As we near the end of the week, I thought I'd post this fun story from Maryland:

Bypassing their Annapolis offices, members of the House Ways and Means Committee drove down to the new National Harbor waterfront city in Prince George’s County on Tuesday.

The unusual site visit — the group only makes about three a year — gave members a chance to stroll along the new $5 billion development being built on the shores of the Potomac River. National Harbor, which opened in April, includes an $800 million Gaylord hotel and convention center and a waterfront shopping village surrounded by towering condos.

While a site visit might seem like a unconventional use of time, members of the committee were able to get a look at the development's infrastructure needs in person. Ways and Means handles much of the state's transportation funding requests.

This probably goes without saying, but a development like this has the potential to add significant revenue to the state's economy.

Every year, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters publishes a legislative scorecard to provide voters with a clear idea of which elected officials work to promote environment and which do not. Here is a list of those who checked in with the lowest scores this year:

Senate (20% or less):
David R. Brinkley (R)
Richard F. Colburn (R)
Janet Greenip (R)
Larry E. Haines (R)
Andrew P. Harris (R)
Nancy Jacobs (R)
Allan H. Kittleman (R)
Alex X. Mooney (R)
E.J. Pipkin (R)
J. Lowell Stoltzfus (R)

House (0%):
Gail Bates (R)
Joseph C. Boteler III (R)
Donald H. Dwyer, Jr. (R)
Jeannie Haddaway (R)
Rick Impallaria (R)
J.B. Jennings (R)
Tony McConkey (R)
Pat McDonough (R)
Warren E. Miller (R)
Anthony J. O'Donnell (R)
Andrew Serafini (R)
Christopher B. Shank (R)
Donna Stifler (R)
Nancy R. Stocksdale (R)

So what do all of these folks have in common?

That’s right -- They’re all members of the GOP.

Overall, Republican senators averaged a measly 12 percent, while their colleagues in the House scored just 29 percent.

Delightful.

In New Jersey, three bills designed to promote the use of wind and solar energy unanimously passed the Senate Economic Growth Committee and will soon go to the full Senate for consideration.

This year, nearly 50 million students will be enrolled in the nation's public schools according to the Washington Post. That sets a record, which is only expected to continue increasing.

As more soldiers come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers in Maryland are working to ensure that veterans in that state have access to the care they need to return to civilian life. The Veterans Behavioral Health Bill passed both houses without a single vote against it.

A spending bill passed by the California legislature last year now allows the California Air Resources Board to offer taxpayers a $1,000 rebate for the purchase of an electric car.

Across the country, the costs of higher education have been on the rise for years, and nationally, experts expect that trend to continue in 2008.

In fact, the College Board estimates that tuition at the nation’s four-year public universities will increase by an average of 6.6 percent this year.

One state which won’t ask students to pay more, however, is Maryland.

This session, the state’s legislators increased public higher-education funding by 9.7 percent, which gave the schools enough budget flexibility to offer attendees a break.