Thanks to Adam Pagnucco and Maryland Politics Watch for their mention in their roundup of the best and worst of Maryland media in 2009. MPW applauded The Sun for unleashing me to unleash Baltimore Guy, my undiplomatic alter ego with a Patapsco-centric point of view  that matches Pagnucco's Montgo-mania, to comment on transportation issues.

What brought Baltimore Guy out of his Natty Boh-induced stupor was a $4.6 billion proposed project to widen Interstate 270 by adding two express tolls lanes in each direction. Baltimore Guy thought that was a big waste of dough that would simply channel growth away from Baltimore. And he didn't like the statements from Montgomery politicians that suggested that their  county  was the only jurisdiction that could possible aspire to be an "engine of growth" -- as if the rest of Maryland were chopped liver.

As Pagnucco noted, some of the reaction from Montgomery was not entirely appreciative. But after Baltimore Guy weighed in, the Montgomery County Council started scaling back expectations by supporting a more modest version of the boondoggle. Coincidence? Maybe. But I think the word's out that no county (or pair of counties, if you include junior partner Frederick)  can stage a multibillion raid on the state's coffers without some accountability to the rest of the state.

Meanwhile, here's hoping the folks at MPW keep up the good work in 2010.