EX-STADIUM AUTHORITY CHAIR: I WAS SHUT OUT OF O’s NEGOTIATIONS: As the final moments ticked down on the Orioles’ deadline to extend their stadium lease beyond 2023, the then-chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority said club chairman and CEO John Angelos left him in the dark about the team’s intentions and Gov. Wes Moore, who had decided to replace him, froze him out. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE, HEALTH INSURERS TACKLE PREMIUM COSTS: Maryland state officials and health insurers are reviewing how to run and fund a program that aims to keep individual health insurance premiums low. The state-operated reinsurance program — a special fund through which insurers are reimbursed for a portion of the costs of patients requiring the most expensive care — was recently reapproved by the federal government. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
B’MORE TO SEEK FEDERAL TECH HUB STATUS: Baltimore-area leaders aim to be in the running to become a national tech hub similar to Silicon Valley or Boston as the city competes for a federal designation and billions of dollars in funding. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
Larry Hogan appeared on the PBS Newshour this week. Screenshot
OPINION: NO LABELS AND REAL TRAIN WRECKS: Former Gov. Larry Hogan, one of the early proponents of the No Labels movement, said he wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump as the nominee back in 2016. He then characterized Trump’s bid for a second term as a “train wreck” for the country. But the real train wreck today is the Republican Party in Maryland and the derailment of conservative governance in the state following his eight years as governor. Jim Pettit/The Hill.
STATE SUPREMES UPHOLD MDE ANIMAL FEED PERMITTING: The Supreme Court of Maryland ruled Wednesday that concentrated animal feeding operation permits — most commonly associated with chicken farms — are legal and effective. The decision in favor of the Maryland Department of the Environment’s 2019 general discharge CAFO permit comes after the Assateague Coastal Trust launched a petition in the Montgomery Circuit Court in July 2020. The petition argued that the MDE’s permit does not do enough to regulate ammonia emission from chicken farms. Matt Hubbard/The Cecil Whig.
REMEMBERING SHERMAN HOWELL: Community advocate Sherman Howell was eulogized on Friday. He died at the age of 80. “Sherman’s leadership and impact was felt on such issues and policies as housing (for which he received the 2023 Housing Legacy Award from the Heritage Housing Partnership), minority business, education, healthcare and more. He was a stalwart for justice and equity. His desire, in working with many allies and partners, was to make Howard County a better place to live for ALL its residents.” C. Vernon Gray/Maryland Reporter.
***Learn about China Today: Maryland Reporter’s Len Lazarick will again be offering a six-session seminar on China Today and how it got that way at Howard Community College. Lazarick began his involvement with China and its journalists 30 years ago and teaches East Asian history at the college. Click here to learn more and register for the course.***
U.S. REP. SARBANES CONTINUES TO PUSH POLITICAL REFORM AGENDA: In a recent interview U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, 61, clarified his political plans and renewed his vow to push for his top policy priorities, which starts with political reform, moves to the Chesapeake Bay, and includes expanding health care access. To the possible disappointment of ambitious politicians in Anne Arundel and Howard counties, he says he isn’t going anywhere. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
TWO HARFORD CHURCHES GET GRANTS TARGETING HATE CRIMES: Gov. Wes Moore has announced $110,000 in grants to two Harford County houses of worship from the state’s Protecting Against Hate Crimes Grant program for fiscal 2024. Maria Morales/The Aegis.
B’MORE POLICE FAIL TO COLLECT, REPORT REQUIRED DATA: As part of its consent decree, the Baltimore Police Department is required to release comprehensive stop-and-search data on an annual basis. But more than six years into the decree, those data are still not being uniformly collected or even reported. Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE HOUSING AUTHORITY DELUGED BY WAITING LIST APPLICATIONS: For the first time in four years, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City opened preliminary applications to get onto a waiting list for public housing, drawing 17,000 applications on the first day, Aug. 1, and 26,000 in the first 10 days. Lilly Price/The Baltimore Sun.
RAY HIEBERT, FOUNDING DEAN OF UM J-SCHOOL, DIES AT 91: Ray E. Hiebert, a reporter and journalism professor who was the founding dean of the University of Maryland College of Journalism, died of heart failure Aug. 5 at his home in Carmel, Calif. He was 91. Frederick Rasmussen/The Baltimore Sun.
