RACE IS ON: PIMLICO PLAN HAS 3 WEEKS TO GET THROUGH ANNAPOLIS: If a plan to revive Maryland’s thoroughbred racing industry by building new facilities in the state with public money and organizing a state-created racing operator actually comes to fruition, a bill will need to sprint through Annapolis over the next three weeks. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
- The plan to revitalize Pimlico Racetrack and the surrounding neighborhood could stumble out of the gate as lawmakers question the long-term costs. This is the fourth time in five years that the legislature has attempted to shore up the horse racing industry and the deteriorating Pimlico track. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- The proposed legislation would rebuild the Pimlico Race Course and construct a new training facility with $400 million in state bonds. There will also be a new hotel, parking garage, and investment in workforce housing. Ownership would be transferred to the state. Jessica Babb/WBFF-TV News.
LANDLORD-TENANT BILLS STIR DEBATE: Debates pitting Maryland’s tenants against landlords ignited in the House Monday over two bills that aim to increase protections for renters. One bill is priority legislation for Gov. Wes Moore (D) as part of his housing package, which aims to avoid unnecessary evictions and work to decrease a housing shortage of an estimated 96,000 units. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
FINDING FUNDS FOR MARYLAND’s BLUEPRINT: Maryland’s Democratic-led legislature passed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future in 2021, vowing to pour billions of dollars into the state’s public schools to offer universal prekindergarten, improve teaching and make sure students are ready for college or careers. But the General Assembly didn’t outline a long-term plan to fund the ambitious 10-year education reform effort — which increasingly looks like a blueprint for red ink. Kiersten Hacker, Christina Walker and Ela Jalil/The Capital News Service.
STATE TO GET $200M IN FED BUCKS FOR 167 PROJECTS: Over $200 million is coming to Maryland from a federal appropriations package signed into law by President Joe Biden earlier this month, funding 167 projects ranging from repairs at Crisfield’s City Dock on the Eastern Shore to wastewater plant improvements in Western Maryland. Dwight Weingarten/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
MARYLAND HOPES TO SNAG SPOT IN HEALTH OUTCOMES PROGRAM: State health officials have placed their bid for Maryland to be among the first participants in a federal program that will help fund state initiatives to improve patient outcomes and bridge inequities, while constraining hospital and medical costs. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is rolling out the new States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model and states are invited to apply for funding. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
STUDY: SOME JUDGES ARBITRARY IN MAKING COURT DECISIONS ON JUVENILES: Each year, hundreds of Maryland teens find themselves face to face with a judge and two possible outcomes: a judgment in adult court and possible prison time, or a transfer to the juvenile court and the opportunity to get therapy. It’s up to the judge to decide. An investigation by WYPR and APM Reports found that some judges are using what juvenile justice advocates say are arbitrary and inconsistent reasons to keep teenagers charged with serious crimes in adult court. Rachel Baye, Jennifer Lu and Claire Keenan-Kurgan/WYPR-FM.
MO CO POLICE HAS HIGHEST VACANCY RATE IN DECADE: The Montgomery County Department of Police has the highest vacancy rate of sworn officers in 10 years, according to a memorandum presented Monday by the County Council’s Public Safety Committee. Courtney Cohn/MoCo 360.
MARYLAND LABOR LAWYER APPROVED FOR 4th CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS: The U.S. Senate voted, 50-47, on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Maryland labor lawyer Nicole G. Berner of Montgomery County to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, making her the first openly LGBTQ+ judge on that court. The 15-member 4th Circuit is based in Richmond, Va., and hears appeals from federal district courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
