Eds: Good afternoon. Here are the Capital News Service stories tentatively scheduled to move Friday, Oct. 17. If you have any questions, please call Adrianne Flynn at in the Annapolis bureau at 410-626-1008 or Steve Crane in the Washington bureau at 202-628-1677, or you may e-mail us at aflynn@jmail.umd.edu or scrane@jmail.umd.edu. Thank you. FOR SATURDAY:

ANNAPOLIS - Juvenile justice advocates plan a rally in Annapolis Saturday to protest the overcrowding and violence overwhelming the Cheltenham Youth Facility in Prince George's County. The advocates are calling on Gov. Robert Ehrlich to keep his campaign promise to shut down the notorious facility. The day before a previous rally was scheduled in June, the administration announced the closing of one of Cheltenham's cottages but there has been no progress made in depopulating the facility since then. Slug: CNS-Closing Cheltenham. About 500 words.

By Bethany Broida.

WASHINGTON - After seeing lines of Mississippi Power Co. trucks helping to repair downed power lines in Maryland after September's hurricane, Delegate Chuck Boutin, R-Harford, wondered if underground lines might save money in the long run. "What does it cost to bring those guys up here?" Boutin asked. He's likely to get an answer: Boutin is chairman of the state panel studying the feasibility of burying electrical cables. Power company officials say it can be done, but at a cost - $500,000 to $3 million per mile, compared to about $120,000 a mile to install overhead lines. The panel is expected to make recommendations to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. by the end of the year. Slug: CNS-Underground Lines. About 600 words. With CNS-Line Leader.

By Stephen Mather.

WASHINGTON

- A state task force looking at the possibility of burying electrical lines might find an answer in its own back yard: Despite the high costs involved, Annapolis has systematically buried its power lines for more than 10 years. The city makes it cost effective by combining the work in a larger project to move all utilities underground and resurface roads downtown. Slug: CNS-Line Leader. About 350 words. Accompanies CNS-Line Dance.

By Stephen Mather.< FOR SUNDAY:

WASHINGTON - Brandon Erickson, 22, lost part of his right arm to an ambush in Iraq - then the National Guardsman learned he could lose $8.10 per day from his military wages to pay for hospital meals while he was treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The fee outraged Erickson's mother, a Westminster resident, whose call to Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, led the senator to propose an Iraq spending bill amendment that would eliminate such hospital charges for fiscal 2004. The House has already passed, and the Senate is considering, a bill to permanently do away with the military practice of charging retired vets and active military injured in the line of duty for hospital meals. Slug: CNS-Meal Ticket. About 650 words.

By January W. Payne.

ANNAPOLIS - The latest tool for tracking the migration of female blue crabs is a hot pink fashion accessory - an eraser-sized backpack with a microchip inside that captures a flood of data for scientists to work with. Scientists with the federal project call the stylish ladies "robo crabs," and pay watermen who catch them around $20 and a baseball cap for the safe return of their data-filled backpacks. The researchers hope they'll gather enough information about the reproduction migration of these crabs to guide regulators into setting crabbing rules that will help revive the dwindling species. Slug: CNS-Robo Crabs. About 700 words. With photo available upon request by e-mail.

By Dan Wilcock.

ANNAPOLIS - Kevin Reigrut's six-year saga began with a letter from a credit card company - someone had used a copy of his driver's license to apply for a credit card, open a fraudulent company and who knows what else. Reigrut is just one of the 3,400 identity theft victims in Maryland, and 7 million nationally each year. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country and legislators in Maryland are trying to stay on top of it. The state was among the first to make identity theft a crime, and on Oct. 1, they raised the maximum fine on an identity theft conviction. Now they?re waiting to see what the federal government is planning before taking more action. Slug: CNS-Illicit Identities. About 900 words.

By Bethany Broida.< FOR MONDAY:

ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. revealed Tuesday that his secretive government restructuring commission's true aims include increasing his authority by putting sub-cabinet levels of government under his thumb. Ehrlich and the commission's chairman, former Gov. Marvin Mandel, have offered shifting rationales for the commission since its formation in August, suggesting goals ranging from saving money to improving service - all goals that can be met while consolidating power, Ehrlich said. Slug: CNS-Power Grab. About 700 words. With CNS-Power Box.

By Michael Duck.

ANNAPOLIS - Brief listing of requirements to speak publicly at state restructuring committees Thursday meeting. Slug: CNS-Power Box. About 100 words.

WASHINGTON - A federal anti-crime bill would required state and local police to enforce immigration law - or lose funds. Proponents of the bill argue that the roughly 2,000 federal immigration agents need the help of local authorities to apprehend undocumented criminals. Opponents counter that making local police enforce immigration laws would damage community relations, lead to police abuses and make communities less safe. Slug: CNS-Clear Ambivalence. About 700 words.

By Alex Meneses Miyashita. - 30 -

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