HOGAN PROPOSES TRANSFER OF SPRING GROVE TO UMBC: Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration has proposed transferring the 175-acre Spring Grove Hospital Center campus to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for $1, a move that could lock in the administration’s plans to shutter the centuries-old psychiatric facility. Bryn Stole and Alison Knezevich/The Baltimore Sun.
- The proposed sale is raising concerns about the privatization of mental health services. Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Council 3, said the proposed closure of Spring Grove and other facilities is an effort by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to privatize union jobs. “He promised when he ran in 2014 that he’d cut waste fraud and abuse,” Moran said. “That translated to cutting state employees. Those employees are not waste, fraud and abuse.” Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.
63 DEM ‘EMERGE’ WOMEN RUN FOR OFFICE: As women candidates have made progress nationally and in Maryland over recent election cycles, a training program for Democratic women is seeing an increase in the number of candidates on the 2022 ballot. In 2018, Emerge Maryland, which is dedicated to electing more Democratic women to public office, saw 46 of its graduates on the ballot. This election cycle, 63 graduates of the program filed to run for federal, state and local offices. Elizabeth Shwe/Maryland Matters.
BROWN CAMPAIGN SPENDING COULD BE A VIOLATION: U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown, Democrat of Maryland, wants to be the state’s top law enforcement officer, but his own campaign’s spending may violate state election law, according to campaign finance experts. Eric Coretellessa/Time Magazine.
- Brown’s campaign manager denied any wrongdoing, but the congressman’s rival in the July 19 Democratic primary for state attorney general — former Baltimore City District Court judge Catherine Curran O’Malley – seized on the report almost immediately. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
SECTY GRUMBLES LEAVES ENVIRONMENT DEPT: Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles, the longest serving environment secretary in state history, is stepping down next month to take the helm of a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the group announced Monday. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
- Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Monday that Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Environment Horacio Tablada will succeed Grumbles starting June 1. Grumbles is leaving to become executive director of the Environmental Council of the States, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental commissioners. Elizabeth Shwe/Maryland Matters.
POLITICAL NOTES: SCHULZ, MOORE ADS, A KAMENETZ TO RUN: The campaign of former Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz, a leading Republican candidate for governor locked in a tough primary fight with Frederick County Del. Dan Cox, announced Monday that she is making “a high six-figure” ad buy in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., media markets. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore unveiled his own latest ad on Monday. And Karson B. Kamenetz, the 21-year-old son of the late Kevin Kamenetz, a junior at the University of Maryland College Park, is running for a seat on the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee, representing legislative district 11A. Josh Kurtz and Danielle Gaines/Maryland Matters.
HARFORD BOARD SHORT 100 ELECTION JUDGES: The Harford County Board of Elections is currently short about 100 election judges for its goal amount as election season nears. Stephanie Taylor, election director for the Harford County Board of Elections, said 780 election judges are needed across the county on Election Day, July 19. They also need 100 to 150 alternate election judges in case people are unable to fulfill their duties. Jason Fontilieu/The Aegis.
ABORTION FOES PROTEST AT COLUMBIA SCHOOLS: Community residents gathered outside Wilde Lake High and Middle schools in Columbia Monday afternoon to counteract a group of abortion rights opponents. As students were dismissed, the abortion opponents protested on a public sidewalk near the schools carrying graphic anti-abortion signs. The community residents used blankets and umbrellas to try to hide the signs from students. Allana Haynes/Baltimore Sun Media.
CARROLL STUDENTS PUSH AGAINST BOARD POLICY: In an effort to push back against the Carroll County school board’s strict interpretation of its political neutrality policy, students are organizing a protest before Wednesday’s board meeting to support flags representing inclusivity. Cameron Goodnight/The Carroll County Times.
MEDLOCK BECOMES TEMP PG BOARD MEMBER: Former District Heights Mayor Johnathan Medlock officially became a member of Prince George’s County Council on Monday. Medlock will serve on the 11-member body until December to complete the four-year term of former Council member Derrick Leon Davis, who resigned last month. William Ford/The Washington Informer.
PA COURT RULES AGAINST POWER LINES THAT WOULD EXTEND INTO MARYLAND: Last week’s ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court was the latest in a series of decisions against building the two high-voltage lines that extend from Pennsylvania to Washington and Harford counties in Maryland. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission had previously denied the request by Transource to build the Independence Energy Connection Project in portions of Franklin and York counties in that state. Mike Lewis/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.