HOGAN KEEPS STANCE ON DENYING ABORTION TRAINING FUNDING: Despite pleas from some Maryland Democratic lawmakers and officials, Gov. Larry Hogan does not plan an early release of $3.5 million in funds set aside for training additional clinicians to perform abortions in Maryland before doing so is required next year. Christine Condon/Baltimore Sun
- COMMENTARY: HOGAN’S STANCE ASSAULT ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS: The time came to choose sides and the governor went with the majority of his Republican peers — unsurprising, perhaps, but still disappointing in a state where polls have shown overwhelming support for a woman’s right to choose. Baltimore Sun Editorial Board
FED PROSECUTORS KEEP PUGH REDUCTION SECRET FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS: The seemingly tough sentence against former mayor Catherine Pugh for wire fraud and tax evasion was subsequently weakened thanks to a settlement agreement, inked outside of public view by prosecutors and Andrew C. White, one of Pugh’s attorneys at Silverman Thompson, and kept out of court records for 19 months. Mark Reutter and Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew
CONSENT DECREE AGREED TO IN CASE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION DEATH: The estate of Bowen Levy and the Anne Arundel County Board of Education entered into a consent decree Wednesday after a student died after choking on a disposable glove at school. Under the decree, the system will pay $2.5 million, implement a special safety protocol geared toward children with a specific form of autism and provide special education staffing data to the family. Rachael Pacella/Capital Gazette
MASSIVE LEAD HAZARD PROBLEM REMAINS IN BMORE: There are an estimated 85,087 occupied housing units in Baltimore with “dangerous lead hazards” — and the total price tag for lead abatement work on those units could be between $2.5 billion and $4.2 billion, according to a recent report from the Abell Foundation. Bennett Leckrone/Maryland Matters
CARROLL FORMS POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD: Carroll County commissioners voted 3-1 Thursday to adopt a resolution creating a police accountability board required by state law. The resolution specifies that members shall not have a criminal charge pending or have been convicted of a crime in federal or state court. Madison Bateman/Carroll County Times
WITH JUVENILE CRIME, ATTENTION TURNS TO HELPING YOUTH IN BMORE: Del. Dalya Attar, D-Baltimore City, discusses two bills to help address juvenile rehabilitation in the wake of several crimes involving 16-year-olds. Attar sponsored the bills in the last General Assembly session, and one which tracks services provided to juveniles did pass and become law. Alexa Ashwell/WBFF
DEALING WITH DIRT BIKE PROBLEM: Democratic candidate for governor Rushern Baker III wants more police enforcement and a dedicated park to deal with illegal dirt bikes on Baltimore’s streets. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record
MIZEUR’S ECONOMIC PLAN FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT TO CHANGE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE FOR RURAL DISTRICT: Heather R. Mizeur, the leading Democratic candidate in the 1st congressional district, is releasing an economic plan Thursday designed to spur the local economy, change the business and employment narrative for the largely rural district, maximize federal resources, and spotlight her own experience at multiple levels of government. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters
TEACHERS UNION RESCINDS ENDORSEMENT AFTER SEXUAL HARRASSMENT CHARGES: The Montgomery County’s teachers union is rescinding its endorsement of Brandy Brooks, an at-large candidate for the County Council. Brooks has been accused of sexual harrassment from a former staffer but is staying in the race. Steve Bohnel/Bethesda Beat
COURT CHALLENGES POSSIBLE IN CANNABIS LICENSE DECISIONS: Cannabis growers and processors denied licenses by Maryland’s medicinal marijuana commission may seek judicial review without first mounting an administrative challenge, the state’s second-highest court ruled last week. Steve Lash/The Daily Record
