WILL STATE REVISIT REPARATIONS IDEA? There’s never been a consensus on reparations in Maryland — should we make them, what they might look like, who should qualify or how we pay for them. Legislation to create a commission on the concept — just study the idea — has died twice in the General Assembly in the past two years. But the word continues to percolate. Supporters like to point to the historic accomplishments of Gov. Wes Moore, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and State Treasurer Richard Dixon, the first Black people to hold their respective offices, as a sign that the time has come. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
ANNAPOLIS, ARUNDEL BEGIN TALKS ON REPARATIONS FOR HOUSING BIAS: Local civil rights activists are preparing to submit a reparations proposal to the Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and Maryland state governments. Looking to compensate those affected by discriminatory housing policies in Annapolis, the request will be part of upcoming meetings with Gov. Wes Moore and County Executive Steuart Pittman, said Carl Snowden, convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders. Luke Parker/The Capital Gazette.
EARNED INTEREST RESTORED TO 529 PLANS: More than five weeks after taking over the troubled Maryland 529 college tuition savings agency, state Treasurer Dereck Davis said his staff is restoring interest earned under the same rates prepaid tuition account holders were due under their previous contract, though it will take time to determine how much to each of them is owed. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- More than 30,000 families with state-run pre-paid college tuition plans now have a clear idea of how much interest their contributions will earn. Davis (D) on Monday announced a plan that attempts to make good on promised interest for some contributions. It also ends interest accrual for contributions no later than next July. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- He announced a retroactive 6% earnings rate for account holders of the Maryland Prepaid College Trust. Davis’s office assumed responsibility for Maryland 529 and its programs on June 1, following passage of legislation by the Maryland General Assembly this past legislative session. Tiffany Watson/WBFF-TV News.
MORGAN PRESIDENT ASKS LAWMAKERS TO INTERVENE OVER TU CONFLICT: The Maryland Higher Education Commission’s decision to allow Towson University to offer a doctoral program in business analytics that Morgan State University had been offering since 2001 has prompted Morgan State President David K. Wilson to send a letter to state legislative leaders calling on them to intervene. This decision rekindled an old fight with one of the state’s historically Black universities that contends that Towson University’s application was so duplicative that it would harm the Northeast Baltimore school’s program. Sabrina LeBoeuf/The Baltimore Sun.
WEEK OF WEED SALES HITS $20.9 MILLION: In the first seven days since Maryland ended the prohibition on possession and use of cannabis, licensed dispensaries sold $20.9 million in legal weed products, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration, with about half of that – $10.4 million — made during the opening weekend, according to state reports. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
‘DROUGHT WATCH’ ISSUED FOR WESTERN, CENTRAL PARTS OF STATE: The Maryland Department of the Environment is asking some residents in Western and Central Maryland to cut back on their water usage amid drought conditions. The department issued a “drought watch” Monday for each of the counties touching Maryland’s border with Pennsylvania, based on lower-than-normal stream flows and groundwater levels. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
- This past May was the fourth-driest on record for the Hagerstown area, with 0.97 inches of rain, according to Hagerstown weather observer Greg Keefer’s website at i4weather.net. Keefer’s weather records date to 1898. Julie Greene/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
STATE TEAMS UP WITH NONPROFIT TO AID BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPING: School supplies may not be top of mind for families right now, but Maryland state agencies and a local nonprofit have come up with a back-to-school shopping list they hope residents will consider. Starting this week, the Maryland Department of Transportation and the State Board of Education are working with the Boys & Girls Club Maryland Alliance to collect school supplies for students across the state so they’ll be ready for the upcoming school year. Kate Ryan/WTOP-FM.
STUDENT MEMBER OF BA CO SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER NOW CAN VOTE ON BUDGET: For years, one member of Baltimore County’s school board has been excluded from decisions on the budget — a $2.6 billion sum that encompasses textbooks to school buses. It’s the youngest person on the board, who represents thousands of students, who’s directly affected by budget decisions and who some say isn’t old enough to have that type of power: the student board member. That all changes this upcoming school year. Kristen Griffin/The Baltimore Banner.
