GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES HAND OUT WATER TO BMORE RESIDENTS IMPACTED BY E. coli CRISIS: In competing media events designed to draw attention to their campaigns and unsafe water, gubernatorial candidates Wes Moore, a Democrat, and Del. Dan Cox, R- Caroll and Frederick, handed out bottled water to beleaguered residents in West Baltimore neighborhoods affected by an E. coli outbreak. Timothy Dashiell and Shannon Clark/Capital News Service in Maryland Reporter
- Four days into West Baltimore’s water contamination situation and the ensuing boil advisory, the two candidates for Maryland governor hustled Thursday to distribute fresh water bottles to residents and talk about the need for accountability during what has been called a health crisis. Sam Janesch and Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun
HOGAN’S DONORS GAVE NEARLY FOUR TIMES AS MUCH TO DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR GOVERNOR: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, has distanced himself from Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox since Maryland’s primary elections in July. Now, so are some of Hogan’s former campaign donors. Democratic nominee Wes Moore has received nearly four times as much in donations from Hogan’s former financial supporters as has Cox, according to data analysis by Capital News Service. Emmett Gartner/Capital News Service in Maryland Reporter
IN BALTIMORE, QUEEN ELIZABETH II’S LIFE AND VISITS REMEMBERED: Across the Baltimore region Thursday, people contemplated the death at age 96 of Queen Elizabeth II, a monarch who led for seven decades and was one of the most powerful female figures in the world during an era that saw great changes in the roles of women. In a long and rich life, the queen marked two milestones in Maryland: she attended both her first football and baseball games here. Julie Scharper/Baltimore Banner
HOGAN WILL LOOK AT PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN JAN.: Gov. Larry Hogan answered the question that’s been asked for months, whether or not he’ll run for the U.S. presidential office. This time on CNBC, he gave a little more insight. It wasn’t a yes; however, Hogan told CNBC’s Squawk Box that “I’m going to take a look at it when I finish my term as governor next January.” Phil Yacuboski/WBAL NewsRadio
HOGAN LEADING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRIP AFTER OREGON TRIP: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is leading an economic development trip to Korea and Japan, stopping for diplomatic engagements and economic announcements. Associated Press on WTOP
- In 2014, voters in deeply Democratic Maryland shocked the nation by electing Larry Hogan, only the second Republican to hold that state’s highest office in the past half-century. Hogan, who visited Oregon this week to campaign for Republican Christine Drazan, believes Drazan can do the same in that state. Julie Shumway/Maryland Matters
MARIJUANA ADVOCATES LAUNCH CAMPAIGN: Advocates supporting a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational use of marijuana launched a campaign Thursday to spread the word to Maryland voters that the decision is up to them on November’s ballot. Brenda Wintrode/Baltimore Banner
ABORTION POLICIES PLAY CENTER STAGE IN MD ELECTIONS: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion rights will be key in state elections this year including in Maryland, where abortion rights provide a clear line of demarcation between the two major-party candidates for governor, Democrat Wes Moore and Republican Dan Cox. Moore decried the Supreme Court decision and vows to expand access to abortions; Cox celebrated the end of Roe and promises to defend “the unborn.” Jean Marbella/Baltimore Sun
COMMENTARY: NOT MUCH BEING SAID AS MD PLANS A GAS CAR BAN: Maryland may well be on the path toward banning the sale of gas-powered cars beginning in a little more than a decade. And yet, very little discussion of this potentially massive change has occurred during the current election cycle. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin
POLITICAL NOTES: ASSESSMENT OF TRONE’S CHANCES CHANGED WITH COX PRIMARY WIN: The Washington, D.C.-based Cook Political Report – a highly regarded handicapper of House and Senate races around the country – removed, just prior to Labor Day, the 6th District from the politically fragile “lean Democratic” category and shifted it to the more secure “likely Democratic” classification. Louis Peck/Bethesda Beat
- You can find the report here. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter
GROUPS WANTS INVESTIGATION INTO WITHHOLDING POLICE MISCONDUCT RECORDS: A community legal organization is asking Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming to investigate whether the city’s law department is purposefully withholding records of police misconduct from the public. Lee Sanderlin/Baltimore Sun
LAST HOLDOUT IN HAGERSTOWN STADIUM DEAL AGREES TO SELL: The Maryland Stadium Authority has wrapped up negotiations for a crucial piece of property for the stadium in Hagerstown, agreeing to pay $6.25 million for the car wash property after months of negotiations. Hayes Garner/The Baltimore Sun
- With the acquisition of the last property needed for it in the final stages, work to prepare a site off Summit Avenue for a 5,000-seat sports stadium is expected to begin soon, as soon as in days or weeks, a project official said this week. Dave McMillion/The Hagerstown Herald-Mail
DELMARVA POWER AND LIGHT PROPOSES RATE HIKE: One of the Eastern Shore’s largest electric providers has plans to raise the rates for companies and consumers, but the Maryland agency that represents residents is pushing back against the hikes. Dwight Weingarten/Salisbury Daily Times
CITY OF FREDERICK EXAMINES ITS CHARTER: Changes could be coming to Frederick’s governing document for the first time in nearly a decade, as the city creates a committee to examine its charter. Ryan Marshall/Frederick News-Post
