The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page A1

EH! THE SUN 50 cents Baltimore, Maryland Thursday, January 16, 2003 THE INAUGURATION OF ROBERT L. EHRLICH JR. Ehrlich pledges 'better ideas' Malvo to be tried as adult hi inaugural address, new governor vows fight for taxpayer interests Speech short on specifics Lt. Gov. Steele sworn in as 1st African-American statewide-elected official 17-year-old suspect in sniper killings could face the death penalty By David Nitkin SUN STAFF By Andrea F.

Sieqel SUN STAFF FAIRFAX, Va. A Virginia judge cleared the way yesterday for 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, one of two suspects in the Washington-area sniper shootings last fall, to be tried as an adult for capital murder and possibly face the death penalty. After hearing testimony from 24 witnesses tying Malvo, also known as John Lee Malvo, to four shootings, three of them fatal, Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Charles J. Maxfield ruled that there was enough evidence to send the allegations against the teen to Circuit Court for trial. "It is true that there is no eyewitness evidence to place this defendant at these crimes; however, the circumstantial evidence is quite strong," the judge said.

Weaving together the threads during a two-day hearing, federal agents and local police linked Malvo to two telephone calls to police and two written threats. That is significant because an anti-terrorism law passed in Virginia last year allows killers convicted of trying to coerce the government or intimidate the public to be put to death. See Malvo, 11a JOHN MAKELY SUN STAFF Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

(left) introduces Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele during the inauguration at the State House in Annapolis. Steele remarked that he and Ehrlich have climbed "the ladder to opportunity" and reached the pinnacle of Maryland state government.

Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. was sworn in as Maryland's 60th governor yesterday, pledging that the first Republican administration in more than three decades would combat drug addiction, improve the lives of disabled residents and boost public school performance. In a 12 -minute inaugural address delivered in subfreezing temperatures, Ehrlich, 45, thanked his family, classmates, football teammates and legislative colleagues for building a foundation of principle and passion that carried him from the working-class suburb of Arbutus to the State House. His speech offered more promises than specifics but touched on nagging problems in particular, the state's budget shortfall that have become his full-time responsibility. "We should not be fearful of change, of reform, of better ideas, particularly where taxpayer dollars are concerned," said the former four-term congressman.

"For us, every day is a taxpayer day, every dollar is a taxpayer dollar, every minute is a taxpayer minute." Ehrlich said he would also concentrate on homeland security, public safety and faith-based initiatives, and he called for bipartisan cooperation to solve the state's problems. "There will be honest disagreements where spending priorities are concerned, but good and honest and hard-working people can overcome their differences in the best interests of the people," he said. During a ceremony driven by tradition but sprinkled with humor, Ehrlich suffered good-natured barbs from Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and embraced his parents, his wife and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Michael S.

See Ehrlich, 8a Keeler taps first layperson to lead a parish in diocese S. Korea's new leader reinforces ties to US. I I Appointment reflects worsening priest shortage By John Rivera SUNSTAFF more-area parish. The appointment of Anne Buening to lead St. Clement I in Lansdowne marks the first time a married lay woman will lead a parish in the Baltimore Archdiocese.

"I'm humbled by the honor and responsibility to be the servant leader of this community," said Buening, 50, who has worked full time on the ministerial staff of St. Louis Catholic Roh's symbolic gesture shows critics and North that the aUiance is strong In a sign of the worsening shortage of Catholic priests in the United States, Cardinal William H. Keeler has chosen a former health-care executive as the first layperson to lead a Balti More inside By Gady A. Epstein SUN FOREIGN STAFF Church in Clarksville since 1998. Until now, nuns typically have been tapped to serve as "pastoral life directors" to lead the few parishes that have no full-time priests, overseeing budgets and religious education programs and counseling parishioners.

But with six parishes in the Baltimore Archdiocese now without priests as pastors, a number expected to rise substantially in coming decades, church officials say they will increasingly appoint deacons, nuns and laypeople to administer parishes. Buening is a pioneer in the church's strategy to deal with the priest shortage, which includes efforts to recruit more men to the priesthood. Those efforts were laid out in The Hope That Lies Before Us, a report released last year that was overshadowed by the clergy sexual abuse scandal. The crisis in Baltimore reflects the See Catholic, 7a if 7 i jf Michael Steele: Lieutenant governor's swearing-in both symbolic and historic for Maryland. Page 9a Guests: Giddy Republicans arrive in Annapolis for a precious occasion.

Page 9a Parris Glendening: Departing governor spends day packing up, looking ahead. Page 10a Text: Ehrlich speech. Page 10a Duke beats Virginia; Terps fall to Wake As top-ranked Duke beats Virginia, 104-93, to extend its home winning streak to 21 games, Maryland falls to Wake Forest, 81-72. Pages 1, 7e Jim Phelan reportedly to retire after 49 years coaching at Mount St. Mary's.

Page 1e World Race-based admissions plan is 'divisive, Bush says FRED ADAMS SPECIAL TO THE SUN SEOUL, South Korea South Korean President-elect Roh Moo Hyun visited the U.S. military's Korean headquarters yesterday in a symbolic gesture to North Korea, the United States and conservative critics at home that the alliance between his nation and Washington remains strong. Roh, 56, was elected four weeks ago at what seemed a peak of anti-American sentiment, and his victory over a more hawkish, pro-American candidate raised questions about the future of South Korea's relationship with the United States, a country Roh has never visited. Yesterday, he made a highly public effort to demonstrate that South Korea will continue to depend on the United States, which maintains a force of 37,000 troops here. His move was calculated, advisers said, to send a message of solidarity at a time when North Korea has raised tensions here and in Washington about its nuclear ambitions.

"The alliance is the driving force assuring security in South Korea, and this is the backbone of our development and prosperity," Roh told an audience of more than 100 American See Korea, 13a More inside U.N. inspector pressed by U.S. to step up Iraq effort. Page 12a Weather Al Kane, a Republican in Scranton, praises President Bush's handling of Sept. 11 but thinks his tax policy is "terrible." As 911 memories fade so does Bush's luster High court to receive brief opposing U.

of Mich, policy By Julie Hirschfeld Davis SUN NATIONAL STAFF Snow late. High, 31; low, 20. Yesterday's city high, 30; low, 25. Page 16b Bridge 4d Editorials 14a Classified 7b Horoscope 4d Comics 6d Lottery 2b Crosswords 6-7d Movies LIVE Deaths 5b Television 4d SunSpot The Sun on the Internet: htt sunspot The Sun's 167th Year: No. 16 dent pointedly expressed support for racial diversity on college campuses, saying "much progress has been made; much more is needed." But he argued that the University of Michigan's policies which grant black and Hispanic students an advantage in admissions to its undergraduate and law schools "amount to a quota system that unfairly rewards or penalizes prospective students based on their race." "The motivation for such an admissions policy may be very good," the president said.

"But its result is discrimination, and that discrimination is wrong." The announcement injected Bush into an emotionally charged issue with political consequences. Democrats and civil rights groups See Policy, 5a Support: Residents of Scranton, stiU praise the president, but they're worried about the economy and a possible war. By David L. Greene SUN NATIONAL STAFF bagels, a unanimous opinion was offered up a year ago: President Bush is doing a fine job. But times are different now.

Cohen, a staunch Republican, still backs the president. His two pals, once pleased by Bush's forceful response to the Sept. 11 attacks, are convinced that he is too eager to attack Iraq and to enact a tax cut favoring the wealthy. Even Cohen has doubts. "I'll vote for him again," the 73-year-old retired businessman said.

"But I'm worried he is following the See Scranton, 6a WASHINGTON As the Supreme Court prepares to hear one of the most significant affirmative action cases in 25 years, President Bush came out strongly yesterday against a University of Michigan admissions policy that gives preference to minority applicants. Bush called the policy "divisive, unfair and impossible to square with the Constitution." He said he would direct the Justice Department to oppose it today in an official brief to the Supreme Court. At the same time, the presi Rejected: North Korea scorns offer of U.S. aid, possible recognition in return for disarmament. Page 13a SCRANTON, Pa.

At a booth inside Abe's deli, where Sanford Cohen and two friends gather every Wednesday morning for eggs, hash browns and 1 2 3 4.