I was saddened by the passing of Evelyn Biles.  She and Bud have been friends of mine for years and she was a great lady.  Today was her memorial service and Bud did a wonderful job of asking us to remember her for what she meant to so many of us.  I was heartened to see so many friends attend the service and support Bud Biles and the rest of his family.  Evelyn volunteered with many groups and was dedicated to the Accokeek Foundation and Hard Bargain Farm.  She was a teacher and an advocate for environment education. She will be missed by many.

The Hospice of Charles County met with the Charles County Delegation today to ask our support for a bond bill to assist them in building a hospice facility.  At present they have no permanent home and are hampered in both providing service and fundraising.   This group is especially worthy of our assistance.  They help families in the most distressing of times and try to ease both pain and anxiety for their patients and their loved ones.

Governor O’Malley presented his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly.  While the Governor gave a positive and optimistic speech citing some of the areas that all of us in Maryland can be proud, he also challenged all of us to work together “to protect our shared priorities and strengthen Maryland’s safety net for families in need during these tough economic times.”  I believe that all of the legislators feel their responsibility to make the best decisions possible in these troubling times.

Last fall voters passed the referendum allowing early voting in Maryland.    Maryland has also made a decision to scrap the electronic voting machines and go to paper ballots to preserve a record of each vote cast.  Today’s briefing in Ways and Means dealt with the issues of where to have the actual polling places and the hours they would be open during the two week period of voting,   We also heard a presentation from Wisconsin officials on how they handled same day registration for voters.

The previous week the Charles County Delegation had met with the Charles County Board of Elections officials and heard their concerns about the changes that would be needed to put the early voting in place.  I appreciated this advance notice of possible problems; it gave me a chance to look for how their concerns could be resolved.

What about you? What was your election experience like? What would you change? What will help us encourage more people to vote?

Today was United Seniors Day in Annapolis.  Seniors from around the State come to the General Assembly to state their views on pending legislation and issues affecting seniors.  I had an opportunity to talk to the Southern Maryland group and hear their concerns on the economy, housing, funding the Department of Aging, and funding programs to allow seniors to age in place in their homes without having to go to nursing homes for care.  They make good points on all of these issues.  All of us, if we have a choice, want to spend our time in our homes, with our loved ones, surrounded by familiar and cherished reminders of our life.