SUPER PAC BUCKS EXPECTED TO TO POUR INTO SENATE RACE: Their names are often vague — such as the “United Democracy Project” and “Maryland’s Future” — but their influence can be large, if little seen. Super PACs, frequently propelled by massive donations, have long spent money in Maryland to help elect or defeat congressional candidates. But with the state now a battleground in the race for U.S. Senate control, analysts expect super PAC dollars to flow to the state as never before, perhaps rivaling the influence of the candidates’ own campaigns or national parties. Jeff Barker and Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
SHIPPING CHANNEL REOPENED: The Port of Baltimore’s shipping channel, in its entirety, opened for business as of Monday evening. “We’ve cleared the Fort McHenry Federal Channel for safe transit,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore district commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, in a statement about 6:30 p.m. Monday. “USACE will maintain this critical waterway as we have for the last 107 years.” Dan Belson and Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
- Jonathan Daniels remembers how he felt seeing the cruise ships return to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after more than a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the restoration of Baltimore’s main shipping channel to its full 700-foot width may be an even more moving experience, said Daniels, who left the Florida port to become the executive director of the Port of Baltimore earlier this year. Jean Marbella/The Baltimore Sun.
- Federal and state authorities also certified the riverbed as safe for transit and for two-way traffic. Salvage crews have been clearing the debris and removing the wreckage for weeks to return the channel to its original operational dimensions. The channel, which provides access for all vessels in and out of the Port of Baltimore, is 50 feet deep and 700 feet wide. Alexus Davila, Adam Thompson, Cristina Mendez, WJZ and Clara Longo de Freitas/The Baltimore Banner.
FRAUD SCAMS REAL PROBLEM FOR MARYLAND SENIORS: Judith Boivin cannot remember all the details of an elaborate and complicated scheme by criminals who swindled her between September 2023 and January of this year. But the 79-year-old can’t forget the amount the scammers took: More than $500,000 in cash and individual retirement accounts. For Maryland residents, fraud is a real problem. The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network said Maryland had the fifth-highest rate of impostor scams last year, with 2,404 scams per million residents, a total of 14,783 cases. Maryland ranked fourth in the same category in 2022. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
VAN HOLLEN, CARDIN TOUT U.S. FUNDING OF LOCAL PROJECTS: Maryland U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin visited Frederick County on Monday to highlight federal funding they secured in fiscal year 2024 for sustainable infrastructure and energy. The senators procured funding for stormwater infrastructure upgrades in the village of Burkittsville and to install a solar-powered backup energy system for a county government services office. Apurva Mahajan/The Frederick News Post.
COLUMNIST: RASKIN’s WIT, WISDOM WOW THE COUNTRY: There are plenty of partisans in America right now. We’re a country overflowing with pundits and provocateurs. But U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland is something apart. Maybe it’s because he so often seems the smartest man in the room, running rhetorical rings around the transparent attempt to impeach President Joe Biden by Oversight Committee Chair James Comer. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE MAY SEE DROP IN KILLINGS THIS YEAR: Baltimore is on track to record fewer than 200 killings this year for just the fourth time in five decades. But gun violence is decreasing across most American cities. So how does Baltimore, which a White House official called the “greatest success story” in the country in terms of violence reduction, stack up? Greg Morton and Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
MOSAIC MURAL, WITH WES MOORE TILE, REVEALED IN SYKESVILLE: Visitors to downtown Sykesville will notice a new mosaic mural, representing friends, family and the town’s place in a global community. The 10-foot by 20-foot mural incorporates 2,200 unique 6-inch by 6-inch tiles that create one larger image of a colorful tree. About 100 of the tiles in the mosaic were created by local artists. One was created by Gov. Wes Moore and another was designed by Carroll County Commissioner Ed Rothstein. Thomas Goodwin Smith/The Carroll County Times.
ALLERGAN TO PAY B’MORE $45M IN OPIOID SETTLEMENT: Allergan Finance has agreed to pay Baltimore City $45 million within the next month to settle a lawsuit that claims the opioid distributor helped fuel the city’s opioid epidemic, the city said Monday. Elijah Pittman/Maryland Matters.
ICE ISSUED 11 DETAINERS IN CARROLL IN 2023: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged 11 detainers on individuals incarcerated in Carroll County in 2023, records from the Carroll County Detention Center show. Two were reported to be citizens of the People’s Republic of China; two of Mexico; two of Romania; one was a citizen of El Salvador; and one of Guatemala. One was a suspected citizen of Guatemala; one was a suspected citizen of Romania; and one was a suspected citizen of Uzbekistan, according to the documents that originated with the Department of Homeland Security. Ethan Reese/The Carroll County Times.
PARTIAL COLLAPSE OF BUILDING PROMPTS CODE CHANGE PROPOSALS: The partial collapse of a building in Hancock earlier this year prompted Washington County officials to recommend changes to its building code to help prevent similar situations in the future. The Washington County Commissioners approved the changes last week. Tamela Baker/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
SUN GUILD PROTESTS USE OF FOX45 STORIES: Since the purchase five months ago of the Baltimore Sun by conservative broadcast mogul David D. Smith, staffers have been watching for changes, bristling at some (the rightward tilt of the op-ed pages) and eye-rolling at others (the paper now carries an “Ask the Vet” column by Smith’s veterinarian daughter, Devon Smith). But the Baltimore Sun Guild, which represents staffers, is now speaking out after articles from Smith’s Sinclair Broadcast Group and its Baltimore television station Fox45 – heretofore a competitor – have started appearing in The Sun. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
- The guild said there have been multiple times when the paper’s “ethical standards have been tossed aside under new ownership,” in a statement released Monday. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
