Christopher Swope

Recent Articles

• House Seat For Sale
• Jan 27, 2006
• No, this isn't about Jack Abramoff. It's about a listing on eBay. Someone is currently selling a vintage chair from the Illinois House of Reps. ...

• Franchise Players
• Jan 25, 2006
• The U.S. Conference of Mayors is meeting in Washington this week, a convenient two blocks from our perch on the 13th floor. I popped ...

• The Smoke Vote
• Jan 24, 2006
• There's still a lot of opposition to banning smoking at bars. Just ask any member of the puffing masses standing outside pubs in a growing ...
• 4 Comments

• Minimum Wage (ctd.)
• Jan 20, 2006
• There's a friendly battle going on in the comments section over my last post on indexing the minimum wage. Just to stoke the fire a ...
• 1 Comments

• How To End The Wage War (Updated)
• Jan 18, 2006
• Maryland's legislature continued its pro-labor tear this week by voting to raise the state's minimum wage to $6.15 an hour. I'll leave aside for now the ...
• 13 Comments

• Do State Blogs Tilt Left?
• Jan 17, 2006
• I've been doing a lot of hunting for blogs lately. I'm looking for blogs that are both tightly focused on state government news, politics or ...
• 17 Comments

• NJ Slogan: The Winner Is...
• Jan 12, 2006
• Acting-Guv Codey was pulling for "New Jersey: Love at First Sight." I was pulling for "New Jersey: The Real Deal."  ...
• 1 Comments

• An Arena Done Right?
• Jan 11, 2006
• When it comes to stadiums and arenas, the argument we hear again and again in favor of them is that they'll spur economic development in ...
• 1 Comments

• Arnold "Never Thought About" Cycle License (UPDATED)
• Jan 11, 2006
• Apparently the Governator didn't have the appropriate motorcycle license when he crashed his Harley into an SUV on Sunday. Staff says he won't ride again ...
• 1 Comments

• Smoking's Last Bastions
• Jan 10, 2006
• Smoking bans aren't big news any more. Actually, what I find more interesting than a city or state passing a new ban is seeing which ...

• Statehouse Blogs: Easy Come, Easy Go
• Jan 10, 2006
• Figuring out which statehouse blogs are worth reading is a bit like playing whack-a-mole. Blogs pop up, gain fans, and then disappear as soon as ...
• 1 Comments

• Who Said Mag Rankings are Bogus?
• Jan 9, 2006
• Is fat fit? How else do we explain this? * Men's Fitness magazine ranks Baltimore the #1 fittest city in the U.S. * Men's Health magazine ranks ...

• Schwarzenegger, Son Hurt in Crash
• Jan 9, 2006
• The good news is Arnold and his 12-year old son are OK after crashing their Harley yesterday. The bad news is that the Governator has ...
• 1 Comments

• Don't Drink the Water
• Jan 6, 2006
• Yesterday on the 13th floor, the water cooler talk was about the water cooler itself. I'm not sure which Governing staffer was the first to ...

• San Diego Sack Attack
• Jan 4, 2006
• Jerry Sanders, the new mayor of San Diego, wants resignation letters from all of his middle- and top-managers this week. Going out with a bang? ...