They are a familiar sight at car dealerships: helium balloons
bobbing from strings tied to mirrors and windshield wipers.
David Wendkos' Hyundai dealership on West Street in Annapolis is
no exception.  But Wendkos, whose employees go through scores of
balloons every week, plans to testify today in support of
legislation that would make the release of more than 20 balloons
an offense comparable to littering.  "At the end of the day, we
pop them with razor blades and dispose of the balloon," said
Wendkos. "In my mind, if you stick a balloon - popped or whole -
in the water, an animal is going to try to taste it. Let 10 or
20 balloons go and you have essentially assured that you'll kill
an animal. I can't go home at night thinking I've done that."
Today, the House Judiciary Committee will consider the "Inky
bill," named for the pygmy sperm whale rescued off the coast of
New Jersey and treated at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in
1993. Marine surgeons removed three square feet of plastic from
one of her sto