LITTLE OPPOSITION TO OFFSHORE WIND PROPOSAL DURING FEDERAL HEARING: The federal government held its first public meeting Tuesday evening on a plan to erect wind energy turbines off the coast of Ocean City, and even though the proposal has generated controversy in Maryland’s No. 1 tourist town for years, only one person testified against it. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
UNIVERSITY REGENTS REMOVE SAT, ACT SCORE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: The University System of Maryland’s board of regents voted Friday to pave the way for its 12 universities to remove the requirement for prospective students to provide their standardized SAT or ACT scores for admission. Although the 12 universities still have the autonomy to set their own admissions standards, Friday’s vote removes the language requiring schools to consider test scores within their admissions practices. Caitlyn Freeman/The Baltimore Sun.
STAGNANT GROWTH OF NUMBER OF WOMEN ON COMPANY BOARDS: Public companies in Maryland have made few strides to include more women on their boards of directors in recent years, according to Executive Alliance’s 2022 Census Report. Johanna Alonso/The Daily Record.
STATE DEMS PITCH EARLIER PRIMARY: Maryland Democrats are making their pitch later this week to have more say in the presidential nominating process with an earlier primary in 2024. Party leaders are scheduled to address the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and By-laws Committee on Thursday afternoon, as the DNC looks to shake up the nominating process across the nation and allow different regions to be represented at the start of the primary season in 2024. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
NEW GOV, NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH B’MORE? For the past eight years, Baltimoreans have watched as their governor, more often than not, criticized the city more than he praised the city. Now, with Gov. Larry Hogan moving on after two terms, there’s an opportunity for a different relationship between the leader of the state and the state’s largest city. Arguably, a new executive could matter more to Baltimore than any other Maryland jurisdiction. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
GOV HOPEFUL KING UNVEILS ‘ONE BALTIMORE’ PLAN: Democratic gubernatorial hopeful John King unveiled a broad-based plan on Tuesday that he said would cut crime and improve overall quality of life for the residents of Baltimore. His nine-page “One Baltimore” blueprint seeks to tackle many of the city’s most endemic challenges — including its public safety crisis, subpar educational system, unreliable mass transit network and its environmental woes. He also pledged to “break the cycle of mass incarceration.” Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
MFUME, FERGUSON BACK WES MOORE FOR GOV: Former nonprofit chief and best-selling author Wes Moore on Tuesday picked up support from state Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), two influential leaders in the Baltimore region, in his quest to become Maryland’s next governor. Ovetta Wiggins and Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
- Ferguson had refrained from weighing in on the crowded Democratic gubernatorial field until Tuesday. The only previous endorsement he made was for fellow District 46 Democrat Brooke Lierman for Comptroller. Callan Tansill-Suddath/WYPR-FM.
U.S. REP. McCARTHY ENDORSES YOUNG TRONE CHALLENGER: You’ll have to scroll past the first item in this Political Notes column to find this: Is it time to start taking Republican Matthew Foldi seriously as a possible challenger to U.S. Rep. David Trone (D) in Maryland’s 6th District? Foldi, a 25-year-old former journalist and conservative provocateur with The Washington Free Beacon, won the endorsement Tuesday of U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the man almost certain to become speaker of the House in January barring some unforeseen GOP train wreck. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
ARUNDEL ELECTIONS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: With the 2022 midterm elections fast approaching, Anne Arundel County voters have a lot to keep track of including polling places, dates, districts and candidates. This election cycle will include races for Congress, governor, comptroller, General Assembly, County Council and county executive. Here’s what voters should know before casting their ballots. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
ENDORSEMENTS FOR MO CO GENERAL ASSEMBLY SEATS: Here is a list of Democratic primary endorsements for Montgomery County’s seats in the Maryland General Assembly: Given Montgomery’s 4-1 Democratic registration edge, the endorsements noticed to date have been solely for candidates in that party’s primary. (The eight districts entirely within Montgomery County are currently represented by eight senators and 24 delegates, all of them Democrats. Howard County-based District 9 is now also represented by a Democratic senator, while the two delegates currently representing District 9A are Republicans.) Louis Peck/Bethesda Beat.
ELRICH NOMINEES TOUT POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD: The nine candidates nominated by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich to serve on the new Police Accountability Board told the County Council on Tuesday that impartial, thoughtful, and data-driven analysis would be critical to their work moving forward. Council members plan to vote on whether to approve Elrich’s nominations next week as state law requires that the council choose the board members by July 1. Steve Bohnel/Bethesda Beat.
SCAMMERS SIPHON $317,241 FROM B’MORE WORKERS COMP SYSTEM: For more than a year, the bank account of Baltimore’s workers’ compensation system became the plaything of scam artists, who conducted over 300 unauthorized transactions before their schemes were detected. A total of $317,241.71 in fraudulent electronic payments was drained from the account between November 2020 and January 2022, according to Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
FROM WARRIOR TO GUARDIAN, B’MORE POLICE SEEK CHANGE: Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison is attempting to transition his force from a “warrior” mentality, which seeks to control behavior and prevent crime, to that of a “guardian” approach, in which police seek to win back residents’ trust and avoid minor confrontations that could escalate into harm. Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE POLICE LAUNCH INTERN PROGRAM WITH HBCUs: The Baltimore Police Department announced Tuesday a new internship program in partnership with two historically Black universities in Baltimore. Lea Skene/The Baltimore Sun.
4th GRADER SCHOOLS BA CO BOARD ON SCHOOL LUNCHES: Baltimore County School officials say the coronavirus pandemic is making it more difficult to feed students. When 10-year-old Matthew Reedholm, a 4th grader, spoke to the Baltimore County Board of Education last week, he came armed with a homemade poster bearing 19 photos of school lunches served in county cafeterias. “At first glance the food doesn’t look very good to eat,” Reedholm told the board. “With closer inspection they don’t look good at all. There’s mold, sometimes expired and unhealthy ingredients. Does this look like a lunch to you? Would you eat this? I’m going to guess your answer was ‘no.’” John Lee/WYPR-FM.
