HOGAN WANTS PREAKNESS IN B’MORE: Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday he wants to keep the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore and is willing to talk about investing state money to do so. The governor’s office issued a statement after the owner of Pimlico Race Course said this week that the 147-year-old track likely would have to be rebuilt — at a cost of $300 million to $500 million — to keep the race there rather than move it to Laurel, Michael Dresser and Jeff Barker of the Sun report.
- As preparations accelerate for the 142nd Preakness this weekend, state and city officials, along with the owner of Maryland two major tracks, are busy discussing whether Pimlico has a future. But if no public or private entity steps forward to pay for a rebuild or significant renovation of the dilapidated facility — price tag starting at a minimum of $250 million, according to the first phase of a Maryland Stadium Authority study — there could soon be serious debate about moving the state’s largest sporting event to Laurel, reports Childs Walker for the Sun.
QUIETING BWI NOISE: The Federal Aviation Administration responded to the concerns of residents who live on flight paths around BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Tuesday night, saying it was pursuing both short-term and long-term solutions to alleviate noise concerns, the Annapolis Capital’s Rachael Pacella reports. A group of community representatives — established by the Maryland Aviation Administration — held a meeting Tuesday evening in Linthicum where the problem was discussed.
RX POT FIRM SUIT: Bryan Sears of the Daily Record writes about the unsuccessful applicant for one of the state’s 15 medical cannabis-growing licenses that wants a judge to stop the state from issuing final licenses. Alternative Medicine Maryland filed a motion for an emergency temporary restraining order to prevent the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission from issuing any licenses to 15 companies that were awarded preliminary approval last year until a judge can determine whether the state panel acted appropriately in making its selections.
STADIUM AUTHORITY DISPUTES TAX LIENS: Baltimore officials admitted Tuesday that a computer error caused them to mistakenly sell $70,000 in tax liens for overdue water bills owed by the state agency that manages the Orioles and Ravens stadiums. Maryland Stadium Authority officials were shocked at the sale and disputed the totals. Doug Donovan of the Sun writes that by late Tuesday, Baltimore Department of Public Works officials acknowledged the mistake and said the sales would be canceled.
APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM: State officials have approved Maryland’s first apprenticeship for environmental care supervisors, who work in hospitals cleaning areas such as surgical rooms, writes Lorraine Mirabella for the Sun. The Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare will sponsor the new training program, Kelly M. Schulz, secretary of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said Tuesday.
WOMEN CANDIDATES EMERGE: Emerge Maryland, the group that trains Democratic women to run for political office and has established itself as a major player in state politics, will graduate its fifth class on Saturday – and every single member is planning to run for something in 2017 or 2018, writes Josh Kurtz for Maryland Matters. More than a dozen women are entering the political pipeline at a time when the state’s 10-member congressional delegation is all male and when there are no women running for governor or for other statewide offices.
DEL. McKAY MIGHT RUN FOR SOMETHING ELSE: Del. Mike McKay said he likes serving his district in the House of Delegates. But if the position of Allegany County’s register of wills becomes available, McKay, R-Washington/Allegany, told Tamela Baker of the Hagerstown Herald Mail, he might consider running for that position instead.
CARROLL’s GOALS: The Board of Carroll County Commissioners met with Maryland Association of Counties President Kevin Kamenetz this week to discuss goals and areas of importance in Carroll, from longer drug treatment programs to continued communication with the state delegation, Emily Chappell of the Carroll County Times reports.
COLUMBIA AT 50: RECREATION & GOVERNANCE: In Part 11 of his 12-part series on Columbia at 50, Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter writes about the importance that Jim Rouse and company placed on recreation and a new governance under the Columbia Association. Recreation — especially its outdoor and indoor pools — have been a prime community and family builder. As Columbia got started, every one of the amenities and facilities ran at a loss, not to mention the debt it took to build them. As Columbia looks to the future, CA not only wants to keep the pools and athletic facilities open, but to keep Jim Rouse’s vision alive.
ADVICE TO ROSENSTEIN: The editorial board of the Sun offers former Maryland State’s Attorney Rod Rosenstein some unsolicited advice as he is thrust into national controversy in his first few weeks as deputy attorney general: Get a special prosecutor.
SESSIONS SPEAKS IN BALTIMORE: WBFF-TV reports that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke to federal prosecutors, staff and law enforcement officials Tuesday in Baltimore saying, “We’re committed to the rule of law.” David Rocah, of the ACLU of Maryland, says, a recent memo from Sessions “takes away discretion that was given to U.S. attorneys by the Obama administration … so it’s more micromanaging not less.” But Baltimore County Police Chief Terrance Sheridan said, Sessions “believes in task forcing … in collaboration between state and local law enforcement. When you get that kind of commitment from the man at the top, then you work together, you make a difference.”
Recent Comments