GREENBELT CHOSEN FOR NEW FBI HQ; BUT IS THE SEARCH OVER? Greenbelt has been selected by the General Services Administration as the site of a new FBI headquarters following more than a decade of jockeying pitting Maryland against Virginia. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
- But the decision to build the massive project in Prince George’s County won’t necessarily end the debate. The FBI has raised concerns about the site-selection process in recent months, according to a person familiar with the internal discussions who declined to further describe the concerns. Perry Stein, Devlin Barrett, Jonathan O’Connell and Lateshia Beachum/The Washington Post.
- The GSA noted that Greenbelt was determined to be the best site because it came at the lowest cost to taxpayers, provided the greatest transportation access to FBI employees and visitors, and gave the government the most certainty on a project delivery schedule. Lindsay Whitehurst and Brian Witte/The Associated Press.
- The Maryland congressional delegation along with several other officials, including Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) said in a written statement that the decision is a “historic moment” for the FBI and the country. Jennifer Shutt, William J. Ford and Danielle E. Gaines/Maryland Matters.
SETTLEMENT IN ANTON BLACK’s DEATH INCLUDES CHANGES IN M.E.’s OFFICE: The Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a $235,000 settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by the family of Anton Black, the Eastern Shore teenager who died in 2018 after being restrained by police, against the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Lucy Hubbard of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
- The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland called it a “landmark settlement” that will also require the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to implement policies that will, for the first time, outline how medical examiners handle deaths in police custody and how transparent they are about the results. Sam Janesch and Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
- The action comes as the state attorney general’s office continues its review of how the medical examiner’s office has handled autopsies of people who died in law enforcement custody and more than a year after three small Eastern Shore towns agreed to pay Black’s family $5 million and institute changes in policing in a partial settlement. Ovetta Wiggins/The Washington Post.
AMID RISE IN YOUTH CRIME, PATH TO FIXES SPLITS: Lawmakers on Wednesday scrutinized the options left to law enforcement and others to address crimes by children and young teens during the House Judiciary Committee’s second hearing on youth crime. Lawmakers expressed concern that current law offers no solutions when youth and families do not participate in recommended services or when services fail to prevent young people from continuing to break the law. Steph Quinn of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
- However, most of those invited spoke in support of the law and urged lawmakers to stay the course, warning that reverting to failed policies is not the path forward. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
VIOLENCE AT HOSPITALS DRAWS MORE SCRUTINY: Paul Bertonazzi died five days after Baltimore Police took him to Johns Hopkins Hospital in January while he was suffering a mental health crisis. Last week, the state medical examiner called it a homicide. Bertonazzi’s death highlights an issue to which hospitals had already been trying to draw attention: safety, not only of patients but of health care workers who have experienced a rise in violence. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
FORMER TROOPER OF YEAR CLAIMS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION: When Maryland State Police honored Kashef Khan as its Trooper of the Year for performance “above and beyond” expectations, it called his work an example of the “highest standards” in law enforcement. Three years later, the state police superintendent fired him. Khan alleges his termination was the result of retaliation and racial discrimination by the agency — and that two internal investigators on his misconduct case lied under oath. Darcy Costello/The Baltimore Sun.
WHO CAN VOTE WAS AN ISSUE IN SOME ELECTIONS: As Marylanders took to the polls Tuesday for local elections, voters in the liberal communities of Greenbelt and Rockville drew different conclusions about whether noncitizens also should be allowed to vote. Lateshia Beachum and Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
- One non-binding question in Rockville that has received some statewide attention: “Should Rockville allow 16-17-year-olds to vote in city elections?” According to unofficial results, 8,593 voters chose no and 3,542 chose yes. A third option of “no opinion” garnered 249 votes. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MOSBY TRIAL DAY TWO A TOUGH ONE FOR DEFENDANT: Statements that Marilyn Mosby made to The Brew in 2020 have posed one of the biggest hurdles for Baltimore’s former state’s attorney as she faces federal charges that she lied about having experienced Covid-related “adverse financial consequences” related to her side businesses. Fern Shen/The Baltimore Brew.
- Federal prosecutors asked jurors to convict former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby of two counts of perjury, saying she twice lied about suffering a hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to access retirement funds to buy Florida vacation homes. Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.
EASTON PUTS MORATORIUM ON CANNABIS BUSINESSES: After brief discussion Monday evening, the Easton Town Council passed a revised six-month moratorium for businesses looking to produce or sell cannabis within the town limits. The moratorium will place a pause on applications, approval, construction, expansion, processing or issuance of building permits for a business that grows, processes or sells cannabis within the Easton town limits. Natalie Jones/The Easton Star-Democrat.
