IN 2nd STATE OF STATE, MOORE URGES BIPARTISAN COOPERATION: Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Wednesday dedicated his second State of the State address to imploring fellow politicians to help him, asking 188 state legislators to set aside ego and work “in partnership” to meet his lofty goals. Katie Shepherd and Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
- He teased a major policy announcement expected for Thursday. Moore touted his pending announcement of an updated plan for state government. Bryan Sears and William Ford/Maryland Matters.
- The governor called for action on public safety and said he plans to unveil a roadmap for the state for the next three years. Mikenzie Frost/WBFF-TV News.
MORE AUTHORITY SOUGHT FOR DRUG AFFORDABILITY BOARD: Drug affordability advocates are working to increase the power of a board that can set upper payment limits on medications in Maryland. The state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board was created and 2019 and has the ability to set upper payment limits on drugs for state and local government health plans. However, a new piece of legislation would expand the board’s jurisdiction to set those limits for all plans in Maryland. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
LAWMAKERS HOPE TO REVEAL GRID REGULATORS’ VOTES: Last year, Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery) was on her own when she filed legislation seeking to force her Maryland utilities to reveal votes at the grid operator that coordinates the flow of electricity for 65 million people in the Eastern U.S. Her bill passed the House, but stalled in the upper chamber. This year, though, her legislation is back, with backup in the Maryland Senate and similar measures filed by lawmakers in Virginia, Illinois and West Virginia. Another bill is expected to come in Pennsylvania. Robert Zullo/Maryland Matters.
CORRECTIONAL OMBUDSMAN WOULD OVERSEE DPSCS: Some Maryland legislators and advocates are once again proposing the creation of a correctional ombudsman to provide oversight of the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Although the legislation nearly passed unanimously in the Senate last year, it died in the House Rules Committee in the final days of session. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
WITH O’s SALE, WHAT HAPPENS WITH POSSIBLE REDEVELOPMENT? During Tuesday’s Maryland Stadium Authority monthly board meeting, board members discussed many issues. But they did not talk at length about the news that’s dominated the minds of Baltimore sports fans for a week: The Orioles, the stadium authority’s tenants, are being sold. That’s because, despite the huge change for the ballclub the Orioles’ standing with the authority remains as agreed to in December. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
MSDE HIRES CONSULTANT TO TRAIN IN HOW TO SPEND BLUEPRINT MONEY: One program the Blueprint for Education created was the Concentration of Poverty Grant, which provides extra funding to schools in areas with high rates of poverty and crime. The money is intended for health care and other social services. But the IG found millions of dollars from that grant went unused because the Maryland State Department of Education did not train school systems on how to spend it. So the department spent money on consultants to train systems on how to spend the money. Chris Papst/WBFF-TV News.
WHAT’s NEXT FOR MOSBY AFTER THIS HIGH-STAKES CASE? What happens next to former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who was found guilty following a 12-day trial on one count of making a false statement on a loan application related to her purchase of a luxury vacation home in Florida? First of all, she’ll be sentenced on May 23 by District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby. How long could her sentence be? Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
- After a federal jury convicted former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on one of two charges of mortgage fraud Tuesday, a sampling of those who know their way around a courtroom offered a range of takeaways, but they generally agreed: This was always going to be a high-risk, high-stakes case. Jean Marbella/The Baltimore Sun.
FORMER CARDIN AIDE WON’T FACE CRIMINAL CHARGE IN SEX TAPE SCANDAL: A junior aide to U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin will not face criminal charges in connection with a sex tape filmed in a Senate hearing room. Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by Cardin’s office after a tape circulated online in December of two people having sex in a Hart Senate Office Building hearing room. U.S. Capitol Police have since closed their investigation into the video after they found no evidence that a crime was committed. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
MO CO SCHOOL BOARD SEEKS IMPROVED INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS: Besides appointing Monique Felder as interim superintendent on Tuesday, the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education also grilled MCPS officials about the action plan to improve investigative processes that were faulted in a report last month from Montgomery County’s inspector general. Elia Griffin/MoCo 360.
COMMUNITY PROTESTS CECIL SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS: The Cecil County Public Schools community gathered by the busload Tuesday night to protest looming budget cuts that many are blaming on County Executive Danielle Hornberger. With massive reductions to programs across the district on the table, a rally for education funding drew what organizers estimate to be over 2,000 people outside the county administration building in Elkton. Dillon Mullan/The Baltimore Sun.
Good luck 🙂