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s a logistics hub of increasing popularity, it's only right that Maryland's recent climate for corporate projects has been characterized by a lot of give and take.
      GM is closing its Baltimore plant, although economic developers are doing their best to convince the company to use the property for higher-level R&D work. Meanwhile, several global automotive companies — Mercedes-Benz USA most recently — have signed new long-term lease and facility development agreements with the Port of Baltimore.To the west, Fleetwood Enterprises and Phoenix Color are closing plants in Washington County, but the net results have been positive, highlighted by distribution centers for Home Depot, FedEx and Tractor Supply Co.
      But perhaps the most telling give-and-take is the sparring in the state capital. Gov. Robert Ehrlich in 2004 had vetoed a bill calling for a 10-percent surcharge on corporate income taxes for three years in order to provide money for higher education. As a January 2005 special session got under way, and onlookers expected a possible veto override, Gov. Ehrlich announced that he was boosting the state's higher education budget by 5.7 percent to US$800 million. Enough override proponents were placated by that measure to keep the override measure from ever being introduced.