BALTIMORE INNER HARBOR REVITALIZATION ANNOUNCED: More than $166 million in state funding will go toward a comprehensive and ambitious effort to revitalize downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor, state officials announced Thursday. Lorraine Mirabella/Baltimore Sun.
- The Inner Harbor is iconic to Baltimore, but residents and officials said it’s outdated and it’s time for a facelift. The Inner Harbor promenade and pavilions are nearly 50 years old, and many of its businesses have closed in the last few years. Kim Dacey/WBAL-TV.
- Senate President Bill Ferguson highlighted a $166 million investment in State funding Thursday and said the state has long lacked the funding the Baltimore area needs to thrive. Callan Tansill-Suddath/WYPR.
HARFORD SHERIFF MUST TURN OVER EVIDENCE TO AG: A Harford County judge ruled Thursday that the county sheriff must turn over all evidence from Saturday’s fatal police shooting of John Raymond Fauver to the Maryland attorney general’s office. The ruling follows a prolonged dispute between the two offices, which began after the passage of state legislation requiring the attorney general’s office to investigate civilian deaths involving police officers. Christine Condon/Baltimore Sun.
POLICE REFORM LEADER CALLS FOR AG TO HAVE POWER TO PROSECUTE POLICE: The sponsor of a 2021 police reform bill says a major priority in the next General Assembly session will be to empower the attorney general to prosecute police officers that he or she alleges are criminally at fault based on the investigation. That prosecutorial authority currently lies with the local state’s attorneys, a prerogative the overwhelming majority of whom were unwilling to relinquish during debate over the original bill and may remain reluctant to cede. Madeleine O’Neill and Steve Lash/The Daily Record.
BIDEN PLANS TO GIVE NAVAL GRADUATION SPEECH: President Biden will deliver the keynote speech during the U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony next month. Brooks DuBose/Capital Gazette.
LOCAL LEADERS EMBRACE NEW BAY BRIDGE OPTION: The state continues long-term planning on how to deal with traffic at the Bay Bridge, and local leaders are advancing a proposal to build a new, eight-lane span that will replace the existing bridge. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
MD POLICIES ON GENDER-TRANSITIONING STUDENTS LEAVE OUT PARENTS: As Florida continues to ignite debate about gender identity taught in the schools, Maryland’s state school system has long directed teachers not to inform parents about gender-transitioning students. Since 2015, Maryland State Department of Education guidelines have said public schools have no legal obligation to disclose a transgender or gender nonconforming student’s sexuality to parents. Sean Salai/The Washington Times.
CULTURE WARS SPILL INTO SCHOOL BOARD RACES: Overall, Maryland’s nonpartisan school board races this fall have attracted first-time candidates, but few incumbents, as the nation’s culture wars spill into the public education arena. Lillian Reed and Sabrina LeBoeuf/Baltimore Sun.
BALTIMORE CO SUPERINTENDENT WANTS TO STAY ON: Baltimore County School Superintendent Darryl Williams says he would like to stay on as the head of the school system beyond his current contract, which expires in July of next year. Williams has been criticized for his handling of a cyberattack and refusal to answer questions from state lawmakers. John Lee/WYPR.
FRANCHOT CALLS FOR PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION AT BPW MEETING: Maryland’s top tax collector, Peter Franchot, a Democrat, is calling on local and municipal governments to reduce their property taxes in the coming year. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.
HOGAN TOURS NANOMEDICINE FACILITY: Donning a white lab coat and goggles, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan took a tour of Clene Nanomedicine to see how the company located in North East’s Principio Business Park makes its proprietary gold nanocrystal medicine. Jane Bellmyer/Cecil Whig.
NEW EDITOR AT FREDERICK DAILY: Former Frederick News-Post city editor Andrew Schotz returned to the paper last week as its new top editor. Schotz, 52, was formerly managing editor for Bethesda Beat, where he oversaw daily news coverage of Montgomery County. He has also held editorial roles at Herald-Mail Media in Hagerstown and for The Gazette in Montgomery County, which shuttered in 2015. Jack Hogan/Frederick News-Post.
