The Journal Northeast as well as writing for Reuters news service.
For much of the last decade I was a reporter for Patuxent Publishing Co.'s community papers in Baltimore County as it's senior politics and government reporter.
I've won numerous state, regional and national awards for coverage of stories such as the Joseph Palczynski spree killings and hostage standoff in 2000, coverage of Hurricane Katrina, as well as state and local government coverage.
I've also been honored for my investigative work which includes stories involving the Community College of Baltimore County, the hiring of a health officer who was not licensed to practice medicine in Maryland and an investigation that led to the indictment of a sitting county councilman for theft from his campaign finance account.
While at Patuxent, my political blog was honored as the best in the Maryland-Delaware-DC region. I continue to blog about politics for Patch.
I appear each Thursday morning in the 7 o'clock hour where I talk about local politics on WBAL 1090 AM. I've appeared regularly on a number of that station's programs and have made guest appearances on Midday with Dan Rodricks on WYPR 88.1 FM.
I also co-hosted the "All Politics is Local" radio show on WCBM 680 AM.
You can find me on Facebook and on Twitter.
The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.

The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.
The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.
The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.
The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.
Stacy Mayer, a former assistant state’s attorney in Howard and Baltimore counties, was responsible for shepherding O’Malley’s gun control and death penalty repeal bills through the General Assembly.
The Maryland governor names Mary Ellen Barbera as the first woman chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.
The Baltimore County Council approves an expansion of a residential permit parking area in hopes of cutting down on unruly behavior and vandalism some say is caused by students.
The council also unanimously approves a law requiring bike racks in Towson, the demolition of five flood-prone properties in Cockeysville and more the $2.7 million in grants to area cultural and art organizations.
The Republican delegate kicks off a campaign to overturn a "stupid, unfair and unnecessary" fee.
Acting Transportation Secretary Jim Smith says many projects wouldn't happen without the tax increase that went into effect July 1.
Maryland motorists will pay nearly 4 cents per gallon more in taxes while Virginia residents will see a decrease of 6 cents.
John Alban Jr. told police he didn't hear the train blasting its horn before impact, setting off an explosion and fireball.
John Alban Jr. faces seven misdemeanor traffic offenses related to the May 28 derailment that resulted in two railcars exploding.
A Baltimore County version of Connor's Law would require all pool and swim clubs in the county to maintain automatic external defibrillators and train staff in the use of the devices.
Elected officials, religious leaders and advocacy groups all weigh in on the rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8.
The Maryland Court of Appeals orders county officials to participate in an arbitration hearing.
Sen. Ben Cardin calls on Congress to "act quickly to reverse" a Supreme Court decision striking down a portion of the 1965 anti-discrimination law.
County loan would be part of a package that would fund construction of a rooftop deck on the York Road bar and restaurant.