By Shauna Miller — The condition of the Thomas J.S. Waxter Center for female juvenile offenders is so bad that Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Donald DeVore told Capital News Service during a tour Thursday that the facility recently stopped accepting girls into its high-security program.

Also Thursday, several girls who have lived at Waxter reported through the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland on conditions at the state-run Laurel facility, describing it as dirty, bug-ridden and potentially unsafe in the event of an emergency.

In "Caged Birds Sing: A Report by the Girls on the A Unit at Waxter," the girls paint a grim picture of their temporary home, where offenders are typically detained from two weeks to nine months depending on their treatment program. Some have been at Waxter more than a year.

The 18-page report was compiled by the ACLU over the course of a year of workshops with the girls.

Read more: DJS halts high-security placements at Waxter

By Brady Holt — Maryland needs to strengthen its "rainy day" reserve fund to prepare for future budget crises, a state senator testified Wednesday at the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

Sen. Jim Rosapepe, D-Prince George's, was speaking in support of his bill that would divert unexpected budget surpluses — extra money that the state's analysts had not projected — into the rainy day fund until it swells from 5 to 22.5 percent of general fund revenues.

"The whole point of it is to save money in good times to cushion impacts in bad times," Rosapepe said in an interview before the bill hearing.

"Instead of allowing the governor to take those unexpected surpluses and spend them, and submit a budget that spends that money without legislative policy action ... all unbudgeted surpluses would go to the rainy day fund," he said at the hearing.

Under the bill, the state would not need to contribute extra money to its reserve fund until the economy recovers, he said, and even then the General Assembly could vote to redirect the money to cover operating expenses.

Read more: Bill would improve Maryland's "cushion" against future recessions

MarylandReporter.com —

DEATH PENALTY: The death penalty is up for discussion again as state lawmakers plan for more revisions, writes Baltimore Sun staff writer Julie Bykowicz. The bill would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty on the basis of finger prints and/or photographs, reports John Wagner from the Washington Post’s Maryland Politics blog.

A year ago, death penalty cases could only be tried based on biological evidence, videotaped evidence or a confession, adds WBAL’s Anne Kramer. Steve Lash, Daily Record legal affairs writer, focuses his story on a opponents and supporters butting heads at a Wednesday Senate Committee Hearing.

Read more: State roundup: March 11, 2010

By  Diana Nguyen — Meei Shi Child has been out of a job for almost a year. Without her unemployment checks, she wouldn't be able to care for her 3-year-old daughter and 91-year-old mother-in-law.

She is not alone: The Chevy Chase resident is one of more than 78,000 residents receiving benefits from the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

"Meei Shi puts a face on the over 1 million Americans who stand to lose their unemployment benefits if we do not extend the unemployment benefits beyond the end of this month," said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., at a news conference Wednesday.

Read more: Chevy Chase woman appeals to congress for unemployment extension

Nick DiMarco, MarylandReporter.com — The city of Annapolis is spending an estimated $1.3 million in mostly federal stimulus funds to make eco-friendly improvements to its Gotts Court Garage and surface parking lot, though the improvements will actually eliminate one space in parking-strapped downtown.

Read more: $1.3 million goes to make visitor parking more green