PUBLIC FUNDING OF O’s STADIUM A BAD DEAL, ECONOMISTS SAY: Repeated promises made by state officials and Orioles executives that a renegotiated Camden Yards lease will pay off for Baltimore City and state taxpayers denies decades of economic research, and few details about how those benefits will be delivered have been formalized with less than two months before the Birds’ lease expires. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
OPINIONS OF CAMDEN YARDS NEIGHBORS IGNORED IN STADIUM DEAL: Communities surrounding Camden Yards often bear the brunt of event-day traffic, litter and overflow parking. Gov. Wes Moore and Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos and state officials often say they are on a long list of future beneficiaries to a larger economic plan borne from a renegotiated stadium lease. But so far, no one has yet asked neighbors what an economic lift would look like in their community, or what they would need from a stadium redesign. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
OPINION: THE VERY BIG BAD STADIUM DEAL: As scrutiny of the proposed stadium deal between the Orioles and the state intensifies, one thing is clear: In the staring contest between Orioles owner John Angelos and Gov. Wes Moore (D), Moore blinked first. David Plymyer/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND’s LARGEST TEACHERS UNION ENDORSES TRONE FOR SENATE: Maryland’s largest teachers union — the Maryland State Education Association — has opted to endorse U.S. Rep. David Trone in next year’s race to succeed U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin — giving the Montgomery County congressman the backing of one of the largest organized blocs of supporters in a competitive Democratic primary. Trone, a three-term Democrat, is competing for the rarely open Senate seat in Maryland against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and others. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
THREE DEM SENATE CANDIDATES MEET AT EASTERN SHORE VENUE: Friday evening, three candidates vying for Maryland’s open U.S. Senate seat stepped behind the podium at the Elks Club in Cambridge to answer questions from local democrats during the Eastern Shore Democratic Summit. The candidates, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Telecom Executive Juan Dominguez and U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Md., 6th) are all running in the 2024 election to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who will not seek reelection. Maggie Trovato/The Star-Democrat.
SARBANES: CONGRESS ‘WASN’T GOING TO BE THE LAST THING I DID:’ John Sarbanes never intended to remain in Congress throughout his working life, as his father Paul had. “I always thought … that this wasn’t going to be the last thing I did,” said Sarbanes, 61, a Democrat who has served since he was 44. “I don’t have anything defined yet, except that I know I want to do something that is impactful where I can make a difference that has service as part of it.” Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
ELFRETH TO SEEK SARBANES’ HOUSE SEAT: State Sen. Sarah Elfreth, a Democrat from Anne Arundel County, is running to represent Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District following Democratic U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes’ announcement to not seek reelection in 2024. Elfreth launched her campaign Saturday morning at the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Park. Megan Loock/The Capital Gazette.
MOORE CAMPAIGNS TO TURN OUT DEM VOTE IN VIRGINIA: Gov. Wes Moore’s black SUV pulled up to a dimly lit parking lot behind a small, gray house-turned-campaign office in suburban Virginia on Saturday night, the last of a half-dozen campaign stops across the commonwealth. The small office was filled with a couple of dozen mostly young campaign staffers and volunteers. “Everyone’s eyeballs are on y’all right now, man,” Moore told the group. “Everyone’s eyes are on Virginia. Everyone’s looking to see what’s going to happen on Tuesday.” Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
AUDIT: LATE REPORTING OF THOSE WHO ATTEMPTED TO VOTE MORE THAN ONCE: An audit released Friday found that the Maryland State Board of Elections did not report for more than a year its findings that people voted or tried to vote more than once in the 2020 general election — well after the results were certified, according to the Office of Legislative Audits. Tommy Tucker of Capital News Service/Marylandreporter.com.
SUPREMES TO HEAR CASE ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND GUNS: Maryland officials and advocates — fearing a U.S. Supreme Court decision they say could reverse years of precedent around guns and protecting women — will keep a close eye this week on a case that may have wide-ranging implications for victims of domestic violence and the state’s slate of progressive gun laws. The primary question in U.S. v. Rahimi, scheduled for oral arguments, is whether individuals who are the subject of domestic violence protection orders can be forced to surrender their firearms. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
WHERE DOES MARYLAND OFF-SHORE WIND PROJECTS STAND NOW? Following Tuesday’s announcement Ørsted was pulling out of a billion-dollar New Jersey offshore wind project, speculation has increased about the future of Eastern Shore turbine construction. Kristian Jaime/The Salisbury Daily Times.
YOUGH BRIDGE DECISION COULD COME WITHIN WEEKS: Despite legal safeguards that began nearly 50 years ago — time that pales compared to centuries-old trees the laws aimed to guard — a decision some folks say will cause irreversible destruction to one of Maryland’s most protected and primitive areas could be made in less than two weeks. At the center of the issue is the failing Swallow Falls Road bridge in the Youghiogheny River’s state-designated scenic and wild corridor in Garrett County. Teresa McMinn/The Cumberland Times News.
HARRIS SEEKS TO BLOCK PALESTINIANS FROM ENTERING U.S.: A group of conservative Republicans have introduced a bill to expel Palestinians from the U.S. if they entered the country on or after Oct. 1. Cosponsors include U.S. Reps. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, Andy Biggs, R-Arizona and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia. The bill is in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks in the Israel and the resulting war in Gaza and cites worries about Islamic terrorists and extremists entering the U.S. The Easton Star-Democrat.
CECIL COUNTY GETS UPDATE ON STATE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS: Maryland Department of Transportation officials met with Cecil County officials last week to discuss MDoT’s six year draft budget for the state as well as provide updates on county transportation projects. Officials touched on projects like the $85 million Belvidere Road I-95 Interchange stating that the project will improve safety, accessibility and growth within Cecil County. Matt Hubbard/The Cecil Whig.
MOSBY MUM AS TRIAL GETS UNDER WAY: In a week when jury selection was bogged down because of a bomb scare and an early recess for trick-or-treaters on Halloween, Marilyn Mosby, the former Baltimore state’s attorney, was tight-lipped around reporters and TV cameras camped outside the federal courthouse in Greenbelt. It’s rare for defendants to talk to the media, but she’s no ordinary defendant. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO SHUTTER AFTER ACCUSED PASTOR DISMISSED: St. Benedict Church in Southwest Baltimore will permanently end Masses, worship and administering the sacraments following last month’s dismissal of a pastor who is now being investigated by the Archdiocese of Baltimore for alleged sexual abuse of a minor, the archdiocese said Saturday. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
- Church leadership on Saturday confirmed the plan to close the parish near Carroll Park during a late-afternoon Mass, stunning the roughly 30 congregants in attendance. The church is scheduled to end administering the sacraments Nov. 15, but the archdiocese said volunteers will continue to operate community programs at the site. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
ANNAPOLIS MAN TO HEAD UP BOY SCOUTS DURING DOWNTURN: The new president of the Boy Scouts of America – a retired business leader who lives in Annapolis and was an Eagle Scout – plans to reverse the trend of declining membership and improve safety programs as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a sexual abuse scandal. Mark Thiessen/The Associated Press.
