Last August, Maryland state delegate Jon Cardin (D-Baltimore County), nephew of the state's junior U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (D), proposed marriage to his girlfriend. But unlike normal folks who might propose via the jumbotron at the ball park or by having a waiter slip the diamond ring in a champagne flute, Del. Cardin decided to get the local cops to help arrest his woman's heart -- by staging a "boat raid" complete with a police helicopter.

Cardin later apologized and cut a check for costs associated with that stunt, but in a follow-up story in today's Baltimore Sun, staff writer Peter Hermann's article tackled the question, "Did state delegate pay enough for helicopter stunt?"

Unfortunately for the reader, nowhere in Hermann's 18-paragraph story was Cardin's party affiliation disclosed, even though Cardin is up for reelection this fall. Meanwhile, the young state delegate's stunt has hurt the career of a Baltimore police sergeant that foolishly complied with the delegate's request:

A sergeant was charged with misconduct — his case is pending — and Cardin apologized and asked the city for a bill. It was particularly embarrassing given that it happened at a time that crime at the Inner Harbor was making headlines and that the helicopter unit is now being targeted for closure because of a budget crisis.