This article frames this Maryland story in a context suitable for a national readership. It's well-written, following the arc of Governor O'Malley's speech, and it goes into more depth on specific issues where necessary.

Informative story about Maryland Gov. O' Malley's State of the State address. This breaking news report provides useful information on that speech, and cites multiple sources, providing helpful context about relevant issues. The story's leads with the proposed $100 million venture capital fund for green technology, but also covers other issues, such as a bill to set reliability standards for utilities responsible for recent blackouts. Overall, this story has more depth than others I've read on this topic so far, which is why I featured it on our home page today.

I like that the reporters included color from the speech itself, like Pipkin shaking his head at O'Malley's septic systems proposal. I understand that this is a summary of the speech that's intended to add context to what the governor said, but I would have included opposition higher in the story. It's there, just past the first page online.

A timely report of the State of the State speech, with quotes by the Governor and opponents to his proposals. The average reader might not understand the implications of a wind farm or insurance company tax liabilities, but the news is new, and there is bound to be a lot of follow-up.

I feel that this article provided a helpful overview of O'Malley's state of the state. The reporter appears to be very knowledgeable on the topic, even citing issues that were believed to be omitted from the speech. I thought a diverse perspective was provided, posing both positive and negative effects of wind energy produced in Maryland, for example. However, I believe that the article could have been better balanced with quotes from more sources than public officials, like advocacy groups and residents.

It leaves out some important details, such as O'Malley's position on education.