STATE SEEKS TO WIDEN NET FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES: As Maryland continues its push to expand access to reproductive health care, a new collaboration will look to improve contraception services in areas where people don’t have access to all of their birth control options. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Secretary of Health Laura Herrera Scott hope to expand access to contraceptives and reduce unintended pregnancies in the state by collaborating with Upstream USA, a nonprofit aimed at reducing unplanned pregnancies by expanding access to contraception. “We believe that abortion services are health care. But, the work to protect reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy does not stop at abortion,” Moore said Tuesday. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
- Upstream USA will train Maryland primary care providers in reproductive health, including contraceptives, Gov. Wes Moore announced on Tuesday, beginning with a nonprofit network of health clinics that serves low-income patients in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
O’s PUBLIC BENEFIT DEAL’s WORTH COULD HIT $1.3 BILLION: Negotiations are ongoing for a new Orioles lease for Oriole Park at Camden Yards before the current one expires at the end of December. Just by signing a lease, the Orioles would unlock a promised $600 million of new state funds for improvements at the ballpark, but the club wants even more, including a new state fund to help it with upkeep and development rights to key parcels around the complex. It all adds up to more than $1.3 billion of state money spent or given up in service of the ballclub. Hayes Gardner and Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
TASK FORCE REVIEWS TRANSPARENCY PROPOSALS FOR ATTY GEN’s OFFICE: A legislative task force created to assess data collection and policies within Maryland’s state’s attorneys’ offices discussed recommendations Tuesday that must be crafted into a report to key Senate and House committees by Dec. 31. The purpose of the report is to provide the public information that can show whether prosecutors’ practices are equitable and fair. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
O’MALLEY NOMINATION AS SOC SEC COMMISH ADVANCES: The U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 17-10 Tuesday to advance to the full Senate the nomination of former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to be the next commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Ryan Mercado of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
- It’s not clear how soon the entire chamber will vote on confirmation. All the panel’s Democrats and Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted to advance his nomination. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said he was backing O’Malley because he’s the “right person for the job at the right time.” Jennifer Shutt/Maryland Matters.
- O’Malley has pledged to improve problems plaguing the administration, from poor employee morale to subpar customer service to errors in payments made to beneficiaries. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE NAMES TWO TO ARUNDEL JUDGESHIPS: Gov. Wes Moore made appointed Ginina Alexandra Jackson-Stevenson to the Anne Arundel Circuit Court and Jennifer Michelle Alexander to Anne Arundel District Court to replace two retiring judges – Glenn L. Klavans and John P. McKenna Jr., respectively. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
MO CO MULLS DITCHING PARKING REQUIREMENT FOR SOME NEW HOUSING: The 11-member Montgomery County Council on Tuesday expressed unanimous support for a zoning change that would allow developers to forgo parking spaces when building new housing near public transportation. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
BA CO IG QUESTIONS BILL’s ‘SUBPOENA-FIRST’ REQUIREMENT: Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan told the council Tuesday that having authority to obtain noncounty records without being required to first request them is essential to her role in upholding county accountability. The Baltimore County Council is taking up two bills requested by County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. One would codify the Office of the Inspector General in the county’s charter; the other would enable the IG to subpoena noncounty records at any point during her office’s investigations of government fraud, waste and abuse. Taylor DeVille/The Baltimore Banner.
- The OIG now must request documents from the administration and wait several days – and sometimes several weeks – for the records to be pulled. Since her appointment in 2020 as the county’s first inspector general, Madigan has warded off attempts by County Executive Johnny Olszewski’s staff to limit access to certain information. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
PAT WARREN, 70, LONG-TIME WJZ POLITICAL REPORTER, DIES: This obituary contains more details about former WJZ-TV reporter Pat Warren, who died over the weekend. Warren had covered politics and had been a weekend anchor. While the cause of death was still unavailable, Warren was 70 years old and lived in Federal Hill. Jacques Kelly/The Baltimore Sun.
