State Roundup: Hogan says state to provide $100 million to increase staff at hospitals, nursing homes

State Roundup: Hogan says state to provide $100 million to increase staff at hospitals, nursing homes

The main foyer of Government House, the public area of the governor's residence, decorated for Christmas. Governor's Office photo

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STATE OFFERS $100M TO BEEF UP MEDICAL STAFFING AMID LATEST SURGE: The state will provide $100 million in emergency funding to help beef up staff at its hospitals and nursing homes, Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday. His remarks come just one day after he tested positive for COVID-19, and as the state’s positivity rate is approaching 12% and COVID-19 related hospitalizations have exceeded 1,300. Bryan Renbaum/Maryland Reporter.

  • Hogan and his top health advisers Tuesday called for a renewed push to limit the spread of COVID-19 as the state experiences a record number of cases. Hogan spoke during a 23-minute prerecorded briefing, noting the concerning rise in cases including more than 6,200 in the last 24 hours — the most reported in Maryland in a single day. The governor warned of an expected surge in hospitalizations that would surpass previous pandemic high marks. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.
  • And they beseeched residents to get COVID-19 boosters, wear masks and avoid gathering in large groups over the holidays. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.

COVID FILLS BEDS AT UPPER CHESAPEAKE MEDICAL: The University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center is continuing to near its capacity amid the current COVID-19 surge. According to Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, there are 73 people hospitalized between its two hospitals in Bel Air and Havre de Grace (up from 60 last week), about 27 of which are in critical condition as of Tuesday. The majority of the patients are unvaccinated, he said. Jason Fontelieu/The Aegis.

DEL. BUCKEL FACES CRIMINAL HARASSMENT CHARGES: The top-ranking Republican in the Maryland House of Delegates, Del. Jason Buckel, is facing two charges of criminal harassment, after his estranged wife’s boyfriend alleged the delegate spent months sending him aggressive messages online, according to court records. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Sun.

JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORMERS HAVE HOPE IN UPCOMING SESSION: Supporters of juvenile justice reform in Maryland are hopeful the time has come to end the policy of automatically charging children as adults for certain crimes — a practice that many other states have changed in recent years. Brian Witte/The Associated Press.

MOSBY FIRES BACK AT HOGAN: Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby shot back at Larry Hogan on Tuesday with an open letter accusing the Maryland governor of “incessant dog-whistling attacks about Baltimore crime” and rebutting his criticisms that she’s lenient on violent criminals in the city. Tim Prudente/The Baltimore Sun.

  • Responding to Hogan’s public attacks on her and her prosecutors, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby (D) said the governor has failed to take responsibility for the ways state agencies contribute to the city’s violence — including by failing to keep tabs on a man suspected of ambushing a Baltimore police officer last week. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.

NAT’L GUARD PITCHES IN TO VAXX FREDERICK: As Maryland marks its greatest number of new COVID-19 infections in a 24-hour period, members of the National Guard are inoculating Frederick County residents with the best defense against the virus. Mary Grace Keller/The Frederick News-Post.

COVID AT-HOME TESTS A HOT COMMODITY AT CARROLL LIBRARY: Interest in free COVID-19 at-home test kits at Carroll County Public Library branches this week was so intense that the library system’s website briefly crashed Tuesday morning when registration opened. All available free test kits were claimed within minutes. Madison Bateman/The Carroll County Times.

NEUMAN TAKES STEPS TOWARD RUN FOR GOV: Laura Neuman, who served as a Republican county executive for Anne Arundel County, has set up a campaign account that could serve as a first step toward a run for governor as a Democrat. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Sun.

MOORE REPLACES CAMPAIGN TREASURER: Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore has a new campaign treasurer, replacing the prior treasurer, who is embroiled in a labor dispute with workers at her bookstore chain. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Sun.

  • Moore announced that Mary Tydings is becoming his new treasurer. She’s a longtime executive at a national business executive search firm and the daughter of the late Maryland U.S. Sen. Joseph D. Tydings (D). Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.

UPDATE ON GOV’s RACE: Here’s the Baltimore Sun’s regular update on Maryland’s lineup for governor.

SEN. HOUGH WANTS PROBE INTO SCHOOL RESTRAINT PRACTICE: After U.S. Department of Justice investigators found that Frederick County Public Schools had “unnecessarily and repeatedly” secluded and physically restrained students with disabilities in violation of federal law, Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick) is asking the Maryland State Department of Education to launch an independent investigation into that school system. Elizabeth Shwe/Maryland Matters.

NAACP SUES BALTIMORE COUNTY OVER REDISTRICTING MAP: The Baltimore County NAACP has filed a federal lawsuit over the county’s redistricting map, which the organization says dilutes minority votes by packing Black voters into a single district. Madeleine O’Neil/The Daily Record.

ARUNDEL COUNCIL GIVES STUDENT COMMISSIONER VOTING RIGHTS: The Anne Arundel County Council voted during its meeting Monday night to allow the Human Relations Commission’s student member to vote on commission business. Previously the student member was allowed to sit on the commission but not participate in voting. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.

HUCKER JOINS FIELD FOR MO CO EXEC: Montgomery County Council Member Tom Hucker filed to run for county executive on Tuesday, officially expanding the race for the county’s top office to four people. Steve Bohnel/Bethesda Beat.

COLUMN: FLANAGAN FORGES AHEAD FOR BALL’s EMAILS: Scott Ewart, in a column for his Scott E’s Blog, updates legal actions taken by Bob Flanagan against Howard County, under the Maryland Public Information Act. He had been seeking 497 emails being withheld based upon what Ewart says are “grossly inflated claim of privilege.” Ewart writes, “Now only six emails are being totally refused, although many redactions remain in dispute.”

SCHMOKE LEFT POLITICS BEHIND: Former Baltimore City Mayor Kurt Schmoke doesn’t care to dwell on his past in politics. The city’s first elected Black mayor didn’t hang on to the framed map marking the locations of completed projects that colleagues presented him on his last day in office. And when Schmoke thinks of the moments in his life that he would handle differently, it’s the tie games and losses from his notable athletics career that come to mind. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore 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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