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Any state workers out there who are reading this, please write in and let us know what you're planning to do on Friday (particularly if you would not otherwise have had the day off.) We're hoping to get a story about it in Saturday's paper. Please include an e-mail address so we can contact you. (If you don't want your e-mail to be visible on the website, send it to me separately at andy.green@baltsun.com.)
Laura Smitherman has been ensconced in the State House basement, writing about the governor, General Assembly and vagaries of Maryland politics for several years. An erstwhile business reporter, her interest in politics dates to her days in Washington when she covered Congress and national campaigns for another media outlet. She now follows a range of policy debates from slot-machine gambling to universal health care and energy regulation, while keeping an eye on the next election.
Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital. 
Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.
Comments
Ill be giving thanks it's a furlough day rather than a layoff
Posted by: TJ | December 23, 2008 11:19 AM
Can somebody explain why they took the comments box off all Sun opinions?
Posted by: David | December 23, 2008 7:48 PM
The State of Maryland is now forcing me to finish putting-up my Christmas decorations.
Posted by: Mary Jane | December 24, 2008 9:09 AM
I just think of it as a paycheck-challenged holiday
Posted by: Anonymous | December 24, 2008 9:11 AM
i'll be making shabbos with my daughters, and thanking God with all my heart that my furlough is only 2 days and not longer . . . that i have a job to return to and not the unemployment line . . . and that i have beautiful a family with which to spend my mandatory days off.
Posted by: Hana | December 24, 2008 9:52 AM
I will be at home enjoying my kids. I am thankful to still have a job. I would rather have a furlough than a layoff.
Posted by: Keisha | December 24, 2008 10:09 AM
I will be supplementing my income by cleaning houses and dog-sitting. Because I am a Contractual worker and will not be receiving the same salary reduction plan as regular employees! You'd think the State was saving enough money by not giving us benefits as it is.
Posted by: Anne | December 24, 2008 10:32 AM
Thanking that I still have a job, and resting from all of the holiday rush.
Posted by: AN | December 24, 2008 10:55 AM
I’m going to spend the day doing things I love to do but don’t always have time for. I plan to do Pilates in the morning, make some homemade soup and catch up on some reading. One thing I won’t be doing is hitting any of the sales that day. To be honest, I don’t need a thing and I’m trying to watch my spending...especially in these uncertain economic times.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 24, 2008 11:31 AM
I'm going to be home relaxing. I'm thankful for the furlough day. No one in my department has been laid off so we are all happy about that.
Posted by: CS | December 24, 2008 11:52 AM
The University of Maryland, Baltimore has Monday, January 19, 2009, Martin Luther King birthday, off so I plan on using my furlough day to stay home and watch the Obama inauguration on television. It'll be a long weekend for me.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 24, 2008 11:54 AM
I'm going to Atlantic City
Posted by: AB | December 24, 2008 12:06 PM
I'll be relaxing with family and friends, and be happy that I still have gainful employment so that I may continue to enjoy unexpected, extended holidays.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 24, 2008 1:13 PM
Stay at home and do nothing but rest
Posted by: Anonymous | December 24, 2008 2:09 PM
I bet O'Malley is getting paid, huh? More Socialist redistribution of wealth, State folks pay the price of poor ELECTED management.
Posted by: Mobius | December 24, 2008 3:39 PM
Last furlough day I ironically went after-Christmas shopping. This upcoming furlough day I think I may volunteer a few hours to the Republican Party in hopes that they knock off O'Malley. It wasn't enough that O'Malley passed the largest tax hike in Maryland's history, but he felt the need to screw state workers when there were over 4,000 vacant jobs.
Posted by: B | December 29, 2008 5:55 PM