WORLD CUP WON’T BE IN BALTIMORE: Baltimore and D.C. were on the verge of scoring a goal together, but were denied Thursday as the host cities for the 2026 World Cup Thursday. Jose Umana/WTOP
- FIFA announced the 16 cities on Thursday that would host the 2026 World Cup and Baltimore did not make the list. Robert Sobus/WBAL AM
CANDIDATES FOR GOV WEIGH IN ON VIOLENT CRIME PROBLEM: Three of the more well-known candidates in the governor’s race weigh in on how the state can help local jurisdictions like Baltimore crack down on violent crime and try to prevent mass shootings seen elsewhere in the country from happening in Maryland. Bryan Renbaum/Baltimore Post-Examiner in Maryland Reporter
VIRGINIA RESIDENTS, ELECTED OFFICIALS QUESTION MD HIGHWAY PLANS IN FAIRFAX: Maryland’s plans to undertake major construction work along the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County aren’t sitting well with some Northern Virginia residents and elected leaders, who are questioning why another state is involved in transportation projects outside its borders. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters
SPORTS BETTING CHAIRMAN DECLINES TO SAY WHEN FIRST LICENSE WILL BE ISSUED: The chairman of a state panel charged with reviewing sports wagering license applications said it is working “diligently” on mobile betting but stopped short of saying how the first license would be issued. Thomas Brandt, chairman of the Sports Wagering Application Commission, made the comments one day after Gov. Larry Hogan sharply criticized the panel. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record
- At their regularly scheduled June meeting, the chairman, whom the governor appointed, responded to the letter and hinted that the regulatory process could begin to speed up. John Domen and Matt Small/WTOP
FIRST MD MONKEYPOX CASE: The first presumed case of human monkeypox in Maryland in 2022 was identified Thursday, with The Maryland Department of Health reporting the person is recovering in isolation and is not hospitalized. Will Vitka/WTOP
FUNDRAISING REPORT ON AG RACE: U.S. Representative Anthony Brown outraised former Baltimore City District Court Judge Katie Curran O’Malley in the last six months, new campaign finance records show. Nene Narh-Mensah and Danielle Gaines/Maryland Matters
WALDSTREICHER OUTRAISES OPPONENT IN SENATE PRIMARY RACE: Incumbent state Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher will enter the final weeks of the primary race with more than four times the campaign cash of his Democratic rival, new financial disclosures show. However, his opponent, Max Socol, raised more in the reporting period from Jan. 13 to June 7 than Waldstreicher did in that period. Bethany Rodgers/Bethesda Beat
POLITICAL NOTES: TRONE CONGRESSIONAL RACE COMPETITIVE: An analysis by the top editor at The Hotline, the political tip sheet of the National Journal, looked at all 425 congressional districts including those in Maryland represented by Rep. David Trone (D), Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D) and Rep. Andy Harris (R). Absent a huge political wave, those seats, with the exception of Trone’s, may be out of reach for the opposing party, the analysis said. Josh Kurtz and Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters
UNION CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY AT CLIFTON T. PERKINS HOSPITAL: The Maryland branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees says assaults on both patients and staff at a state psychiatric hospital in Jessup have become routine due to understaffing of security attendants. Rachel Baye/WYPR
ENVIRONMENTAL PLATFORMS ARE PLENTY, BUT MAY NOT ULTIMATELY DRIVE VOTES: Gubernatorial candidates of both parties are stressing their commitments to a new law that will dramatically reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels in the coming decade. But as critical a role the next state leader will play in confronting climate change and a looming Chesapeake Bay cleanup deadline, those issues still remain a tier below seemingly more pressing matters in voter polls. Scott Dance/The Baltimore Sun
BANNER POLL FINDS DISAPPROVAL OF MOSBYS IN BMORE: More than half of city residents surveyed in a new Baltimore Banner poll said they disapprove of the job performance of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her husband, City Council President Nick Mosby. Adam Willis/Baltimore Banner
BALTIMORE COUNTY OPEN RECORDS ISSUES: Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s administration has erased data, missed deadlines, ignored requests and redacted information already available in other public documents, according to a Baltimore Banner review of responses to public records requests over the past three years. Taylor DeVille/Baltimore Banner
TOWN OFFICIALS DIDN’T WANT TO SHARE EMPLOYEE SALARIES: The town of Woodsboro has released its full budget after initially refusing to provide it to a reporter because it contained salary information. The town government employee salaries are classified as public under state law, and the burgess who initially refused to provide them is running for state delegate. Angela Roberts/Frederick News-Post
SANTELISES TENURE LONG FOR BMORE CITY LEADERS: Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Brookins Santelises is poised to become the longest-serving school leader that Baltimore has seen in some three decades, and interviews reveal her to be an effective administrator. Five police chiefs and four mayors have come and gone since Santelises started in July 2016. Liz Bowie/Baltimore Banner
MD COULD REMOVE SAT/ACT REQUIREMENTS: Following nationwide trends, the University System of Maryland is debating removing standardized test scores, such as the SAT and ACT, as an admissions requirement for incoming first-year students. Johanna Alonso/Daily Record
NEW COURT RULING IMPACTS IMPLEMENTATION OF 2018 LAW: The Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland’s second highest court, has weighed in on prior act evidence in sexual-assault cases, interpreting a 2018 law which permits prior bad acts evidence in sexual-assault cases. It marks a departure from the general evidentiary rule that a defendant’s prior conviction is irrelevant to the current crime charged. Steve Lash/The Daily Record
CARDIN VISITS FOOD ENTREPRENEUR COMMUNITY SITE: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin joined Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development Ken Holt, 411 Kitchen founder Amanda Kidd and other dignitaries for a tour last month of the Packing House in Cambridge, where he had secured a $1.4 million earmark in recent appropriations legislation. Staff/The Easton Star-Democrat
CARROLL MUNICIPALITIES TO BENEFIT FROM STATE PARK FUNDS: Hampstead, Manchester, Mount Airy and Sykesville will each receive $138,687 in state grant funding to pay for park improvement projects this year. Molly Fellin Spence/Carroll County Times
