diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Google.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Google.js
index 9dd8b01152..71bcdcc2a7 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Google.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Google.js
@@ -263,7 +263,10 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.Google = OpenLayers.Class(
      */
     setVisibility: function(visible) {
         this.setGMapVisibility(visible);
+        // sharing a map container, opacity has to be set per layer
+        var opacity = this.opacity == null ? 1 : this.opacity;
         OpenLayers.Layer.EventPane.prototype.setVisibility.apply(this, arguments);
+        this.setOpacity(opacity);
     },
     
     /**
@@ -303,6 +306,33 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.Google = OpenLayers.Class(
         }
     },
     
+    /**
+     * APIMethod: setOpacity
+     * Sets the opacity for the entire layer (all images)
+     * 
+     * Parameter:
+     * opacity - {Float}
+     */
+    setOpacity: function(opacity) {
+        if (opacity !== this.opacity) {
+            if (this.map != null) {
+                this.map.events.triggerEvent("changelayer", {
+                    layer: this,
+                    property: "opacity"
+                });
+            }
+            this.opacity = opacity;
+        }
+        // Though this layer's opacity may not change, we're sharing a container
+        // and need to update the opacity for the entire container.
+        if (this.getVisibility()) {
+            var container = this.mapObject.getContainer();
+            OpenLayers.Util.modifyDOMElement(
+                container, null, null, null, null, null, null, opacity
+            );
+        }
+    },
+
     /**
      * APIMethod: destroy
      * Clean up this layer.
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Map.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Map.js
index abd47d1dd8..82e801e868 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Map.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Map.js
@@ -424,9 +424,9 @@ OpenLayers.Map = OpenLayers.Class({
      *     ways to call the map constructor.  See the examples below.
      *
      * Parameters:
-     * div - {String} Id of an element in your page that will contain the map.
-     *     May be omitted if the <div> option is provided or if you intend
-     *     to use <render> later.
+     * div - {DOMElement|String}  The element or id of an element in your page
+     *     that will contain the map.  May be omitted if the <div> option is
+     *     provided or if you intend to call the <render> method later.
      * options - {Object} Optional object with properties to tag onto the map.
      *
      * Examples (method one):
@@ -594,13 +594,12 @@ OpenLayers.Map = OpenLayers.Class({
         
         // add any initial layers
         if (options && options.layers) {
-            this.addLayers(options.layers);
-        }
-        
-        // set center (and optionally zoom)
-        if (options && options.center) {
-            // zoom can be undefined here
-            this.setCenter(options.center, options.zoom);
+            this.addLayers(options.layers);        
+            // set center (and optionally zoom)
+            if (options.center) {
+                // zoom can be undefined here
+                this.setCenter(options.center, options.zoom);
+            }
         }
     },
     
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/VML.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/VML.js
index c06d583e87..79e76a54ad 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/VML.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/VML.js
@@ -848,9 +848,9 @@ OpenLayers.Renderer.VML = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Renderer.Elements, {
 
         var align = style.labelAlign || "cm";
         var xshift = textbox.clientWidth *
-            (OpenLayers.Renderer.VML.LABEL_SHIFT[align.substr(0,1)]);
+            (OpenLayers.Renderer.VML.LABEL_SHIFT[align[0] || "c"]);
         var yshift = textbox.clientHeight *
-            (OpenLayers.Renderer.VML.LABEL_SHIFT[align.substr(1,1)]);
+            (OpenLayers.Renderer.VML.LABEL_SHIFT[align[1] || "m"]);
         label.style.left = parseInt(label.style.left)-xshift-1+"px";
         label.style.top = parseInt(label.style.top)+yshift+"px";