This week, I am going to do something different. Have you ever had so many issues you want to talk about, but do not know where to begin? I do on a regular basis (this week, more than anytime and it’s compounded by the fact that I try to keep this a weekly column.) It is that premise that I present to you “Burns-pourri.” This is where I take those topics and condense them. It will either be something I have an opinion on, something you probably should know about… or both.

Larsen leaves the Public Service Commission
Public Service Commission Chairman Steven Larsen is returning to the private sector. He will be leaving in August and returning to AmeriGroup (where he worked before Governor Martin O’Malley (D) picked him) as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Larsen was quoted in a press release as saying, “I feel very strongly that the turnaround at the PSC is complete. While we all know there is still a great deal of work ahead, I am very proud that we achieved the fundamental goal of restoring public confidence in the PSC.”

This is clearly an illusion. I don’t think the public’s confidence in the PSC has changed either way. Larsen was charged with helping O’Malley stop the Baltimore Gas and Electric rate hikes. Not only did he proclaim that there was no legal hurdle to do so, they had to approve a subsequent hike soon there after. Personally, I think that he got tired of being O’Malley’s whipping boy. I can imagine that O’Malley kept yelling at Larsen to stop BGE and Larsen responded that he couldn’t. I hope Larsen also told him that it was former Gov. Parris Glendening’s fault and not Ehrlich’s.

No matter how O’Malley’s team and The Baltimore Sun try to spin it, the governor and the PSC have ultimately failed in a central campaign promise.

The Worst of Maryland: “Shanie” Shields
I feel out of personal conviction to let you know about this next story, which I first blogged about earlier this week at Maryland Politics Today (www.marylandpolitics.us.) Salisbury City Councilwoman Eugenie “Shanie” Shields had an interesting take on crime. When speaking about three recent murders in the city at a council work session, she said, “That was unfortunate but basically those three murders, those people knew who they were after. It wasn’t like they were just randomly shooting people on the street.”

I did not believe it at first, and then my fellow contributor to Salisbury News G.A. Harrison pointed me to the audio of it. These comments are along the same lines of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson (D) saying that rape is not a crime but a “relational-ship” issue. The difference is that Shields did not broadcast her comments over a major broadcast outlet unlike Johnson (who said his comments a couple years ago on WTOP (103.5FM).) The last thing we need is a politician to make a crime seem not so bad. Crime is crime, no matter the circumstances. The victim’s family is still grieving and they still need our thoughts, prayers and assistance if needed.

Salisbury City Councilwoman Eugenie “Shanie” Shields is the worst of Maryland, for now.

Does anyone still cares?
The Gazette of Politics and Business recently showed why they seem to be gluttons for punishment. Recently in their “Reporter’s Notebook,” they called current WHFS (105.7FM) talk show host Ed Norris an eyebrow-raising pick as the emcee for the portrait unveiling of former Governor Robert Ehrlich (R). They called out their sister publication, The Washington Post, for not bringing up the fact that Norris was convicted for “misusing a Baltimore police discretionary fund to romance women other than his wife.”

Here is a clue why it was not brought up. Although the former Baltimore City Police Commissioner and state police superintendent was indeed convicted, they might have found that there were some questionable circumstances surrounding it. Lord knows I was surely suspect of the charges. For starters, now former U.S. Attorney Tom DiBiagio who was pushing for a “front page” corruption conviction by the 2004 general election because he thought that the state not having one in a while was embarrassing. He had also been raiding the files of the Baltimore City Council in a wide-ranging probe that began in 2003. It ended in 2005 after DiBagio was rightly ousted without any charges. So DiBagio’s credibility was shot to hell by his lust for the spotlight.

The fund itself had been around since the 1930s and had been in use by subsequent police commissioners until the account was turned over to the city. There hasn’t been one shred of evidence that Norris was womanizing except for what was mentioned in court records. For The Gazette to bring up the womanizing is nothing more than a cheap shot. No one really cares about the conviction and wishes that Norris (who was the primary reason for crime being lowered for part of O’Malley’s reign and Baltimore’s Mayor) were back as commissioner.

If Norris was truly guilty of anything was being gullible in using the account without covering his bases. Remember, this is the same publication that called for higher caliber leaders in Prince George’s County, months after endorsing the re-election of County Executive Johnson. By the way, don’t expect another Johnson public appearance for a while after last week’s ticker tape parade. It should be noted that the guy who was responsible for bringing him to Maryland, the governor, did not speak up for Norris at that time.

Here’s To The Real McKay
I would not be a true broadcaster if I didn’t add my voice to the rounds of condolences being passed on to the family of James K. McManus, better known as Jim McKay. Mr. McKay was the man who signed television on in Maryland as WMAR-TV (Channel 2) in Baltimore took to the airwaves in 1947. I hope HBO re-airs Mr. McKay’s excellent bio-film “The Real McKay,” narrated by the legend himself, at some point in the next couple of months.

kennyburns@marylandpolitics.us