POLL: MOST MARYLANDERS WANT TOUGH APPROACH TO YOUTH VIOLENCE: A new poll found that most Maryland residents, including Black Democrats, support a tough-on-crime stance toward youth violence, favoring laws that include detention and boot camps for juveniles over laws that prescribe social programs and counseling. Ovetta Wiggins/The Washington Post.
FEDERAL COURT TEMPORARILY STOPS CLAIMS AGAINST B’MORE ARCHDIOCESE: A federal bankruptcy court Tuesday temporarily blocked sexual abuse lawsuits against parishes, schools or other entities related to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Child sexual assault survivors said the ruling further thwarts a new state law intended to give them greater latitude to sue institutions that harbored their abusers. Frederick Kunkle/The Washington Post.
- Church lawyers told the judge they want to make sure as much money as possible is available for survivors who file claims in the bankruptcy case. Without this protection, they said, individual cases in state court risk depleting the insurance money. Tim Prudente/The Baltimore Banner.
- It’s likely that victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of employees of the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese will only have a four-to-nine-month period to file claims for compensation, according to testimony at the first bankruptcy hearing, which took place on Tuesday. The organization filed for bankruptcy last week. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
NEW LAW PROMPTS SEX ABUSE SUIT AGAINST WASHINGTON ARCHDIOCESE: A new lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Washington claims sex abuse against children in Maryland has been taking place for decades. The filing of the lawsuit comes a day after a new Maryland law kicked in, lifting the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims. Kyle Cooper/WTOP-FM.
SUIT AGAINST STATE JUVIE SERVICES INCLUDES 50 PLAINTIFFS: They were told that no one would believe their claims of sexual abuse. Now, four law firms are representing 50 plaintiffs in cases alleging that from 1962 through 2012, dozens of juveniles — one as young as 7 years old — were sexually assaulted at six facilities in the Maryland juvenile justice system. Kate Ryan/WTOP-FM.
- The suits against the state also name the state’s Health Department because it oversaw and managed care of some of the children between 1969 to 1987. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
POLL: BIDEN BEATS TRUMP BETTER IN MARYLAND 2024 REMATCH: Republican Donald Trump would fare worse in a 2024 rematch in Maryland versus President Joe Biden than he did in 2020, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Trump, who faces four criminal indictments and is the presumed frontrunner in his party, also fares worse against Biden than most other Republican hopefuls. None of them garner enough support to defeat Biden in Maryland in a hypothetical matchup roughly a year from the general election. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- Looking at race, the poll showed some differing results. Within African American voters, 81.6% said they would vote for Biden, 8.8% would vote for Trump, and 9.6% are undecided. White voters aren’t so aligned, according to the poll. Biden is still the favorite, with 44.6% voting for him, 41.2% voting for Trump, and 14.2% undecided. Megan Rodgers/WBFF-TV News.
- The poll also asked voters their thoughts on Trump’s job as president. In Maryland, 37% of voters approve, while 61% disapprove – including 52% who indicated strong disapproval. Again, the former president’s rating showed a divide along party lines, with 83% of Republicans approving of his job as president and 87% of Democrats disapproving. Marcus Dieterle/Baltimore Fishbowl.
BUILDING EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE A STRUGGLE: Maryland’s Advanced Clean Car Regulations took effect on Sept. 18 in response to Gov. Wes Moore’s announcement of his support to phase out gas-powered passenger car and light-truck sales by 2035. And while the state has seen an increase in electric vehicles every year, counties across Maryland are struggling to develop the charging infrastructure the growth requires. Ilana Williams of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
STATE GETS $20.4M FOR RAIL, PORT WORK: The Maryland Department of Transportation has received two Biden administration grants totaling $20.4 million to advance transit rail connections in the Baltimore region and promote cleaner operations at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. Mark Smith/The Business Monthly.
NEW CALIF SENATOR HAS STRONG MARYLAND TIES: Laphonza Butler, a recent Maryland resident who met her wife while living in Baltimore and went on to lead a powerful national political fundraising organization, was sworn in Tuesday to serve out the remaining term of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who died Friday at age 90. Lia Russell and Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND’s CONGRESSMEN: TIMECLOCK RESTARTED TO KEEP GOV’T OPEN: Maryland Democrats in Washington voted on legislation to avoid a government shutdown over the weekend, but said the countdown to a new deadline has begun because Congress has not completed its funding responsibilities. Sam Janesch and Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
