HOGAN EXPANDS MASK ORDER, TRAVEL ADVISORY: Gov. Larry Hogan said on Wednesday that the order he gave in April requiring Marylanders to wear masks or face coverings when visiting retail establishments or riding public transportation will be expanded to include the public spaces of all businesses as well as outdoor public areas effective 5 p.m. Friday, writes Bryan Renbaum of MarylandReporter.
- The Post’s Ovetta Wiggins, Michael Brice-Saddler, Patricia Sullivan and Dana Hedgpeth report that Hogan expanded the state’s mandate for face coverings, requiring residents older than 5 to wear masks while indoors in public spaces and outdoors when social distancing is not possible.
- State health officials have issued an advisory cautioning Maryland residents not to travel to states where the percent of positive results of coronavirus tests is greater than 10%, Pamela Wood and Jeff Barker of the Sun report. Those states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas.
- The order adds another layer to the growing sets of rules across the state that include those imposed by local government, writes Bryan Sears for the Daily Record.
- While Maryland’s key metrics are better than most other states, Hogan said there are causes for concern, writes Holden Wilen for the Baltimore Business Journal. The state’s seven-day positivity rate is at 4.77% and has remained below 5% for 34 days. He also noted Maryland continues to be excluded from the federal government’s list of 21 “red zone states.”
MASK WEARING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Hallie Miller and McKenna Oxenden of the Sun explain what you need to know about wearing masks in the state of Maryland, including where, what times and how to.
COVID UPDATE, RISE IN DEATHS EXPECTED: Here’s the daily Sun update on Covid-19 cases and coronavirus news.
- Bruce DePuyt of Maryland Matters reports that with cases and hospitalizations on the rise, Maryland can expect to see a gradual increase in COVID-19 deaths in the next several days, according to an expert in infectious disease. “I would say within the next week you should see a rise in deaths,” said Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, director of the Prevent Epidemics Team at the Resolve to Save Lives, a global health initiative. “Just because that’s the natural order of things.”
SUPT. SALMON UNDER FIRE: State School Superintendent Karen Salmon is under fire from education advocates who say she has failed to provide strong leadership during a health crisis that is fundamentally redefining how public schools work, reports Liz Bowie for the Sun. These critics say that at a time when local school leaders have been dealing with a spate of issues stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the state should have laid out detailed requirements for them to meet, allowing some local flexibility but not leaving every decision to individual districts.
OPINION: ELECTION DAY DEBACLE: Political prognosticator Barry Rascovar opines in his political Maryland blog that all signs point to a stunning debacle on Election Day under Gov. Larry Hogan’s mandate. One move in politics can doom a promising career. Hogan may have reached that point — unless he alters his demand for traditional, in-person voting on Nov. 3.
EX DEL. GLENN GETS 2 YEARS IN PRISON: Former Baltimore Del. Cheryl Glenn’s “deliberate scheme” to take bribes for votes added to Maryland’s perceived “pay to play” political culture, a federal judge said Wednesday in sentencing her to two years in prison, reports Jessica Anderson for the Sun.
- Saying Glenn had violated the public trust, U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake rejected defense counsel’s recommendation that the Baltimore Democrat be sentenced to home detention, particularly in light of the 69-year-old’s poor health and the danger of contracting COVID-19 behind bars, Steve Lash of the Daily Record reports.
- Her prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release and the payment of over $35,000 in restitution, reports Mark Reutter for Baltimore Brew.
PG SCHOOL BOARD TO VOTE ON REOPENING PLAN: The Prince George’s County school board plans to vote today on a reopening virtual learning plan that includes live sessions with teachers, independent work and at least two breaks during the day, William Ford reports for the Washington Informer. Students will receive at least six hours of instruction and the school system’s transportation department plans to deliver meals in neighborhoods where students live more than 1½ miles from a school.
- When the new school year opens in Prince George’s County, teachers are expected to give live lessons online daily. Attendance will be taken. And school will be a fuller experience than when the pandemic shuttered campuses across the nation in the spring, Donna St. George reports in the Post.
CARROLL ED BOARD OKs VIRTUAL RESTART: The Carroll County Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night, after more than 5½ hours of deliberation, to begin the 2020-21 school year virtually. The school system plans to reevaluate whether to move to another model by the Oct. 14 board meeting, Catalina Righter of the Carroll County Times reports.
FREDERICK SCHOOLS TO REOPEN VIRTUALLY: Frederick County Public Schools will reopen under a full virtual mode for the 2020-2021 school year, Katryna Perera of the Frederick News-Post. The Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday for the first semester of the school year to be conducted virtually with the caveat that specific, targeted groups of students would be brought in occasionally for face-to-face instruction. The board also voted to suspend fall sports in hopes that fall teams could have a shortened season.
HOGAN WON’T SAY NO TO VOTING FOR TRUMP: Gov. Larry Hogan, a frequent critic of President Trump, said Monday that while he was unsure whether he would vote for the president in November, he would not rule it out, writes Zach Budryk for the Hill.
OPINION: HOGAN CALLED THE PROBLEM: In a column for the Post, Jennifer Rubin criticizes Gov. Larry Hogan for not committing to not voting for President Donald Trump, calling a choice between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden equally bad and for saying that despite 150,000 coronavirus deaths, Trump still has a chance to “turn things around.”
HOGAN HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE: Gov. Larry Hogan is ubiquitous these days as he promotes his new book.
- Here he is on CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
- And The Ben Shapiro Show.
- And NPR’s All Things Considered.
- And MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
- And CNN’s New Day.
- And the Ronald Reagan Institute.
MO CO SEEKS HARSHER ACTION AGAINST KLEINE: Montgomery County lawmakers are calling for greater disciplinary action against Chief Administrative Officer Andrew Kleine, who earlier this month admitted to violating an ethics law by using public dollars to promote a book he wrote and maintaining business relationships with two companies that landed county contracts shortly after he took his job, Rebecca Tan reports in the Post.
- Montgomery County Council members had sharply criticized Chief Administrative Officer Andrew Kleine on Tuesday for ethics violations that came with a $5,000 fine, Dan Schere of Bethesda Beat reports.
