ANGELOS DELAYED O’s LEASE NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL MOORE TOOK OFFICE: As Orioles and Maryland Stadium Authority officials continue to reassure fans that the team is on track to sign a new stadium lease by the end of the year, a letter reveals team CEO John Angelos temporarily halted negotiations last winter until Gov. Wes Moore took office. Jeff Barker and Jean Marbella/The Baltimore Sun.
MOORE PUSHES FOR NEW PG COMMANDERS STADIUM: Two days after visiting the Baltimore Ravens training facility in Owings Mills, Gov. Wes Moore (D) crossed state lines Wednesday to check out the training camp of the Washington Commanders — another step in his push to convince the team to build its new stadium next to its current one in Prince George’s County. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
JOBLESS RATE HITS 33-YEAR LOW IN MO CO; 1.7% STATEWIDE: The unemployment rate hit a 33-year low of 1.5 percent in Montgomery County in June, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Preliminary numbers show unemployment reached 1.7 percent in Maryland, 2.5 percent in the Washington metro area and 3.6 percent nationally in June, significantly lower than the peaks experienced in spring 2020 as the pandemic upended the economy and cost millions of workers their jobs. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
DELMARVA OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY GETS BIG BOOST: The future of offshore wind energy development continues to grow following a decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to expand leasing areas off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, three final Wind Energy Areas were selected off the shores of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Kristian Jaime/Salisbury Daily Times.
EX-HEAD OF B’MORE NONPROFIT CHARGED IN PPP FRAUD: A former leader of the nonprofit Strong City Baltimore has been federally charged with fraudulently obtaining more than a million dollars in coronavirus relief funds that his organization allegedly used to make up for past mismanagement. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Sun.
- Reginald L. Davis, 40, was accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $1.4 million in Payroll Protection Program loans during the Covid-19 pandemic, which he used to replenish money that Strong City had previously misappropriated from local grassroots nonprofits who had entrusted their funds to the organization. Mark Reutter and Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
BA CO TURNS PIKESVILLE ARMORY OVER FOR REDEVELOPMENT: Baltimore County announced that the Maryland Board of Public Works approved its acquisition of the historic 14-acre Pikesville Armory property for a nominal $1 fee. The county will soon hand ownership of the armory over to a nonprofit that envisions redeveloping it into a sorely-needed community hub with walking paths, music venues, a library, senior center and artists’ studios. Lia Russell/The Baltimore Sun.
MO CO DNCC GETS DONATION TO OFFSET IRS WOES: Under threat of an IRS lien, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee on Tuesday night discussed receiving a hefty donation. The donated amount happens to be $8,427, the exact figure needed to pay off the principal and interest owed. The donor? Former MCDCC chair David Kunes. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
MD. JENKINS ATTY CITES VA. JENKINS CASE IN SEEKING RETURN OF GUNS: Attorneys for Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins on Wednesday filed a rebuttal in Jenkins’ appeal to get his duty-issued firearms back, citing a current case in which a federal judge in Virginia let a sheriff keep firearms while his case is pending. That sheriff — Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County, Va., — is also still remaining on the job while his case is ongoing, the rebuttal said. The two Jenkinses are not related. Clara Niel/The Frederick News Post.
