Local leaders, businesses push Katrina relief efforts

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. contractor Joe Sparks has worked through hurricanes before -- bad ones. But he has never seen anything like the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

"It's worse than what the pictures show," Mr. Sparks said in a telephone interview yesterday from St. Charles Parish, La., just west of New Orleans.

"We're going to be down here at least a month," he added.

As Mr. Sparks and more than 300 fellow BGE employees labored to restore electricity in stricken areas, state and local leaders in Maryland launched concerted efforts to offer relief for victims.

The governor called on Marylanders to give,...