OFFICIALS CELEBRATE TRANSFER OF SPRING GROVE TO UMBC: Top state, local and university officials gathered on the University of Maryland Baltimore County campus on Wednesday to celebrate the recent $1 transfer of state-run Spring Grove Hospital Center grounds to the university. “One, two, three, money!” University of Maryland Baltimore County President Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Gov. Larry Hogan, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and others exclaimed as they took a picture holding a framed aerial photograph of the university and hospital campuses. Hannah Gaskill/Maryland Matters.
ANNUAL REAL ESTATE-POLITICAL ‘PARTY’ RETURNS: It’s back. The fabled Maryland Party – where real estate moguls hobnob with public officials far from home – will return on Monday, May 23, at the Wynn Las Vegas after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic. This year’s theme: “The Greatest State on Earth: Maryland.” Gov. Larry Hogan, who was scheduled to attend, will not be going afterall. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
SCHULZ VOWS DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ABORTION ISSUE: As a Republican state lawmaker in a conservative district a decade ago, Kelly Schulz sponsored and voted for bills that would have restricted women’s access to abortions in Maryland. But as a candidate for governor in a blue state as a landmark legal decision giving women that right appears poised to be struck down, she’s vowing a different approach. She said, “Personally, I am pro-life. As governor, I respect the law that was passed in the referendum in 1992 — 30 years ago — and the laws that are on the books that happen to be relevant today. And the Supreme Court ruling has nothing to do with Maryland state laws.” Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
FRANCHOT EVENT PACKS IN SUPPORTERS: If Wednesday’s “1000 Women for Peter Franchot and Monique Anderson-Walker Luncheon” was a test run for the July 19 primary — to see whether the comptroller’s gubernatorial campaign can mobilize its supporters when needed — the event was a runaway success. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
A waterman wields hand tongs to harvest oysters in the Choptank River. Bay Journal photo by Dave Harp, 2017
OPINION: OYSTER HARVEST CYCLICAL: The bottom line is some declines in oyster harvests in the future may be inevitable. There are no guarantees in life, only managed risks. Cyclical ups and downs are the rule, not the exception. That said, there is a proposal from the Delmarva Fisheries Association that is environmentally sound, cost effective, and proven to generate measurable positive results that should help flatten the cyclical oyster population curve in the Bay. Capt. Robert Newberry of the Delmarva Fisheries Association/MarylandReporter.
POLITICAL NOTES: EDWARDS POLL; NEW ALLIANCES; NEW AD: A poll commissioned by former Rep. Donna Edwards found that her attempt at a comeback is resonating with voters in the 4th congressional district. Redistricting has scrambled a good bit of the legislative map in Baltimore County, and new alliances are forming as a result: Del. Kathy Szeliga announced that she’s running on a ticket in the July 19 Republican primary with Ryan Nawrocki. And Businessman David T. Blair hit the airwaves this week in his second bid for Montgomery County executive. Bruce DePuyt and Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
PRIMARY DEBATES: Please join Maryland Reporter’s Len Lazarick as he moderates the virtual online debates for the candidates for Maryland attorney general. Republicans Michael Peroutka and Jim Shalleck debate Tuesday, May 24, 7 p.m. Register here to get the link.Democrats Anthony Brown and Katie Curran O’Malley debate on Wednesday, May 25, 7:30 p.m. Register here. Josh Kurtz of Maryland Matters moderates the debate of Democratic comptroller candidates Tim Adams and Brooke Lierman Tuesday, May 31. Register here. Here’s the flyer. The League of Women Voters is the lead sponsor along with MarylandReporter.com, MarylandMatters.org, Maryland Nonprofits, Maryland Latinos Unidos and the University of Baltimore’s Schaefer Center for Public Policy, the online host.
JUDGE UPHOLDS SUBPEONA OF CITY FIRE DEPT OD RECORDS: A Baltimore grand jury may subpoena the city’s fire department for nearly 18 months’ worth of opioid overdose response records as part of an investigation into illegal drug distribution in Baltimore, Maryland’s top court ruled in a recently unsealed decision that pitted the city’s chief prosecutor against its mayor and city council. Steve Lash/The Daily Record.
ARUNDEL SCHOOLS SUGGEST MASKS IN SOME SITUATIONS: With COVID-19 rates rising, Anne Arundel schools Superintendent George Arlotto has announced that the system will ask students and staff to mask at schools where at least 5% of the population has tested positive for the virus. It isn’t a mandate, but a request, made in an effort to minimize the risk of outbreaks in classes as the end of the school year is weeks away, school officials say. Rachael Pacella/The Capital Gazette.
