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July 9, 2009

No one is headed to Hollywood, but maybe someone will get paid

No one’s acting career will be launched by Comptroller Peter Franchot’s latest YouTube ad, but it might reconnect some Marylanders with their long-lost property. The ad is a parody of the GEICO insurance adds featuring a wad of cash and Groucho Marx glasses. Franchot’s version is intended to promote the agency’s unclaimed property program.

Franchot’s latest video ad on the much-trafficked Web site debuted Thursday before a group of residents at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. Just some captive elderly viewers and no red carpet or paparazzi — in keeping with the low-budget, viral nature of the ads. According to the comptroller’s office, Maryland Public Television produced the 3-minute, 42-second spot at no charge.

The actors include state Sen. John C. Astle, an Anne Arundel County Democrat; the official Annapolis Town Crier, Squire Frederick; and Franchot aide Joseph Shapiro. And, of course, Franchot himself makes an appearance.

Franchot comes on screen at the end (like a candidate in a political ad) to lay out the stakes: “Every year my office gets unclaimed property from bank accounts and from safety deposit boxes. When property isn’t claimed for three years, it’s turned over to the state of Maryland. And we try to reunite it with its rightful owners.”

A government official trying to reunite residents with their money? Novel concept. The agency has records on about 787,000 accounts worth more than $795 million. To see if any of it is yours, go to www.marylandtaxes.com or www.missingmoney.com.

Oh, and to see the ad, click here.

NOTE: Michael D. Golden of Maryland Public Television called to say that his outfit produced the spot for Franchot's office in exchange for graphic design services.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 1:03 PM | | Comments (2)
        

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Hi guys, all human situations have their ups and downs. We feel those of the here and now but never see or feel those of the future

Excellent work. You have gained a new subscriber. Please keep up the good work and I await more of the interesting posts.

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About the bloggers
Annie Linskey covers the statehouse for The Baltimore Sun. Previously, as a City Hall reporter, she covered the corruption trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon and kept a close eye on city spending. Her reporting on the city’s economic development arm led to the termination of multiple improperly bid seven-figure public works contracts and her coverage of the death of a fire department cadet resulted in overhaul of that agency’s top brass. Before that, as a crime reporter, she interviewed Bloods gang members and the police detectives who pursue them.
Originally from Connecticut, Annie has lived and reported on war crimes tribunals and landmines from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She lives in Baltimore.

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.

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