Bryan Sears reports:

Sen. Nancy Jacobs is set to announce that she will seek to unseat incumbent Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger in the 2012 election.

Jacobs, a four-term Republican from Harford County, has scheduled a news conference at JADs Caddyshack in Essex Thursday. Sources familiar with the campaign say she will announce her intentions to run for the 2nd Congressional District seat at that time.

UPDATE: The following post has been updated to clarify things. Joe Steffen alleged that Peter Schmuck’s daughter was the scapegoat canned, not that she was the drunken intern.

Joe Steffen reports:

Late last summer (and I’d previously heard bits of the story – can you guess which parts were just recently brought to my attention?) Kevin Reigurt did something that boggles the mind.

In the name of Pro-life, Family Values Friendly, Congressman Andy Harris, Reigurt bought alcohol that was consumed at a party that took place in Harris’ Washington DC office. This party was to celebrate the completion of an internship program for a young woman whose time with Congressman Harris’ office was coming to a close. That part I’d previously heard and, to be blunt, it’s no big deal.

However, the young woman intern in question was underage – and was thrown out of the internship program as a result of getting trashed at the aforementioned Harris Party. THAT’s the part that was brought to my attention recently…and the fact that she was underage is a big deal.

Steffen goes on to provide more details about the party allegedly thrown by Harris’ Chief of Staff Reigurt. According to Steffen, Reigurt made the daughter of Baltimore Sun columnist Peter Schmuck a scapegoat in this scandal. After she was fired, Steffen reports Peter Schmuck confronted Harris.

This is the third drinking scandal to affect Capitol Hill offices in recent months.

Via FamousDC

Bryan Sears of Patch.com talks about Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s sci-fi references:

In public statements and press releases Mikulski has worked in a few familiar cultural references to popular sci-fi staples.

In a Wednesday press release about a recent discovery made by scientists using the Hubble telescope, Mikulski praised the device for going “where no telescope has gone before” — a paraphrase of Star Trek’s “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” (Or, more likely, of the politically-correct version from Star Trek: The Next Generation: “To boldly go where no one has gone before.”)

Sears also notes a Star Wars reference:

Earlier this month, during a speech before state senators on the opening day of the session, Mikulski finished with “and may the force be with us.”

Mikulski statement

January 13, 2011
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin (both D-MD) today announced Maryland will receive nearly $77 million to help low-income families and individuals pay their home energy bills in FY 2011.

The $76,942,926 Low Income House Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant will help low-income Maryland families, seniors on fixed incomes and people with disabilities pay for heating and cooling costs. This crucial program will help hundreds of families in Maryland pay their energy bills throughout the year.

“No family should be forced to choose between paying the heating bill and putting food on the table,” Senator Mikulski said. “Too many people feel stretched and strained by high energy costs. This grant will provide immediate, critical assistance to Maryland families in need.”

“Marylanders deserve assurance that their homes will be safe and warm during the cold winter months,” said Senator Cardin. “Our seniors, young children and disabled citizens are particularly at risk in the event of extreme temperatures. This grant will help hundreds of families avoid utility-shut offs, and protect vulnerable individuals from the serious health risks that harsh weather can pose.”

LIHEAP is a federally-funded program administered by the Maryland Office of Home Energy programs (OHEP) that serves more than 122,250 households in the state per year. In addition to helping low-income Maryland citizens pay their energy bills, OHEP promotes energy conservation, customer financial responsibility and energy independence.

A Maryland household of four earning up to $38,588 is eligible to apply for the program. A single individual earning up to $18,953 also is eligible to apply. Energy assistance is a year-round program and applications are accepted any time of year, but enrollees must reapply each fiscal year.