A DEEPER DIVE IN U.S. SENATE RACE SPENDING: Besides his heavy spending on television and digital advertising – more than $2.8 million for TV and digital ads – David Trone’s latest FEC report showed him carrying an in-house campaign staff of more than 30 people in his race for the democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. That’s nearly four times the number that the Angela Alsobrooks campaign reported retaining during the same period, while the Will Jawando in-house staff comprised just a couple of individuals. Louis Peck/MoCo 360.
NUMBER OF CLIENTS FOR PROTECTIVE SERVICES UNCLEAR: Maryland Child Protective Services evaluates thousands of potential cases of child neglect, abuse and mistreatment each year to determine what actions are needed to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable population. But according to a Wednesday discussion during a Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families meeting, there are holes in the state data reporting and it’s currently unclear how many families and children receive services to protect kids from mistreatment. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
SPORTS BETTING LICENSES MAY SEE CONTRACTION: Maryland sports gaming may be about to enter a period of contraction, with at least one sports betting licensee already announcing it will surrender its license before taking a bet in Maryland, said Thomas Brandt, chair of the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission. “I think I’ve heard about a couple of incumbents looking at exits in various ways,” said Brandt during a Wednesday commission meeting. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
DEL. VOGEL SAYS ANTISEMITIC GRAFFITI FOUND IN APT BUILDING: Del. Joe Vogel (D-Dist. 17), who is Jewish, found antisemitic graffiti on the door of the lobby bathroom in his Gaithersburg apartment building, he said on social media Monday afternoon. The incident comes as advocates describe increases in anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents in the U.S. since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Courtney Cohn/MoCo 360.
SARBANES’ BAY RESTORATION, EDUCATION BILL GETS A HEARING: A House panel held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would boost Chesapeake Bay restoration and environmental education programs. The Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2023, sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Maryland, would reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay office for the first time since 2006. Shifra Dayak of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
EVERETT BROWNING TO SERVE AS ACTING CHAIR OF MARYLAND DEMS: Everett Browning will serve as the acting chair of the Maryland Democratic Party until a permanent replacement is chosen to fill the vacancy left by former party chair Yvette Lewis. A U.S. Navy and Gulf War veteran, Browning is taking the reins following the resignation of Lewis, who left her post effective Oct. 6. His first official event as acting chair is a reception on Oct. 28 in Potomac. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
ARUNDEL BEGINS REDEVELOPMENT OF CROWNSVILLE SITE: The three major tenants at the long-abandoned hospital complex in Crownsville now have a new landlord: Anne Arundel County. The three major tenants – the Anne Arundel County Food Bank, Hope House Treatment Center and Gaudenzia Addiction Treatment and Recovery Services – will now be part of a county initiatie to transform the former state-owned 500-acre, 76-building, lead- and asbestos-covered site into a state-of-the-art mental health and nonprofit hub. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
DEL. ROSENBERG FLIPS ENDORSEMENT TO DIXON FOR MAYOR: Del. Sandy Rosenberg of Northwest Baltimore has endorsed Sheila Dixon for mayor, flipping his endorsement of four years ago when he backed Mayor Brandon Scott. Emily Sullivan/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE TO PAY $48M TO 3 MEN IN WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approved a $48 million settlement Wednesday for three men wrongfully convicted trio in a roughly four-decade-old, high-profile murder case. The settlement resolves a federal complaint brought by the trio, who were freed in 2019 by the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office after being accused of murder as teens. Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart and Ransom Watkins received writs of actual innocence after each serving 36 years in prison. Darcy Costello/The Baltimore Sun.
- The “Harlem Park Three” were exonerated of murder in 2019 after each spending 36 years in prison. The then-teenagers were accused of murdering DeWitt Duckett, a Baltimore junior high school student, over a Georgetown University basketball jacket in 1983. Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR-FM.
JHU TO CHANGE NAME OF ENGLISH PROFESSORSHIP TIED TO SLAVERY: Johns Hopkins University officials said Wednesday that it plans to change the name of an English professorship named after the wife of one of Maryland’s prominent slave owners. The prestigious Caroline Donovan Professorship in English Literature will be the first program or building to be renamed by the university’s Name Review Board. The board was created in 2021 to recognize individuals whose legacies might be considered “antithetical to the institution’s values.” Lilly Price/The Baltimore Sun.
BOOK BANNING HOT TOPIC AGAIN AT HARFORD SCHOOL BOARD: While not on the Harford County Board of Education’s agenda Monday evening, concerns over what some deem inappropriate books available to students in the school system dominated the meeting. The debate over books continues to be an issue since the school meeting Sept. 18 where Harford County Board of Education Vice President Melissa Hahn called six books in county schools inappropriate and shared her concerns regarding curriculum. Katia Parks/The Aegis.
