The reporter covered every angle on this daily article, and provided in-depth explanation of a key part of the governor's State of the State address.

Note: I'm a producer at Maryland Morning, which participates in NewsTrust. This is a balanced, well-reported, well-written piece. All the necessary voices are there (indeed, a wide range, from all over the state). The lede was tight, informative, and well-chosen from among several angles the story could have taken. The full story contains all the context needed to rope in readers new to the issue (Smart Growth, how the Bay gets dead zones, earlier attempts at similar legislation, etc.), but there's enough detail to appeal to stakeholders, to be relevant to the General Assembly session. The article takes a claim from a public official (the gov: "O'Malley said that pollution from homes being built with septic systems is ... More »

The author did a good job getting different sides of the stories. I think he brought it closer to home by bringing in the septic worker and showing the negative effects of a positive ban. The article shows the reader both pros and cons of a bill being proposed and potentially passed to ban septic systems in order to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.