State Roundup, September 15, 2015

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DEAL STRUCK WITH CORRECTIONS: The Hogan administration and Maryland’s correctional workers union have struck a deal that will allow dozens of employees who were recently threatened with layoffs to keep their jobs. The agreement ends a protracted battle between union leaders and Stephen Moyer, the secretary of the state’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, over a plan that Moyer said was designed to root out corruption in the prison system, Ovetta Wiggins of the Post writes.

JUVIES SERVING LIFE SENTENCES: The Maryland Office of the Public Defender’s post-conviction division has adopted a strategy to help ensure juveniles convicted of crimes and serving life sentences without the possibility of parole are resentenced following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that such punishments are cruel and unusual, Steve Lash writes in the Daily Record.

MEDICAL POT CHALLENGE IN ARUNDEL: Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh’s proposal to ban the growing and sale of medical marijuana in that county is not sitting well with some council members — just hours after he unveiled his proposal. Rema Rahman of the Annapolis Capital reports that three council members said his proposal goes too far and some may suggest alternatives. Two said they were uncertain which way they would vote, and one would not offer a stance on the bill or the issue as a whole. The seventh remains an outlier — he did not return a message seeking comment.

PUBLIC HEARING ON RX POT IN HAGERSTOWN: Dave McMillion of the Hagerstown Herald Mail reports that the public will get a chance today to comment on a proposal to allow indoor cultivation of plants — including medical marijuana — in certain zoning districts in Hagerstown. The Hagerstown City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal at the start of a 3 p.m. special session in council chambers at City Hall.

***REDISTRICTING REFORM MEETINGS: Gov. Larry Hogan’s recently formed Redistricting Reform Commission will hold the first of five regional meetings Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Sept. 15, in the Minnegan Room at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium. MarylandReporter.com lists all the upcoming meetings.***

ACA LOAN A SQUEEZE FOR BEILENSON: Next year is going to be Peter Beilenson’s year. It has to be, writes Sarah Gantz for the Baltimore Business Journal. For better or worse, 2016 will be a turning point for Beilenson’s insurance company Evergreen Health Cooperative. Beginning in 2017, Evergreen must start paying back a $65 million federal startup loan awarded through the Affordable Care Act. To do that, Evergreen must hit key enrollment numbers, become a solvent company and turn a profit.

Jamal BryantPASTOR TO SEEK CUMMINGS’ SEAT: Jamal Bryant, a prominent Baltimore pastor who delivered the eulogy for Freddie Gray and organized protests after his death, announced Monday that he will run for the seat of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Josh Hicks and Rachel Weiner of the Post are reporting.

RAWLINGS-BLAKE OUTLINES GOALS: Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake outlined four broad goals Monday for her remaining 15 months in office, including financing $136 million in improvements for recreation centers and pools and ensuring that the $1 billion school construction plan is executed correctly, Yvonne Wenger of the Sun is reporting.

ON RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Political dissectionist Josh Kurtz of Center Maryland takes a close look at Stephanie Rawlings-Blake career in the spotlight. It started early, he writes, and she may just have been better suited for a legislative career “rather than as an executive of a roiling, nearly ungovernable metropolis”

NEXT MAYOR’S AGENDA: When  Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was in the race for re-election as mayor of Baltimore City, it was a referendum on her leadership. Now it becomes a vigorous debate about the issues. The race needs to be about addressing the systemic problems brought to the fore by the unrest after the death of Freddie Gray, opines the editorial board for the Sun.

HOGAN SPENDS TIMES WITH OTHER CANCER PATIENTS: Gov. Larry Hogan invited fellow cancer patients to spend time with him at the Washington Redskins season home opener. WJZ’s Christie Ileto spoke to one of the kids who walked onto Fed Ex Field with him and has more on the moment he’ll never forget.

O’MALLEY CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS: Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley is calling for universal background checks for firearms purchases and a national age requirement for handgun possession as part of a broad gun control proposal his campaign will release Monday, John Fritze reports for the Sun.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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