FEDERAL MONEYMAKING PLANT TO MOVE TO BELTSVILLE: The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is relocating its currency printing plant from Washington to Beltsville, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday. Ryan White/Capital News Service.
- The government will construct a new Bureau of Engraving and Printing production facility on the current site of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Prince George’s County. The “environmentally conscious production facility” will produce paper currency and other federal security products, Hogan said in a news release. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
STATE CONTINUES TO WRESTLE WITH WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: The state of Maryland has agreed to pay Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate exonerated post-conviction by DNA, an additional $83,000 for his wrongful conviction. The award highlights the state’s ongoing reckoning with those who have been wrongfully convicted. It also reflects the damage done to individuals whose lives were upended by what Comptroller Peter Franchot called “an unconscionable broken system.” Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.
12 WEEKS TIL THESE 10 NOTEWORTHY SENATE PRIMARIES: It’s time to look ahead to some of the most competitive legislative primaries on the ballot July 19, with no more than half a dozen competitive Senate races in the general election — and that’s probably a stretch. But many Senate incumbents have drawn intra-party challengers this year, and most of the seven open-seat Senate primaries should also be pretty hard-fought, at least in the primary. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
POLITICAL NOTES: ‘LINCOLN PROJECT’ FOR ARUNDEL; SIERRA CLUB & BLAIR: An Anne Arundel County Democratic activist is launching a political action committee that she hopes will play a similar role in local and state politics to the work the fabled Lincoln Project did during the 2020 presidential election and beyond. The decision by the Sierra Club’s Montgomery County chapter to endorse businessman David Blair for county executive in the July 19 Democratic primary seemed significant. And Franchot gets a flat. Josh Kurtz and Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
TITLE IX FAILS TO COUNT ALL SPORTS, MARYLAND STUDY FINDS: As the agency responsible for enforcing Title IX, the U.S. Department of Education collects data that should show whether high schools are providing equal athletic opportunities to girls and boys. Except it doesn’t, an analysis by the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland shows. Kara Newhouse/Capital News Service.
OPINION: ANDY HARRIS AND THE MAGA MISFITS: Maryland congressman Andy Harris was one of only 17 members of the House of Representatives to oppose a resolution supporting Moldova, which borders Ukraine and could be under attack from Russia. Why Harris, a career politician, would want to side with freshmen train wrecks like Marjorie Taylor Greene (who may have recently lied under oath), Madison Cawthorn (who apparently wears women’s underwear, took a gun to the airport for a second time and is under investigation for insider training) or Lauren Boebert is beyond me. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin.
FREDERICK SHERIFF AMONG 54 AGENCIES CITED BY ACLU: The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office is among 54 law enforcement agencies accused of “egregious” civil rights violations in an immigration-focused report released by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report, released Wednesday, labels Sheriff Chuck Jenkins as “anti-immigrant,” highlights a 2019 racial profiling lawsuit filed against him and his agency and calls for the Biden administration to end the federal 287(g) immigration program, of which FCSO is a participant. Mary Grace Keller/The Frederick News Post.
HARFORD SHERIFF SAYS CRISIS TEAM MEMBER PRESENT AT SHOOTING: A spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said there was “at least one” person from their crisis negotiation team at the scene of the fatal shooting of John Raymond Fauver by Harford County deputies on Saturday in Forest Hill. Jason Fontelieu/The Aegis.
MOSBY APOLOGIZES FOR COUNCIL CHAOS: Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby publicly apologized Wednesday for the chaotic scene that unfolded Tuesday night in City Hall involving a housing lobbyist who he held a joint news conference with, allowed to speak in Council chambers and had promoted to his fellow council members. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
- That housing lobbyist is from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which touts its “aggressive advocacy.” At the meeting of the City Council, its methods were on full display. The tactics used by the Boston-based organization to support his Dollar Homes bill, only served to doom the measure, several lawmakers said. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
- The hearing was the first discussion of Mosby’s proposal at City Hall, which re-opened earlier this month after being closed because of COVID. Mosby introduced the legislative package last year. Sarah Kim/WYPR-FM.
ARUNDEL PROGRAM WOULD GET KIDS INVOLVED IN ELECTIONS: A program designed to get young teens involved in elections is coming to Anne Arundel County this year, according to the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections. The Election Day Page Program allows students ages 14 and 15 to work four-hour shifts on Election Day and earn service-learning credit for school. Students 16 and older may participate but are encouraged to register as election judges instead because, at that age, they are eligible. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
COVID UP IN CARROLL: The Carroll County Health Department reported this week that COVID-19 cases are increasing slightly in the region, though the county still has low community levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition. Madison Bateman/The Carroll County Times.
SOME ON MO CO COUNCIL WANT POLICE-SCHOOL PACT TWEAKED: Tuesday marked the first time that Montgomery County Council members were given an opportunity to ask questions about a new agreement between county police and Montgomery County Public Schools that outlines police officer involvement in schools. Some were supportive of the measure, while others expressed concerns about the agreement, dated April 4 and signed April 19 by the remaining parties, and spoke about how they want it changed. Steve Bohnel/Bethesda Beat.
TRIPP BURGUNDER III, 53, WORKED ON GLENDENING CAMPAIGN: Herbert “Tripp” Burgunder III, who served on Parris Glendening’s transition team when he became governor and also worked with then Secretary of State John Willis, died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack April 19 at his Owings Mills home. He was 53. He had been interested in politics and worked on Glendening’s campaign staff as a volunteer and, in the 1994 election, was present at the city’s Board of Election Supervisors for the vote tallies of Glendening and his Republican opponent, Ellen Sauerbrey. Jacques Kelly/The Baltimore Sun.
