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Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot and state lawmakers clashed at a hearing over beer regulations Friday in Annapolis.

A year after the Maryland General Assembly passed regulatory reforms intended to help craft breweries grow, a debate over beer is set to be renewed on Friday. But while last year's discussions were focused on Guinness' plans for a Baltimore County brewery, this time, the goal is less clear.

Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young said Monday that he has spoken with Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and was assured that the popular Democrat is not running for Senate.

Three months after floating his name as a possible candidate for the Senate seat that will be left vacant by retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Cummings has done little to indicate he is pursuing the contest.

The Sun makes endorsements in selected Baltimore City races.

Baltimore's liquor board is reforming the way it does business — cutting staff, adding supervision and imposing new work rules — after a state audit revealed a lax work ethic and spotty enforcement, officials told lawmakers in Annapolis Tuesday.

Hattie Harrison, the matriarch of East Baltimore politics who often greeted colleagues as "Baby" and was known for her signature curled hair and Southern cooking, will be remembered at a funeral at noon Feb. 9.

At a time when campaigns in Baltimore usually are over, candidates in two City Council races are spending thousands of dollars battling to win the Nov. 8 general election.