McGRATH APPARENTLY DID NOT PLAN TO ATTEND TRIAL: Former state government official Roy McGrath apparently had no plans to travel from his home in Florida to Baltimore last month for his federal fraud trial. He didn’t buy a plane ticket or make a reservation to fly out on the morning of March 13, when he was due in federal court, FBI agents wrote in a search warrant unsealed Tuesday. Tim Prudente/The Baltimore Banner.
LAMONE TO AID IN TRANSITION TO NEW ELECTIONS LEADERSHIP: Linda Lamone, 80, Maryland’s long-serving elections administrator, will have a hand in setting standards for choosing her successor. The Maryland State Board of Elections on Tuesday charged Lamone with writing a job description and qualifications to be used in the search for her replacement. State Elections Board Chair William G. Voelp, speaking during the board meeting, said it might be ideal to have a successor in place before Lamone leaves. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
INMATE SUES GUARDS, ASKS TO BE MOVED; WAS BEATEN, PEPPER SPRAYED INSTEAD: For some five years, Lester DeShazor had regular run-ins with a Western Correctional Institution prison guard he had named in a 2011 lawsuit. Despite his pleas to be moved to another facility, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services kept DeShazor under the watch of Officer Charles Barb and other officers he named in the suit. Now, the state spending board is poised to pay $100,000 to DeShazor and his attorney over what happened next. Ben Conarck and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE POLICE TO INCREASE WORK ZONE PRESENCE ON HIGHWAYS: State troopers are increasing their presence at work zones in response to recent deaths and close calls on Maryland highways. “Motorists will notice an increased police presence in and around active work zones throughout Maryland,” Major Scott Keyser of the Maryland State Police said at a news conference outside State Highway Administration offices Tuesday to mark National Work Zone Awareness Week. Dillon Mullan/The Baltimore Sun.
MO CO BUSINESSMAN PICKED TO FILL REZNIK’s HOUSE SEAT: Longtime Montgomery County business, community and political leader W. Gregory Wims was chosen Tuesday night as Montgomery County Democrats’ pick for a District 39 vacancy in the House of Delegates, created by the resignation of former Del. Kirill Reznik (D), who left the seat he’d held for almost 16 years to become an assistant secretary at the Department of Human Services. Danielle Gaines/Maryland Matters.
ARUNDEL COUNCIL GETS POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON BANNING PLASTIC BAGS: A bill being considered by the Anne Arundel County Council that would ban many retail establishments from providing customers with plastic bags received positive feedback Monday for the second consecutive hearing. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
McCULLOUGH SWORN IN AS NEW BA CO POLICE CHIEF: New Baltimore County Police Chief Robert O. McCullough said he will prioritize community policing, crime prevention, and hiring and retaining more officers, along with increasing police training and making schools safer. Cassidy Jensen/The Baltimore Sun.
- “Personally I enjoyed retirement life. But even in enjoyment, there was something missing in my life,” McCullough said in an interview. He missed being a leader, a mentor and a colleague at work, he said. Penelope Blackwell/The Baltimore Banner.
HARFORD PARENTS REACT TO BOARD MEMBER’S ‘MOMS FOR LIBERTY’ APPEARANCE: At the Harford County Board of Education meeting Monday night, parents and members of community groups reacted strongly to board member Diane Alvarez’s LGBTQ+-related comments at a recent town hall meeting sponsored by the conservative Moms for Liberty, a group supported by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Katia Pars/The Aegis.
PROBE CLEARS FORMER MO CO PLANNING BOARD CHAIR: An independent investigation of allegations against former Montgomery County Planning Board chair Casey Anderson found that he did not create a hostile work environment at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
EX-ASST STATE’S ATTORNEY SENTENCED IN STALKING CASE: Adam Lane Chaudry, 43, a former Baltimore City assistant state’s attorney, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for using his prosecutorial powers to illegally dig up information on two ex-girlfriends. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
