MOORE TO SIGN SWEEPING JUVENILE JUSTICE LEGISLATION: At what is slated to be Gov. Wes Moore’s last bill-signing ceremony of the year, the Democratic governor will sign sweeping juvenile justice legislation Thursday morning, signaling a win for prosecutors and law enforcement who say crime among Maryland youth is out of control. The legislation will create oversight to ensure the Department of Juvenile Services has clearer communication with police and local prosecutors. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
BPW OKs HIRING OF 5 LAW FIRMS FOR KEY BRIDGE LEGAL FIGHTS: While President Joe Biden has promised that the federal government will cover 100% of the costs to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Gov. Wes Moore (D) said that the state will not leave taxpayers footing the whole bill. The three-member Board of Public Works, chaired by Moore, unanimously approved contracts Wednesday to hire five firms that will represent the state in what is likely to be a protracted and complicated legal fight as it seeks compensation for the collapsed span. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
CONGRESSIONAL PANEL DEBATES WHO PAYS FOR KEY BRIDGE REBUILD: Conservative members of Congress at a hearing on Wednesday raised questions about using federal dollars to pay for rebuilding a state tollway, as the head of the Federal Highway Administration reiterated that the Biden administration is seeking congressional approval to reimburse 100% of the costs of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge outside of Baltimore. Jacob Fischler/Maryland Matters.
- A day after a preliminary report revealed new details about what happened in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after a vessel strike, members of Congress peppered officials behind the federal response with questions about the ship’s power outage, the safety of other bridges and how to pay for a new bridge. Darcy Costello and Alex Mann/The Baltimore Sun.
LESSONS FROM TUESDAY’s PRIMARY: Maryland’s primary results set up what will be a nationally significant U.S. Senate contest in November and all but decided other races, especially in Baltimore City, where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans. What we know is that money is good but not necessary enough and that women won significant races. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
BALLOT COUNTING CONTINUES IN MOCO: While many candidates in the U.S. Senate and congressional races declared victory or conceded defeat a few hours after polls closed Tuesday, the 2024 primary election isn’t over. The Montgomery County Board of Elections still has to count thousands of mail-in ballots that were not received before Election Day, and it will be 10 days before the election is certified. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM THE PRIMARIES: Wednesday dawned with the Senate Majority PAC, a group affiliated with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), hitting former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) for being endorsed by Arizona’s leading MAGA Republican, Kari Lake, who congratulated Hogan on social media and said she looked forward to serving with him in the Senate. Hogan later Wednesday announced the formation of a group called Democrats for Hogan, which will be co-chaired by former Baltimore County state Sen. Bobby Zirkin. Who are the real winners and losers coming out of Tuesday’s primaries? Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
HOGAN FACES NEW CAMPAIGN, NEW CHALLENGES: Republican Larry Hogan proved he can win statewide in deep-blue Maryland, but he has never faced a campaign like the one he is about to undertake. The former governor has not had to run with Donald Trump atop the ballot or with control of the U.S. Senate on the line. Nor has Hogan had to run against a Democrat who has a chance to make history — a Black woman backed by a nationwide coalition eager to defeat him. Paul Schwartzman and Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
ALSOBROOKS COULD MAKE HISTORY: With Angela Alsobrooks’s come-from-behind victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Maryland, voters in November will most likely have the chance to double the number of Black women ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Another Democrat, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, is the odds-on favorite to win her party’s nomination in September for an open Senate seat in heavily Democratic Delaware. If both win in November, for the first time, two Black women will serve in Congress’s upper chamber at the same time. Jonathan Weisman/The New York Times.
TRONE OFFERED ALSOBROOKS SUPPORT; WILL IT BE FINANCIAL? U.S. Rep. David Trone pledged to support Prince George’s County Angela Alsobrooks after losing resoundingly to her in the Democratic primary for an open U.S. Senate seat. What he didn’t say is what that support would look like. Trone famously spent more than $60 million of his fortune on the race, which blanketed the airwaves, roadsides, and mailboxes, making him the largest self-funder of a Senate primary campaign in modern U.S. history. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
ELFRETH CREDITS CONSTITUENT WORK IN CONGRESSIONAL WIN: After being declared the winner in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth thought about all the work that brought her to this moment — on the campaign trail and in the state Senate. People said “they were voting for me because of the way I’ve represented my Senate district and that’s what they’re looking for in someone representing their congressional district,” Elfreth said Wednesday. “I was really blown away by that.” Dana Munro/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE’s LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HITS LAW ENFORCEMENT: Maryland has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, which would typically be considered a bright spot for the state’s economy. But for companies and government agencies searching for workers, Maryland’s low unemployment is a problem that’s leading to labor shortages. One of the hardest-hit industries is law enforcement. Henry Brown of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
CATONSVILLE WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO ATTACK ELECTRIC GRID: A 36-year-old Catonsville woman on Tuesday admitted to scheming with a neo-Nazi leader to destroy electrical substations surrounding Baltimore in an attack that she told a confidential FBI source would be “legendary” and “probably permanently completely lay this city to waste.” Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
