by Dana Amihere and Hannah Morgan Religious beliefs have played a major role in the debates in Maryland over same-sex marriage, the Dream Act and gaming expansion. Capital News

[caption id="attachment_19286" align="alignleft" width="112"] Silver Spring Garden Club members plant a spring color garden at Holy Cross Hospital.[/caption] By Kathy Jentz The Silver Spring Garden Club brought

ECONOMY • BY DAN JORDAN Special to Capital News Service Blanca Oliva, 61 years old, laughed remembering the first time she saw snow. It was 1988 and she had

EDUCATION • BY MIKE BOCK Though supporters praised Gov. Martin O'Malley and the legislature for an overhaul of year-to-year education funding requirements, education leaders are calling for a

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE STAFF The 2012 General Assembly session closed without an agreement between the House of Delegates and the Senate on an operating

EDUCATION • BY MIKE BOCK, CNS While Barack Obama and his Republican opponent will capture national headlines this November, Maryland voters will turn their attention to in-state policy

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY TOM MCPARLAND, CNS [View the story "Md. Same-Sex Marriage" on Storify] After a year of highly contested debate and political wrangling, the

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY DAVE NYCZEPI, CNS Gov. Martin O'Malley made his case for job creation and same-sex marriage Wednesday, promoting his most ambitious agenda to date

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY ELLEN STODOL, CNS A number of legislators are concerned that Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to raise the flush tax from $2.50 to $5

ENVIRONMENT • BY VARUN SAXENA, CNS Rock Creek Park officials are waiting for National Park Service approval of a plan that allows to them employ sharpshooters to reduce

CONGRESS • BY MARK MILLER, CNS President Obama set out a blueprint for an economy "built to last" -- calling for business tax reform,

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY DAVE NYCZEPIR, CNS Maryland's 430th General Assembly session convened Wednesday, promising more than a few tough votes in the coming weeks as Gov.

VIDEO • REBECCA TARANTO, CNS TV Homelessness is becoming increasingly common among families, even in Montgomery County, Md., which is one of the nation's wealthiest neighborhoods. One Silver

HOUSING — When Gabriel Rodriguez-Rico and Danielle Dean met one recent Saturday in Prince George's County to help residents of foreclosed homes, they ended up heeding, in a

ENVIRONMENT — A commission tasked with advising Maryland on possible shale gas production supports a change in the law that would make it easier for landowners to

MARYLAND — In the 14 years since the Maryland legislature approved red light cameras, about 200 of the ticket-issuing machines have been installed in the state, according

ENVIRONMENT — Maryland lawmakers are preparing to resume debate on one of Gov. Martin O'Malley's major green initiatives, an offshore wind energy bill that stalled during the

In less than 10 minutes, 78 teenagers and young adults cycled through a 7-Eleven and emptied the shelves of candy bars, snacks and drinks. Before police arrived, they

Vanita Smith sat in the grassy median of New Hampshire Avenue, her body balled-up underneath her blue poncho to keep warm. When the traffic light at Lockwood Drive turned