NEW PANEL TO OVERSEE HORSE RACING’s FUTURE: As horse racing in Maryland traverses an uncertain future, a new authority is tasked with overseeing the embattled industry. There are operating models to study, potential training sites to examine and the perennial need to renovate the state’s dilapidated racetracks. Created by a state law passed this spring, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority began to take shape Friday as Gov. Wes Moore selected his five appointees to the nine-member authority. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
- Among those named are: Gregory A. Cross, a lawyer with Baltimore’s politically powerful firm of Venable LLP and an experienced hand in racing negotiations, as chair of the nine-person authority; Mary C. Tydings, of Easton, the governor’s campaign treasurer who recently retired from Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search firm; and Jeffrey L. Hargrave, founder and president of Mahogany Inc., a commercial construction firm in Baltimore. William Zorzi/Maryland Matters.
FBI HQ LETTER: ‘DATA REMAINS IMPERFECT:’ The FBI document prepared for Maryland’s congressional delegation saying that the new headquarters should be in Virginia states that about 544 FBI employees who work at a facility that would be folded into the new consolidated headquarters “made a trip through the Quantico gate” last year between July 4 to Sept. 2. The number of trips totaled 1,754. The document notes the “data remains imperfect.” William Ford/Maryland Matters.
SHARFSTEIN NAMED TO HOSPITAL COST CONTAINMENT BOARD: Gov. Wes Moore (D) made three new appointments to a state commission tasked with constraining hospital costs, and one is former Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health Joshua Sharfstein. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
1735 TREASURY BUILDING SLATED FOR MUSEUM: The oldest state government building in Annapolis doesn’t look like much these days. Built in 1735 below the State House on the east side of what is now State Circle, the Old Treasury Building was once a hub of economic activity for a fledgling colony. Inside, iron chests held currency and coins issued by the state as well as bills of credit. Now, an effort is under way to turn the building into a historical exhibit providing another look at the state’s history and economy. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
LOCAL POLS REACT TO TRUMP CRIMINAL INDICTMENT: Donald Trump said Thursday night that he was indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face federal criminal charges. Here’s what some Maryland officials, including Trump loyalist U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, are saying about the former president’s indictment. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE LAWYER FIGURES HIGHLY IN TRUMP CHARGES: A key element of obstruction of justice charges against indicted former President Donald Trump are recordings from his attorney Evan Corcoran, a partner at the Baltimore firm of Silverman Thompson. Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.
- Corcoran’s notes, first recorded into an iPhone and then transcribed on paper, essentially gave prosecutors a road map to building their case. Trump, according to the indictment, pressured Corcoran to thwart investigators from reclaiming reams of classified material and even suggested to him that it might be better to lie to investigators and withhold the documents altogether. Maggie Haberman, Alan Feuer and Ben Protess/The New York Times.
POLITICAL BRIEFS: TRANS-HEALTH AFFIRMATION: Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order this week clarifying the ways that state agencies will protect gender-affirming health care. Baltimore City Democrats are sending two names to Gov. Wes Moore to consider for a vacant House of Delegates seat after failing to reach consensus on a recommendation. Pamela Wood and Emily Sullivan/The Baltimore Banner.
OCEAN CITY SAYS NO TO POT SMOKING: The town of Ocean City is cracking down on on-site cannabis consumption before the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal across the state of Maryland this July. Municipalities, including Ocean City, may enact laws to regulate use and consumption regardless of any statewide legalization. The resort town, which prides itself on being a family resort, is aiming to remain a smoke-free environment. Olivia Minzola/The Salisbury Daily Times.
PEREZ TO JOIN WHITE HOUSE AS SENIOR ADVISOR: Tom Perez, a former secretary of labor and chair of the Democratic National Committee, will join the White House as a senior adviser and director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, according to two people familiar with the move. Perez, of Montgomery County, had also run for Maryland governor. Tyler Pager/The Washington Post.
MOORE TAPS TWO FOR ARUNDEL BOARD OF ELECTIONS: Gov. Wes Moore’s choices for the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections, including a disbarred Severna Park attorney, were seated and began meeting Thursday. The board includes two new members, Ed Evans, a Democrat, and Jason Rheinstein, a Republican whom the Maryland Court of Appeals unanimously agreed misrepresented facts and promoted conspiracies in a 2011 lawsuit against a private lending company. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
$54 MILLION OVERHAUL OF ANNAPOLIS DOCK: The city of Annapolis debuted revised plans Thursday for a $54 million overhaul of City Dock, with the goals of adding green space and flooding resiliency to Maryland’s capital waterfront. Rebecca Ritzel/The Capital Gazette.
SCOTT TAPS B’MORE NATIVE FOR TOP COP; SKEPTICS CONCERNED: Mayor Brandon Scott heralded his pick for police commissioner as a fellow “son of Baltimore,” a leader grown from within the department, someone who climbed his way up the ranks since his start in 1998. But some question what Worley’s vision is, and how his background within the department might color his understanding of community needs. Darcy Costello, Jean Marbella and Cassidy Jensen/The Baltimore Sun.
SOVIET TANKS AT APG TO AID UKRAINE IN WAR AGAINST RUSSIA: As the United States and other NATO countries support Ukraine in its war against Russia, a military post in a Northeast Maryland city of 17,000 could prove to be a valuable resource. A T-72 and a T-90 — both Soviet-era tanks weighing at least 90,000 pounds each — were recently trucked from faraway states and along interstate highways to Aberdeen Proving Ground, a U.S. Army testing and research site. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND RECLAIMS ‘SPANGLED’ WEBSITE THAT WENT TO PHILIPPINES GAMING: The state of Maryland has gotten itself out of the business of promoting gambling in the Philippines. Putting an end to an embarrassing episode, state officials said Friday that they have acquired a web address, www.starspangled200.org, that is printed on 798,000 commemorative license plates. Michael Laris/The Washington Post.
