GET ON THE BUS! DEL. LEWIS ORGANIZES TRANSIT RIDE FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY: The 196 members of the Maryland General Assembly control the purse strings for Baltimore public transit, but state Del. Robbyn Lewis believes she’s the only member who is car free and one of very few who rely on transit as a primary means of transportation. As a lawmaker representing southeast Baltimore, she was concerned that major decisions about city transit happen a 45-minute drive — or two-hour-plus transit ride — away in Annapolis, and that so few of her colleagues had even ridden a Baltimore bus. So she organized a ride. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
LIKE JENKINS, LAW ENFORCERS IN OTHER STATES FACE FIREARMS CHARGES HERE: Former police chiefs in North Dakota and North Carolina are facing charges in Maryland in connection with a conspiracy to illegally acquire machine guns and other firearms — and court records indicate the case could reach into other states as well. The charges are similar to those faced by Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R), who sought during a hearing in U.S. District Court on Thursday to have the case against him dismissed. Danielle Gaines/Maryland Matters.
MORE CHALLENGES AS STATE WORKS THROUGH MEDICAID UNWINDING: Several months into Medicaid unwinding, inappropriate terminations, computer errors and even call center wait times have added hurdles for the Maryland Department of Health and frustrations for some of the 1.8 million Marylanders on Medicaid waiting to see if their coverage will be renewed or if they will be rolled off and have to shop for insurance in the marketplace. Danielle Gaines Brown/Maryland Matters.
ABUSE VICTIMS TO NEGOTIATE WITH ARCHDIOCESE: As the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy begins to work its way through the legal system, court officials have selected a group of sexual abuse victims who, with an assist from several attorneys, will eventually negotiate settlement terms for the hundreds of fellow survivors. Known as an unsecured creditors committee, the seven victims will play a key role throughout the archdiocese’s bankruptcy — a process that is expected to last years. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Sun.
AFTER CRASH THAT KILLED 6 BELTWAY WORKERS, SHA RESTARTS WORK: Months after six construction workers died as the result of a high-speed collision on the Baltimore Beltway, work is ramping up again on the congested road’s median as the state highway department issues changes designed to make the work zones safer. Dan Belson and Dillon Mullan/The Baltimore Sun.
ANALYSIS: I-83 CRASHES DROP AFTER SPEED CAMERAS INSTALLED: More than a year after Baltimore City Department of Transportation officials flipped the switch on two new speed cameras on Interstate 83, car crashes have significantly decreased, a Baltimore Banner data analysis found. The city-controlled “Grand Prix,” as some call it, due to the way some people drive it, connects Baltimore to Harrisburg, Pa. Mario Morais, Daniel Zawodny and Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
OPINION: STADIUM MOU DOES DISSERVICE TO WORKERS, TAXPAYERS: Under the MOU executed by Gov. Wes Moore and Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos, the Maryland Stadium Authority as created 37 years ago will cease to exist. That means that hundreds of millions of dollars that belong to the citizens of Maryland will be given to the Orioles to spend as they see fit. The decisions to spend that money for short-term benefit or to make sure the useful lives of the stadiums are extended for many decades will be made by the Orioles and not the Stadium Authority. The likely result is underinvestment in infrastructure and systems. At some point in the future, the team owner will say the team needs more money because the stadium is deteriorating. We see this with sports facilities all over the state and around the country where team owners have full control over their stadiums. Thomas Kelso/The Baltimore Banner.
POLICE HUNT FOR SUSPECT IN MARYLAND CIRCUIT JUDGE’s KILLING: Law enforcement authorities have concluded a search in a western Maryland town for the suspect in the killing of a Maryland Circuit Court judge and believe he has left the immediate area, the Washington County Sheriff’s office said Sunday. Paul Schwartzman/The Washington Post.
- Police are searching for a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Maryland judge who had awarded custody of the suspect’s children to his wife on the day of the killing, authorities said Friday. Lea Skene, Michael Kunzelman and Sarah Brumfield/The Associated Press.
- Law enforcement officers are searching the area where a silver Mercedes belonging to a man suspected of gunning down a Washington County judge was found on Saturday, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Staff/The Associated Press.
- Maryland State Police said that troopers were also sent out Thursday night to protect other judges in Washington County for “precautionary reasons.” Wilkinson had been an associate judge in the Washington County Circuit Court, 4th Judicial Circuit in Maryland since Jan. 10, 2020, according to the Maryland Courts website. Emily Venezky and Ciara Wells/WTOP-FM.
MOORE ELECTED CHAIR OF CHESAPEAKE BAY EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: Gov. Wes Moore was unanimously elected to serve as chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council during a bipartisan meeting Thursday hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. The council, comprised of the nine signatories to the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, serves as the primary policy and leadership body of the formal Chesapeake Bay Partnership’s effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Kristian Jaime/The Salisbury Daily Times.
MOCO DEM FUND-RAISER SELLS OUT DESPITE CONTROVERSY: The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee’s biggest fundraising event of the year was sold out Sunday night, despite recent scandals and a committee member calling for a boycott. “There are issues that have got to be worked out, but that’s not a reason not to come,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich told MoCo360 at the event. Courtney Cohn/MoCo 360.
FREDERICK SCHOOLS JOIN CARROLL, OTHERS IN SOCIAL MEDIA SUIT: Frederick County Public Schools on Tuesday announced it has joined Carroll County and other school districts across the state and U.S. by filing suit against Meta, Snap, ByteDance and Google — the parent companies of Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, respectively. Lawyers for the Frederick school district argued the companies had intentionally designed their apps to be addictive and marketed them to children, who are “uniquely susceptible” to manipulation. Thomas Goodwin Smith/The Carroll County Times.
POLL: CRIME UP, SUPPORT FOR MAYOR SCOTT DOWN: According to the latest Goucher poll, nearly half of voters feel crime has gotten worse in their neighborhood over the past year, and now they’re demanding change. According to the poll, 56% of voters say they disapprove of the job Mayor Brandon Scott is doing as mayor. Maxine Streicher/WBFF-TV News.
FORMER B’MORE COUNCILMEMBER TO RUN FOR COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Shannon Sneed made it official Friday morning, after she announced outside Baltimore City Public Schools headquarters that she will run for City Council president using public financing. Emily Sullivan/The Baltimore Banner.
- Sneed, the runner-up in 2020’s race for Baltimore City Council president, is creating a three-way race for the office. She was a member of the City Council from 2016 to 2020 representing East Baltimore, left political office in 2020 after her failed bid for the Democratic nomination for council president. That year she earned 29.4% of the vote in a seven-candidate field, trailing now-Council President Nick Mosby by 14,950 votes. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
JHU DEDICATES NEW D.C. FACILITY:After more than four years of planning and construction, Johns Hopkins University on Thursday dedicated its new home in Washington D.C., an academic facility designed to extend its visibility and reach in the nation’s capital and maximize the impact of its research and scholarship. Ed Gunts/Baltimore Fishbowl.
MEMBERS SEEK TO OUST ARUNDEL NAACP HEAD: A petition to unseat Anne Arundel County NAACP President Rickey Nelson Jones over accusations of homophobia, sexism and other issues is being forwarded to the organization’s national leadership for consideration within the next few days. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
