MOORE JOINS OTHER GOVS TO CALL FOR FIGHT AGAINST TEXTBOOK CENSORS: As lawmakers nationwide push to limit the types of books that can be found in schools, Gov. Wes Moore (D) joined nine other governors to fight censorship of textbooks in a letter released Friday. Moore, along with other Democratic governors, called on textbook publishers to “hold the line” and refuse to water down their educational materials at the behest of Republican lawmakers and conservative parents. Sophie Nieto-Muñoz/Maryland Matters.
NEXT ELECTIONS ADMIN EXPECTED TO BE NAMED TODAY: Maryland’s state elections board is scheduled to name a successor to outgoing state Elections Administrator Linda Lamone Monday afternoon. Little is known about the three candidates interviewed last week by the board. William Voelp, a Republican who chairs the panel, justified the silence by calling the search a “personnel matter.” Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
WHAT’s NEXT FOR JAMIE RASKIN? Just days after U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, 60, of Takoma Park, rang the bell at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, celebrating the end of his cancer treatment, his phone started buzzing and ringing. Emails and text messages seemed to all be confronting Raskin with one big decision that, as he tried to get through chemo, he said, had not crossed his mind. Was he going to run for U.S. Senate? Meagan Flynn/The Washington Post.
- Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said he hopes to decide before July 4 whether he’ll run to fill the seat of outgoing U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin. Raskin, who represents Montgomery County, expressed interest in the seat last month when Cardin, also a Democrat, announced that he would not seek reelection. Raskin is serving a fourth term in the House. Lilly Price/The Baltimore Sun.
DEL. LOPEZ JOINS RACE FOR TRONE SEAT: Del. Lesley Lopez, who is running for U.S. Rep. David Trone’s 6th District seat, currently represents parts of Germantown and Montgomery Village in the Maryland General Assembly. Lopez, 39, was first elected to the House in 2018. She previously worked as an educator and as a broadcast journalist. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
AS PRIDE MONTH KICKS OFF, STATE FOCUSES ON STD PREVENTION: LGBTQ+ Marylanders and others will be participating in Pride-related events throughout June, including parades, block parties and festivals across the state. But state officials want Marylanders to be protected from sexually transmitted infections and be mindful of sexual health during the festivities so they are reminding folks through an informational campaign. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
AFTER MISTRIAL, MARYLAND DOCTORS TO BE RE-TRIED IN RUSSIA CASE: The U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to retry two Maryland doctors who are accused of obtaining and disclosing private medical records to an undercover FBI special agent they believed was a representative of the Russian government, after the judge declared a mistrial in the case after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
EX-SENATOR WHO TESTIFIED FOR CATHOLIC CHURCH NOW SEEKS VICTIMS AS CLIENTS: Former Maryland state Sen. Bobby Zirkin, a personal injury lawyer, has joined the growing and pervasive number of law firms advertising services to abuse survivors under the Child Victims Act. Zirkin once testified in opposition to the law on behalf of the Catholic Church, but now finds himself in a position to bring in business because of it. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIP WITHIN B’MORE POLICE CONSENT DECREE: Last November, as Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott prepared to announce his former chief of staff as the city’s new top attorney, the head of the Baltimore Police Department’s consent decree monitoring team quietly notified the federal court of a familial relationship. Ebony Thompson, Scott’s choice for acting city solicitor, is the great-niece of Ken Thompson, the head of the independent group responsible for measuring the police department’s compliance with reforms. They never made it public. Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner.
HONFEST DOES 180, INVITES PLANNED PARENTHOOD AFTER OUTCRY: Following a 24-hour social media frenzy, HonFest organizers apologized to Planned Parenthood of Maryland on Saturday night for initially rejecting its vendor application and invited the nonprofit to participate in this year’s festival. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
- However, Planned Parenthood of Maryland on Sunday announced it will appear in the Hampden community next weekend but not as a HonFest vendor. The nonprofit instead will set up shop in a Hampden hair salon and plans to hand out materials describing its range of reproductive health care services, one of which is providing abortions. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
FIRST POOCH PADS AROUND ANNAPOLIS: Perhaps you’ve run into him confidently strutting the streets of Annapolis, on a Saturday afternoon. Maybe you caught a glimpse as he was hitting his stride on one of Maryland’s hiking trails. Or you could have been among the many to offer congratulations on the announcement of his move into Government House. No, he’s not the governor. He’s Tucker Balti Moore — Maryland’s new first dog. Abigail Gruskin/The Annapolis Capital.
WAR OF 1812 LICENSE PLATES BEAR URL THAT LINKS TO GAMBLING SITE: In 2010, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration unveiled a new patriotic license plate commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, complete with a website url. Those plates are still around, but the website is now gone and its url now links to one promoting gambling in the Philippines. John Conaway/WBOC-TV News.
