HOGAN URGES GOP TO ABANDON DIVISIVE RHETORIC: Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Monday that Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has secured “a pretty overwhelming victory at this point” and to win back the White House, the GOP should abandon the divisive rhetoric of a president who failed on major issues because he was “his own worst enemy,” Jeff Barker of the Sun reports.
- Hogan also cast himself as a common sense White House candidate for 2024 in the mold of President Reagan. In comments at the Ronald Reagan Institute, Hogan never directly addressed the question of whether he would run for president in 2024, but fielded questions about how he would navigate a Republican presidential primary and about the future of the GOP, Danielle Gaines of Maryland Matters reports.
BIPARTISAN PRAISE FOR LABOR CHIEF ROBINSON: Two members of the Senate Finance Committee who sit on opposites side of the aisle said Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson has done a fairly good job of overseeing the department’s processing of the unprecedented number of unemployment claims even though thousands of residents are still waiting months for their first check, Bryan Renbaum reports for MarylandReporter.
1st CLASS DELIVERY IN MARYLAND AMONG WORST: First-class mail delivery in some parts of Maryland was among the slowest in the nation during the final weeks of October, as the U.S. Postal Service rushed to handle a deluge of mail-in ballots before Election Day, Madeleine O’Neill for the USA Today Network reports.
OPINION: DOLLARS FOR PURPLE LINE: In a column for Seventh State, David Lublin opines that we “already know that the Purple Line is going to be massively delayed and way over budget. The Montgomery County Council inadvertently revealed just before the election that it also won’t bring the promised economic or housing benefits. The Council voted 7-2 to heap new tax incentives on developers to make project happen … at Red Line Metro stations in the county. If we need to give developers gobs of money to make development happen at these locations, the same will surely be true at Purple Line stations. Yet the Purple Line wasn’t sold that way.”
$45M FOR GREATER B’MORE HEALTH CARE: Baltimore-area leaders celebrated the Health Services Cost Review Commission’s decision to award $45 million in grant funding to hospitals in the Greater Baltimore Region Tuesday morning, reports Hannah Gaskill for Maryland Matters. Health care facilities in Southern Maryland, Prince George’s County and on the Eastern Shore have been awarded funding from the commission for similar crisis care plans.
HO CO ADDS NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS: Howard County residents will be subject to new restrictions on gatherings as coronavirus cases surge across the state. County Executive Calvin Ball said his county is “now at a tipping point.” The first-term Democrat speaking Monday issued new restrictions that mirror those in neighboring central Maryland jurisdictions, Bryan Sears reports for the Daily Record.
- Under an executive order that takes effect Tuesday at 5 p.m., indoor gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited. Outdoor gatherings of more than 25 people will also be banned. The county has canceled all sports tournaments that involve out-of-state travel, and Howard is creating a “Stay COVID Safe” campaign to reinforce public health messages about masks, hand washing and social distancing, Bruce DePuyt writes for Maryland Matters.
CARROLL FACES 30 NEW CASES A DAY: Carroll County is now seeing more than 30 cases of COVID-19 per day, numbers that represented a week’s worth of cases as recently as the summer, Bob Blubaugh of the Carroll County Times reports.
GARRETT HEALTH CHIEF WARNS AGAINST GATHERINGS: Garrett County’s health officer urged people Monday against attending gatherings or high-risk events as COVID-19 cases surge across the region, according to the Cumberland Times-News. “Our entire region is currently experiencing a huge spike in COVID-19 cases,” Bob Stephens said. “It is critical that we all stop exposing ourselves to the virus.”
MO CO SCHOOLS HYBRID TO USE POOL OF SUPPORT: Montgomery County School Superintendent Jack Smith reiterated during a press conference on Monday that MCPS will need more teachers to carry out the hybrid model of in-person and remote learning and will turn to its pool of substitutes, support staff, community members and retired teachers to help fill any gaps. Caitlynn Peetz reports in Bethesda Beat.
HO CO SCHOOLS REJECT HYBRID MODEL: In a work session to discuss the school system’s proposed hybrid reopening plan Monday, the Howard County Board of Education rejected the partially in-person model and voted instead to keep students in virtual learning through at least mid-April, Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Howard County Times reports.
RAVENS CLOSE GAMES TO FANS: The Baltimore Ravens are once again closing up their home turf to fans amid an ongoing rise in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations across the state, Ethan McCleod of the Baltimore Business Journal writes.
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HANDICAPPING THE 2022 GUBERNATORIAL RACE: Brian Griffiths gets a jump on handicapping the 2022 gubernatorial race with his first installment of The Duckpin Maryland Gubernatorial Power Rankings. These rankings will list the contenders for the office of governor of Maryland on a 1-10 scale. At the No. 10 spot, which he dubs “the Clown Show” are perennial candidate Robin Ficker and newcomer Kim Klacik, both Republicans. In the No. 1 spot is Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford.
COMPANY DONATES 200,000 FACE SHIELDS TO STATE: Steve Bohnel of the Frederick News Post reports that a Maryland manufacturing company has donated 200,000 face shields to be distributed statewide to public school teachers, faculty members and staff to help fight the surge of COVID-19. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) accepted the donation from Hardwire, LLC at Annapolis High School Monday, according to the governor’s office.
NEW ARUNDEL POLICE CHIEF MAKES HISTORY: Hyattsville Police Chief Amal Awad will resign next month to take a job as chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, city officials announced Monday, Clarence Williams reports in the Post.
- Incoming Police Chief Amal Awad is making history in Anne Arundel County. Awad is the first person of color appointed county police chief and will be the first woman to hold the position permanently when she assumes the job in December, Olivia Sanchez and Alex Mann report for the Capital Gazette.
B’MORE MAYOR VETOES MONUMENT BILL: Baltimore Mayor Jack Young has vetoed a bill that would rename a city monument dedicated to explorer Christopher Columbus to instead honor victims of police violence, Emily Opilo of the Sun reports.
CITY BACKS AWAY FROM RAZING HOMELESS CAMP: The city has backed down on its plan to raze a homeless encampment of roughly 30 people living under the I-83 overpass after its intentions were disclosed by The Brew, Louis Krauss reports.
POTOMAC BUSINESSMAN CHARGED IN COLLEGE SCHEME: Harvard University’s former fencing coach and a Maryland businessman were arrested Monday and charged with conspiring to get two students admitted to Harvard in exchange for bribes. Jie “Jack” Zhao, 61, of Potomac, conspired with the longtime coach, Peter Brand, over several years to get his two sons into Harvard as fencing recruits, according to federal officials. The bribes totaled more than $1.5 million, Susan Svrluga reports in the Post.
- Zhao, the chief executive of a telecommunications company, donated $1 million in February 2013 to a “fencing charity” run by a co-conspirator, the press release stated, Dan Schere of Bethesda Beat reports.
Of course he is! He is a RINO clown.