ON MOSBY INDICTMENT: DIVIDED VIEWS AND CRICKETS: Baltimore residents and other leaders were divided in their reactions to Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby being indicted Thursday by federal prosecutors: Are the charges justified because Mosby’s an elected official who should be held to the highest ethical standards? Or is the four-count indictment politically motivated, targeting her because she’s a progressive prosecutor who’s shaken up the status quo? Alex Mann and Christina Tcacik/The Baltimore Sun.
- One Baltimore city councilman is remarking about the indictment of the city’s top prosecutor. But by and large those elected to public office in Maryland are remaining silent, hesitant it seems to speak out about the charges Mosby is facing. Shelley Orman/WBFF-TV News.
MOSBY SPEAKS OUT: Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby (D) spoke in defense of her innocence Friday in light of false statement and perjury charges levied against her by a federal grand jury. “I’m here before you today to state, unequivocally, that I am innocent and I intend to do what I’ve always done since I became state’s attorney for the city and in the city that I love: fight,” she said at a news conference. Hannah Gaskill/Maryland Matters.
- “I fought back against the same U.S. Attorney’s office that is charging me now, when they warned me not to charge the police in the Freddie Gray case,” she said in a brief news conference. “I get it. This is not what prosecutors usually do. And many people will forever hate me for it because of my commitment to racial justice.” Emily Sullivan/WYPR-FM.
ANALYSIS: THROUGH COVID, MARYLAND FARES BETTER THAN OTHER STATES: By all measures the coronavirus pandemic continues to take a massive toll, burdening individuals and straining the health care system. But the state has fared better than many for much — though not all — of the pandemic when it comes to severe disease and lives lost, data and analysis shows. Hallie Miller and Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Sun.
TEMPORARY LAG IN NEED FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE: As jobs disappeared and large chunks of the economy shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, long lines formed outside food banks and experts warned of spikes in hunger. After the expansion of government aid that followed, fewer Marylanders relied on food pantries and assistance programs for meals — but only temporarily, a recent report found. Elizabeth Shwe/Maryland Matters.
STATE COULD FACE WORKER SHORTAGE: Maryland policymakers can expect robust economic growth in the years ahead, fueled by federal aid, a return of workers to the labor force, and consumer spending, an economist told a Senate panel on Thursday. But rising wages — propelled by an unusual churn in the workforce — are going to make it “incredibly difficult” for state and local governments to attract and retain talent. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
OPINION: PERMANENT DST BAD FOR CHILDREN: In an op-ed for Maryland Matters, Lisa VanBuskirk, of the Maryland and Anne Arundel County chapter of Start School Later, opines that on Tuesday, the Maryland House Health and Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on HB0126 that would seek to move Maryland to permanent daylight saving time. (if other states follow suit) … Our circadian rhythm is regulated by sunrise, not sunset. A permanent delay of sunrise time would put all of us on a perpetual “social jet lag,” which would be most noticeable in the winter.
OPINION: WES MOORE GETS FREE PUBLICITY THANKS TO HOWARD COUNTY: Has Howard County government taken sides in Maryland’s race for governor? The Howard County Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission selected Wes Moore as the keynote speaker for its annual Howard County Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration. The event is sponsored and organized by the commission under the auspices of the Howard County Office of Human Rights & Equity. Both come under the auspices of Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. Nothing in a pamphlet says Moore is a Democratic candidate for governor in this year’s election. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin.
TRONE TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID: U.S. Rep. David Trone announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, joining a substantial list of members of Congress who have caught the virus amid the nationwide wave driven by the highly infectious omicron variant. Bryn Stole/The Baltimore Sun.
- Trone said he has received a booster and is experiencing “only minor symptoms.” He said he will isolate at home and vote by proxy this week. He joins fellow Maryland representative Dutch Ruppersberger in the ranks of lawmakers who have recently tested positive as the omicron variant sweeps through the country. Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post.
- Two days before his positive test, Trone took part in a Q&A with Frederick, Montgomery and Washington county residents about how the area’s health care systems are handling the recent spike of COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant, the availability of higher-protection masks and of at-home testing kits. Allison Novelo and Jordan Anderson/Medill News Service.
ARUNDEL COUNCILMAN TO SEEK DISTRICT 33 HOUSE SEAT: As his second and last term on the Anne Arundel County Council comes to a close, Democrat Andrew Pruski is setting his sights on statewide office. After weighing his options with his family and other advisers, Pruski filed Dec. 30 to run for the District 33 seat in the House of Delegates. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
LOOKING FOR COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS: Maryland Reporter is looking to publish more commentary and analysis on issues about state government and politics from all points of view – left, center and right. If you have an opinion or analysis piece you’d like to see published, contact Len@MarylandReporter.com.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Dels. Heather Bagnall and Wendell Beitzel.
HRABOWSKI LOOKS BACK AT 30 YEARS OF GROWING UMBC: After 30 years at the helm of UMBC, Freeman Hrabowski will retire at the end of the school year, on June 30. He rose to national prominence as he transformed UMBC, a small school in the suburbs of Baltimore, into one of the nation’s top producers of engineers and scientists of color. Laura Lumpkin/The Washington Post.
PG PLANNERS EYE TRANSPORTATION FOR 2035: Planners in Prince George’s County are embarking this year on an effort to envision what transportation might look like by 2035, examining what trends in electrification and ideas about equity might mean for a diverse suburban region. Ian Duncan/The Washington Post.
CHESAPEAKE BAY ECOSYSTEM IN HOT WATER: A study by two researchers from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has found that the frequency of heat waves in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay is increasing, a trend connected to rising atmospheric temperatures that could have “devastating impacts to the bay ecosystem,” the scientists warn. Sarah Vogelsong/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND’s LOST FISH: Back in 1988, the Maryland darter was a rare find, the rarest fish in the world, in fact. Now, said Frostburg State University professor Richard Raesly, there’s statistically just about no finding it. The fish was discovered in 1912 in Swan Creek near Havre de Grace by two biologists. Decades went by with little to show for it until 1982 when graduate students found one in Gasheys Run near Swan Creek. Brandon Glass/The Cumberland Times News.
BIG BUCKS FOR BUCKLEY’s PARTY: Who paid what for Gavin Buckley’s blowout parade and party for his second inauguration as mayor of Annapolis? The inauguration and ball cost a combined $81,629.88, according to an expense report provided by the Annapolis Mayoral Inaugural Gala Committee. Brooks DuBose/The Capital Gazette.
TUSKEGEE AIRMAN CHARLES McGEE DIES AT 102: Charles McGee of Bethesda, one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, has died at age 102, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III posted on Twitter. McGee was a veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Staff/Bethesda Beat.
