PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICIALS SAY THEY WILL FIND USE FOR $780M IN NEXT 10 DAYS: Maryland school officials said they are confident they will able to obligate almost $780 million in federal funds in the next 10 days – money that will have to be returned to the federal government if they don’t. The funding is part of $1.95 billion Maryland received in use-it-or-lose-it pandemic-relief funds for schools from the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, program. As of this week, Maryland had spent 60.7% of the total, for $1.18 billion. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
ALSOBROOKS IMPROPERLY TOOK HOME TAX BREAKS: Maryland Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks saved thousands on two properties in Washington, D.C., and Maryland after improperly taking advantage of tax breaks for which she did not qualify, CNN reports. Alsobrooks claimed a homestead tax exemption for over a decade meant to apply only to a person’s primary residence. The finding follows a property tax record review by CNN outlet on both of Alsobrooks’ properties. The review also found that Alsobrooks, 53, improperly claimed a senior citizen tax break on her property in Washington that cut her tax bill in half. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
- Alsobrooks (D) will pay back taxes after improperly claiming homestead and senior property tax credits for homes in D.C. and Prince George’s County. Her campaign said Alsobrooks, who is currently the chief executive of Prince George’s, was not aware of the errors. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
- From the original quite detailed CNN report: Connor Lounsbury, senior adviser to Alsobrooks, said that after Alsobrooks’ grandmother moved out of the home in northeast Washington, Alsobrooks paid the mortgage on the property until it was sold in 2018. Em Steck and Manu Raju/CNN.
BLACK ORGANIZATIONS AID CANDIDATES WITHOUT ENDORSING: Black fraternities and sororities, along with professional and social groups have built up an infrastructure of support for Black candidates around the country, without officially endorsing candidates. Locally, they have helped candidates such as Gov. Wes Moore get elected and thrown their support behind U.S. senatorial candidate Angela Alsobrooks. From organizing voter registration drives to manning phone banks, these members roll up their sleeves and work within the community to educate and inspire residents to become politically active. The influence is particularly apparent in Maryland. John John Williams/The Baltimore Banner.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONCLUDE NUCLEAR ENERGY PART OF SOLUTION: As Maryland officials scramble to meet the state’s ambitious clean energy mandates, they are coalescing around a concept that seemed unthinkable a decade ago: That nuclear energy must be part of the solution. Even environmentalists are coming to terms with the idea. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
FBI, U.S. ATTY BOARD SHIP MANAGED BY DALI COMPANY: Federal agents on Saturday boarded a vessel managed by the same company as a cargo ship that caused the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, the FBI confirmed. In statements, spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland confirmed that authorities boarded the Maersk Saltoro. The ship is managed by Synergy Marine Group. Jonathan Mattise and Lea Skene/The Associated Press.
CONSTRUCTION INSPECTOR SUES DAIL OWNER, MANAGER: It was just another overnight shift for Damon Davis, a road construction inspector who was supervising repairs on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge — until the deck beneath his feet started crumbling. He ran for his life and, miraculously, made it to safety moments before the bridge collapsed into the water below. Davis is suing the owner and manager of the Dali, the massive container ship that veered off course and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns in March. Lea Skene/The Associated Press.
HOUSE REPUBLICAN GROUP TARGETS MARYLAND 6th DISTRICT RACE: The political committee for U.S. House Republicans on Friday added Maryland’s 6th congressional district to its targeted list of races this fall. The National Republican Congressional Committee said the GOP nominee in the 6th, former Del. Neil C. Parrott, is one of six new candidates in its “Young Gun” program, which bolsters Republican challengers or nominees in competitive open-seat districts. He is running against Democrat April McClain Delaney. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
CARROLL LAWMAKERS OPPOSE TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT: The six state lawmakers who represent Carroll County signed a letter listing five reasons they strongly oppose the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. The proposed project would install a 70-mile transmission line through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties. PJM, the organization responsible for operating and planning Maryland’s electric grid, has contracted the Public Service Enterprise Group to complete the $424 million project with a proposed date of operation of June 2027. Thomas Goodwin Smith/The Carroll County Times.
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VANISHING OSPREY: STUDY JUMPS INTO FISHING CONTROVERSY: The mystery of vanishing ospreys — a bird of prey that feeds on fish and is not considered endangered — has puzzled homeowners, boaters and conservationists around the Chesapeake Bay the past few years. A new study claims to explain the decline, but the findings have aggravated a much bigger controversy. Gregory Schneider/The Washington Post.
MO CO SCHOOLS OFFERS NEW RULES ON ACTS OF HATE: Montgomery County Public Schools is providing new guidance over how administrators should respond to hateful acts involving its students, reserving contacting police for only the most serious incidents. Nicole Asbury/The Washington Post.
FOR 2 BA CO COUNCILMEN, COUNTY BUILDING PURCHASES ‘SHROUDED IN MYSTERY:’ In January 2022, Baltimore County spent $2 million to buy a 12-acre property to serve as park space and as a headquarters for the Department of Recreation and Parks. Now, the county expects to tear down the property and spend an additional $7.5 million to rehabilitate a downtown Towson office building it bought for $5.8 million last year. Two members of the Baltimore County Council accused County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s administration of keeping them in the dark, despite the council discussing the purchase at two meetings and unanimously approving it in May 2023. Lia Russell/The Baltimore Sun.
BILL WOULD MANDATE NEW DEVELOPMENTS DESIGNATE UNITS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING: The Anne Arundel County Council recently introduced an updated version of a bill that would require developers to allocate a portion of new units for moderate-income residents. The legislation, known as the Housing Attainability Act, was introduced Sept. 3 by three Democratic council members at the request of County Executive Steuart Pittman. The bill would mandate new housing developments with 20 or more units to designate 10% of for-sale units and 15% of rental units to be affordable. Natalie Jones/The Capital Gazette.
STATE ELECTIONS SEEK TO DELAY JUDGE’s ORDER ON HARBORPLACE BALLOT QUESTION: State elections officials are asking an Anne Arundel County judge to delay her order striking a question on the future of the Inner Harbor from the Baltimore City ballot, so that the state’s highest court can review the case. The request for a stay from Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Cathleen Vitale comes four days after she sided with plaintiffs who are seeking to have a question on the redevelopment of Harborplace stricken from the ballot. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
SOME MO CO SAMPLE BALLOT MAILERS HAD INCORRECT ADDRESSEES: Some Montgomery County voters may have received a sample ballot mailer for the Nov. 5 general election addressed to an incorrect name. The county elections board announced it had sent 132,217 sample ballot informational booklets to voters who live in Congressional District 8, which includes Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac and other parts of the county, and that mailers with the incorrect recipient name “were sent to a limited number of voters with surnames starting with the letters A and B.” The addresses and corresponding polling places listed are accurate. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
DESCENDANTS OF ENSLAVED CATOCTIN FURNACE WORKERS MEET: About 50 descendants of the 300 or so people who were enslaved at Catoctin Furnace in Thurmont were to gather for a unique “descendants’ reunion” this past weekend. Individuals from Maryland, Pennsylvania and other nearby states — and some from as far away as California, the United Kingdom and Australia — were to meet at the historic site Saturday for two days of conversation, presentations, meetings and educational hikes. Jonathan Pitts/The Baltimore Sun.
