CICADA ONSLAUGHT OF NO CONCERN OF RESTAURANTS: Many Marylanders are becoming more and more apprehensive about the prospect of millions of harmless little insects known as cicadas flooding the state in the coming weeks but the president and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland is not one of them, writes Bryan Renbaum of Maryland Reporter. In fact, Marshall Weston said Wednesday that he has not heard “any restaurant express any concern about the cicadas whatsoever.”
AFTER ONLINE EXCHANGE: HOGAN, SCOTT TO MEET OVER CITY VIOLENCE: Gov. Larry Hogan and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott have agreed to a meeting to discuss violence in the city, Emily Opilo of the Sun reports. Scott said Wednesday that he and the governor agreed upon the tête-à-tête, which was arranged following a tense exchange Tuesday night on social media.
OPINION: IRRESPONSIBLE BICKERING: The editorial board of the Sun opines that the bickering that preceded Mayor Brandon Scott’s invitation to Gov. Larry Hogan to meet with him to talk about city crime “is not only unhelpful, it is outrageously irresponsible given all that’s at stake.”
BPW SEEKS EXPLANATION ON EMERGENCY CONTRACTS: Robert Gleason, Maryland’s chief procurement officer, was expected to appear before the Board of Public Works to explain why one in four emergency contracts related to the COVID-19 pandemic have missed a statutory deadline for review by the panel. The board’s two Democrats said they are also expecting to hear ways in which such delays can be avoided in the future, Bryan Sears reports for the Daily Record.
- How long does it take to fax a three-page report from one agency to another during a pandemic? That question produced friction among members of the state’s influential Board of Public Works on Wednesday, as the panel’s Democrats — Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp — vented anew about the Hogan administration’s unwillingness to forward contracts for approval in accordance with state law, Bruce DePuyt reports for Maryland Matters.
UMS BOARD VOTES FOR TUITION INCREASE: The University System of Maryland Board of Regents voted unanimously on Wednesday to increase tuition and dormitory fees for the 2021-2022 academic year, following a freeze on tuition and fees this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. In-state tuition will not increase by more than 2% and out-of-state tuition will not increase by more than 5%, Elizabeth Shwe of Maryland Matters reports.
B’MORE CASINO LAGS AS OTHERS FARE WELL: With Covid restrictions loosened, five of Maryland’s six casinos reported some of their best returns ever last month, totaling $162 million, the State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported today. The exception was Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino, whose revenues remained flat compared to April 2019, Mark Reutter reports for Baltimore Brew.
SUIT SEEKS TO REMOVE TALBOT BOYS MONUMENT: A lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday calls for the removal of a Confederate monument that is still standing on the grounds of the county courthouse in Easton despite years of opposition from community advocates, reports Rachel Chason for the Post.
- The Maryland Office of the Public Defender and the Talbot County NAACP branch argue in the newly filed lawsuit that by keeping up the Talbot Boys statue — a century-old monument to county residents who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and the last Confederate monument on public land in Maryland — county officials are violating both state and federal laws, reports Bennett Leckrone for Maryland Matters.
THIRD OF PG RESIDENTS 16+ VACCINATED: Prince George’s County has seen gradual progress in its effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic, with one-third of residents 16 and older now fully vaccinated and fewer than 1,000 confirmed cases, William Ford reports for the Washington Informer.
COURT CONSIDERS OC’s FEMALE TOPLESS BAN: A seemingly divided 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday considered whether Ocean City’s prohibition on women going topless violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment under the law because men are permitted to go bare-chested in the Eastern Shore beach town, Steve Lash reports in the Daily Record.
SYKESVILLE ELECTS FIRST WOMAN MAYOR: Stacy Link was well aware of the history she was trying to make in Sykesville. She said she was reminded by all the women giving her thumbs-up signs or fist pumps or blowing kisses on their way to or from the polls on Tuesday. Record-setting turnout helped Link to become the first female mayor of Sykesville, which was incorporated in 1904, Bob Blubaugh reports for the Carroll County Times.
LEGAL ACTION AGAINST FREDERICK SHERIFF: An 18-year veteran of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office has until Friday to file an amended complaint in a yearlong lawsuit that’s accused Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and other supervisors of discrimination based on gender, Mary Grace Keller of the Frederick News-Post reports.
MO CO SCHOOL PLAN CALLED ‘LUNCH SHAMING:’ Education advocates say a proposed Montgomery County Public Schools policy requiring that some students with unpaid lunch bills get “alternative meals” would promote “lunch shaming” and inequity, Caitlynn Peetz reports for Bethesda Beat.
