State Roundup: Moore vows to restore ranks of state government

• Moore and Scott, both Democrats, stood alongside Patrick Moran, the president of the Maryland chapter of the AFSCME, and Lee Saunders, the union’s national president, outside of a job fair to fill positions in state and city government. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
• Moore revisited the lofty rhetoric that has been a staple of his campaign and official visits around the state. Specifics on how he intends to beef up the number of employees or hit a target set by Moore at the start of his administration have been harder to come by. Maryland state government has more than 6,000 vacant positions in executive branch departments. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

FORMER DEL. BREWSTER TO STEP DOWN AS STATE FAIR CHAIR: Former state Del. Gerry Brewster, who is indelibly tied to the Maryland State Fair, is stepping down as its chairman in November — concluding a decades-long family legacy. Taylor DeVille/The Baltimore Banner.

MdTA POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS: Kevin M. Anderson resigned from his position as chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police effective immediately, abruptly ending his brief tenure leading the agency. In a statement confirming Anderson’s departure Wednesday, the authority said it was “unable to comment on personnel matters.” Dan Belson and Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.

OPINION: MARYLAND REPUBLICANS’ CREATED A ROCKY POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: Gov. Wes Moore’s first months as governor have been objectively good for the Maryland Democratic Party. And Maryland Democrats are also reaping the benefits of their deep bench of high-quality candidates as the fields for U.S. Senate and congressional races take shape. The same cannot be said for Maryland Republicans, who have decided not to take the path set by their party’s highly successful former Gov. Larry Hogan. Instead, a majority of their voters remain solidly behind Donald Trump, despite his growing legal troubles and electoral track record. Mileah Kromer/The Baltimore Banner.

POLITICAL SHORTS: DELEGATES OWE; FORWARD PARTY HAS A CANDIDATE: A federal jury found this week that Del. Brian Chisholm and former Del. Sid Saab owe a former worker at a gym they co-own nearly $5,000 after she alleged she was improperly fired. The former worker brought the lawsuit in 2021, claiming that she was fired in 2019 after reporting a manager for sexual harassment. The Forward Party, the brainchild of Andrew Yang, isn’t yet an officially recognized political party in Maryland, but its got its first candidate. Stephen McDow, a registered Democrat running for a seat in Congress, is now affiliated with the Maryland Forward Party and will run as a “Forward Democrat.” Pamela Wood, Adam Willis and Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.

MOORE VOWS TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT TRANS PEOPLE: Gov. Wes Moore said Friday that he plans to continue to work toward making Maryland a refuge for transgender individuals. “I want people to know — not just around our state, but also I want people around the country to know — that we believe when we say this is a safe haven,” Moore said following a tour of Baltimore Safe Haven, a nonprofit that provides community aid and transitional housing services for transgender Marylanders. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.

• The state’s top officials toured temporary housing facilities, where LGTBQ+ youth in dire straits can seek resources to get back on their feet. They were shown communal kitchens and bedrooms with space for one to three residents. They met with organizers to get a feel for their day-to-day work and challenges. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.

MARYLAND FLAG HAS PRO-SLAVERY HISTORY: While Confederate statues have been toppled around the country and Mississippi became the last state to remove the Confederate battle flag from its state flag, some state flags with Confederate or slave-owning histories remain – including Maryland’s, says Jason Patterson, a 38-year-old Black artist and self-professed “flag nerd” who now lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post.

FEDERAL EFFORT TO HELP SURGERY PATIENTS AVOID ADDICTION: In an effort to help surgery patients avoid addiction to opioids during recovery, the NOPAIN Act — which Congress passed in an end-of-year spending package — will take effect in 2025, setting up a separate Medicare payment for certain non-opioid pain management approaches in outpatient and ambulatory surgical settings. Angela Roberts/The Baltimore Sun.

COURT UPHOLDS STATE WASTEWATER DISCHARGE PERMIT: Following a two-year legal battle sparked by legal action from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and ShoreRivers, a judge ruled Aug. 28 to affirm the Maryland Department of the Environment’s October 2022 determination to issue a revised discharge permit for the new wastewater treatment plant for the Lakeside at Trappe development. Natalie Jones/The Star Democrat.

OPINION: TIME TO OFFER SCHOOL CHOICE MARYLAND: It’s no secret that despite budget surpluses and billions of dollars in public funding, Maryland’s government has failed to fix the epidemic of failing schools in our state. Instead, it has joined hands with the teachers unions in promoting the same failing public schools that are actually hurting the educational success of our students. … it is past time to offer school choice to all parents statewide — especially those whose children are in schools failing to educate them. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris/The Washington Examiner.

MO CO SCHOOL BOARD HAS INDEPENDENT PROBE ON PRINCIPAL: The school board overseeing Montgomery County Public Schools has received—but not yet released—an “extensive report” from the law firm conducting an independent investigation into the numerous sexual harassment allegations made against Principal Joel Beidleman and the school district’s promotion of him despite those claims. Em Espey/MoCo 360.

NUMBER OF STRUGGLING FREDERICK CO. HOUSEHOLDS CLIMBS: The number and percentage of financially struggling households in Frederick County increased in 2021 due to a fast-growing population, a new report from United Way of Frederick County shows. The percentage of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed households increased by 4 percentage points, from 32% to 36%, between 2019 and 2021 in Frederick County. Clara Niel/The Frederick News Post.