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January 20, 2009 • Volume 120 • Number 89

THE INAUGURATION OF BARACK OBAMA

Hopes and fears for the new administration Daily Record reporters asked members of Maryland’s business and legal communities what their hopes and fears were as Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States at noon on Tuesday.

RICH DENNISON

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Tom Noonan President, BACVA

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden wave to the crowd Saturday at the MARC train station in Edgewood en route to Washington for Tuesday’s inauguration.

“Some of his focus is right on in infrastructure, especially transportation, which is terribly important in Maryland. I’m hopeful that his emphasis on infrastructure would allow us to complete some worthy projects, like the Red Line. … One thing you have to recognize is the huge amount of stimulus that’s being put forward today may have some adverse consequences down the road in terms of inflation. You want to make sure there are no side effects of the fiscal drug we’re about to take.”

“I have great hope and expectations. I think that, of course, he will grasp the necessities of the economy because obviously during the campaign and now he recognizes that’s the foremost problem of the country. ... I look for him to, as Bush tried to say earlier, have a kinder, gentler administration in terms of helping the disadvantaged. I look for the Justice Department to be completely reversed in its involvement in human rights and civil rights. And I look forward to his Supreme Court appointments.”

Atwood “Woody” Collins III, President, M&T Bank Corp. Mid-Atlantic division

A. Dwight Pettit, The Law Office of A. Dwight Pettit, P.A.

“I’m hoping for major change in immigration law, as well as in the way foreign policy is set and practiced. I would hope that they don’t change the laws concerning citizenship-by-birth, which has been batted around. [The administration should] permit a path to legalization for people that are already here. I think, especially in this last year, we’ve seen that the destruction of families and just blanket sweep of people out of the U.S … is costing our economy dearly. You’ve got U.S. farmers that are refusing to grow crops because they have no one to harvest them. That’s insane.” Linda A. Dominguez, LA Dominguez Law

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We have great hopes for the new president. Despite the challenging economic times, people are excited about the future and what this change represents. As a city that depends on a vibrant tourism industry, it is more important than ever to restore consumer confidence and get people spending again.

Thinking long term we are hopeful that we can both revitalize the economy and transition into a clean energy economy. Our goals are very much in line with what President-elect Obama has been saying. He wants to double our alternative energy over the next three years; he wants to create or sustain over 4 million new jobs. It can happen if we’re careful about the steps we take now to revitalize our economy. Tommy Landers, Policy Advocate, Environment Maryland

“I think everybody is obviously hoping for the best. Obama’s coming into a hornets’ nest. I don’t necessarily feel sorry for what he’s doing — coming into the worst economy we’ve seen in a long time, but at the same time, he’s so far down at the bottom that he can only go up. … One thing I’ve seen in this election that I haven’t seen in my life is the amount of people who have been galvanizing around [Obama]. There’s really been a broad band of people rallying around him and that’s a good thing because it brings people together instead of fighting him.”

“The Obama administration promises a commitment to rethinking health care in America. The focus is on the importance of health care to every American both in terms of their economic and personal security. We’re seeing the Obama administration bring a set of thought leaders that holds the promise of having a much-needed collective conversation about how to best change the health care system in America. They provide the opportunity for the critical conversation that many people have been waiting for.”

Patrick Turner, President, Turner Development Co.

Carmela Coyle, President and CEO, Maryland Hospital Association

More hopes and fears on Pages 6A, 8A and 9A

Features

c Online

■ Auction Sales

Uncover Story

A miniature version of a Neiman Marcus department store has been set up in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in Washington since Thursday, and it will remain open until the last inaugural ballgoers have their Manolos shined and their bow ties tied.

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■ Calendar of Events..........................13A ■ Marketplace

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Inside Litigation New documents surface in Exxon trial. Page 1B

www.mddailyrecord.com

On the RECORD blog Follow the link on our Web site

LAW COVERAGE SECTION B

RETAIL

The selling of the president (elect) Strong demand for Obama merchandise is good news BY LIZ FARMER [email protected]

Simply put, it’s good old American capitalism, and Maryland merchants have been finding ways to cash in big. While Tuesday’s inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States symbolizes, to many, the realization of an American dream, for retailers it represents a chance to breathe some life into their struggling industry and promote anything and everything Obama-related — right down

to cupcakes and baseballs. Top-selling items have been T-shirts and other commemorative gear, which has had screeners busy filling orders for weeks. Kevin Fulmer, co-owner of Screen Designs & Promotions, said the demand has driven huge spikes in his business during a month that is typically quiet. He said his Davidsonville business has had more than 300,000 Web hits since mid-December and has sold nearly 10,000 items in the SEE RETAIL PAGE 2A

MARKETPLACE 10A