ANNE ARUNDEL DELEGATE’S WIFE SUES MOORE OVER NEW GUN LAWS: The wife of Anne Arundel County Del. Nic Kipke has joined a gun rights organization suing Gov. Wes Moore, challenging Maryland’s new laws that will restrict where licensed gun owners can carry firearms. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun
CAR THEFTS BY JUVENILES JUMP 542% IN BALTIMORE CO: The Baltimore County Police Department says social media posts touting the catch-and-release approach in the juvenile justice system are driving a spike in car thefts. Juvenile car thefts in Baltimore County have increased 542% so far this year compared to this time last year, according to crime statistics obtained by the 11 News I-Team. David Collins/WBAL TV
- A Baltimore County Police detective blames the juvenile justice system’s “revolving door” for the spike in thefts, saying youths who are arrested then picked up by their parents are sometimes back out on the street committing more crimes that same night – or even in the next hour. Det. Justin Warnick said most vehicles that are stolen are used to commit murder. Jeff Abel/WBFF (Fox)
BILL WOULD MAKE ATM ROBBERIES A FEDERAL CRIME: Reps. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) and John Rose (R-Tenn.) reintroduced the bipartisan bill that would make ATM robberies a federal crime. Lawmakers point out that ATMs in convenience stores are not subject to the same federal protection as ATMs at banks – a distinction that makes the machines a target for thieves. Kelsey Cushner/WJZ
EPA ORDERS BALTIMORE TO FINISH LENGTHY RESERVOIR PROJECTS: Baltimore will complete two delayed projects to install underground storage tanks for treated drinking water at two city reservoirs by the end of the year, city officials said Thursday – just days after the federal EPA issued an order to do so. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun
CARDIN INTRODUCES BILL TO FUND COASTAL HABITAT CONSERVATION PROGRAM: Marking American Wetlands Month, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.), have reintroduced legislation aimed at continuing conservation programs at two dozen coastal areas, including the Chesapeake Bay. The Senate and House bills would give statutory authority to, as well as fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Coastal Program. Yesenia Montenegro of Capital News Service/Baltimore Post-Examiner
SPLIT STRAW POLL FAVORS PROPERTY TAX HIKE IN MoCo: The Montgomery County Council is likely to pass a 4.7% real estate tax rate increase as part of next week’s budget vote, based on a straw poll taken Thursday at a council budget work session. Ginny Bixby/MoCo360
SWEARING-IN OF MONTGOMERY CO. PLANNING BOARD MAY HAVE BEEN ILLEGAL: The Montgomery County Council may have violated state law by allowing members of the Planning Board to be sworn in prior to the county executive’s 30-day veto window, according to a letter from the state Attorney General obtained by MoCo360. Ginny Bixby/MoCo360
SCHOOLS TEACHING KIDS TO TALK INSTEAD OF FIGHT: Maryland schools are teaching kids to talk through conflict. Is the new approach working? Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner
LAND-BANK SUPPORTERS FROM OTHER CITIES TOUT BENEFITS: As the Baltimore City Council works on establishing a “land bank” to deal with thousands of abandoned homes, and convert them back to practical use with community input, a Thursday night forum in Baltimore featured envoys from cities with similar policies who touted the extensive benefits of a land bank. Jack Watson/WMAR
JUDGE UPHOLDS ZONING BOARD APPROVAL OF CREMATORIUM: CORRECTION: Revising a story summary, Baltimore Brew now says: Acknowledging that a crematorium is “functionally a type of incinerator,” the Baltimore Circuit Court nevertheless .rules in favor of Vaughn Greene Funeral Services Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew
BIOGRAPHY RECOUNTS LATE SEN. BREWSTER’S ‘SELF-DESTRUCTION:” The prologue to a new biography of Daniel Baugh Brewster opens with an unforgettable scene that foreshadows the former U.S. senator’s brutal descent in the pages that follow. William F. Zorzi/Maryland Matters
- ICYMI, Len Lazarick’s long review of the book in Maryland Reporter.
COMMENTARY: PREAKNESS REMINDS US THAT WE NEED A NEW STATE SONG: We dumped “Maryland, My Maryland” with good reason in 2021. It was a dumb, racist song written by a traitor and irredeemably associated by everyone with Christmas. A new state song is certainly not mandatory, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need one. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner
