Christopher B. Shank

I was in Hagerstown last month meeting with Sens. Christopher Shank and David Brinkley, Dels. LeRoy Myers and Neil Parrott, and business leaders in Washington County. The general consensus is that we are all disgusted with the utter and complete...

Delegates and senators hustled in and out of their offices near the Maryland State House. Maintenance workers scurried around. Television news crews set up their cameras. Prepping was in full swing Tuesday for the Maryland General Assembly 90-day...

The day is largely ceremonial. Yet, sometimes, the opening day of the Maryland General Assembly sets the tone for the rest of the session. And even though Gov. Martin O’Malley told the House of Delegates on Wednesday that this is “going to...

The 2013 Maryland General Assembly session begins Wednesday in Annapolis. Washington County legislators said this year’s session likely will be dominated by gun-related bills in the aftermath of a shooting last month at an elementary school in...

Concerns over Maryland’s new gay marriage law, money for a proposed public safety training center in Washington County and an “assault” on Maryland’s farmers through new environmental regulations were among the issues discussed...

Editor’s note: As we usher out 2012 and welcome 2013, The Herald-Mail has prepared a package of year-end stories that provide short recaps of some of the top stories of the year past. These stories will be published each day through New Year’...

Washington County’s state legislators reacted cautiously Wednesday to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to introduce legislation to try to prevent mass shootings but signaled an openness to having conversations about the issue. O’...

Voters in Washington County will have seven statewide ballot questions to consider Nov. 6. An eighth question will be on the ballot only in the city of Hagerstown. Two of the seven statewide questions apply only to the qualifications of orphans’...

Whether or not malarkey was spewed out in the first and only vice presidential debate Thursday between Congressman Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden, area residents still were willing to give their take on it Friday. “Biden had much more...

Endangering Big Bird turned out not to be a huge issue for some local political officials and other area residents, who said that Republican Mitt Romney won the first presidential debate Wednesday night against Democratic President Barack Obama. “...

Hagerstown Rescue Mission has on occasion accepted people convicted of violent crimes in other jurisdictions, a move that has prompted local officials to question and criticize the practice. Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith said last week that the...

Maryland Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, took a page out of President Obama’s 2008 campaign playbook Friday to describe Mitt Romney’s speech Thursday night at the Republican National Convention. “The speech was filled with...