BUTTIGIEG: BIDEN ADMIN COMMITTED TO PAYING ALL OF BRIDGE REBUILD: The Biden administration remains committed to having the federal government pay 100% of the cost to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a call with reporters Tuesday. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
STATE, FEDERAL LEADERS TO CELEBRATE PORT CHANNEL REOPENING: State and federal leaders will gather Wednesday at the Port of Baltimore to celebrate the full reopening of the channel — marking a new chapter in the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster and the end of what officials now estimate as a roughly $100 million salvage and response effort. Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, White House adviser Tom Perez and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski will visit the Dundalk Terminal in the afternoon. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE HOUSE, SENATE PANELS TO HOLD HEARINGS ON PAROLE AGENT’s KILLING: Four House and Senate committees are planning joint hearings into the death of a parole and probation agent in Montgomery County last month, the first agent killed in the line of duty. Leaders in both chambers said members of the House Appropriations and Judiciary committees will join with Senate Budget and Taxation and Judicial Proceedings to review issues related to the May 31 death of Agent Davis Martinez, including budget and staffing, and policies governing supervision of offenders on release. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
PROBATION AGENT WAS STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES: The convicted sex offender accused of killing a Maryland probation agent stabbed him repeatedly in the head and neck, wrapped his body in plastic bags and pushed the victim under a bed in his Chevy Chase apartment, according to new court filings and prosecutors’ first comments on the case. Dan Morse/The Washington Post.
UNION ISSUES SAFETY PROTOCOL DEMANDS FOLLOWING AGENT’s KILLING: The union representing state workers issued a list of demands to improve the safety protocol at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services on Tuesday following the killing last month of a parole and probation agent who was performing a home visit. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND POULTRY INDUSTRY LAUDS COURT RULING: Poultry industry leaders are lauding a court ruling that bolstered Right-to-Farm protections in Maryland, a decision that also has implications for the rest of the Eastern Shore. Kristian Jaime/The Salisbury Daily Times.
COMMENTARY: MOORE’s ENVIRO PLAN WILL MITIGATE AIR POLLUTION: Imagine a future in which our children can grow up in homes free from health-harming air pollution, people can go outdoors without fear that Baltimore’s smog will trigger an asthma attack and emergency room visits for respiratory illnesses are at an all-time low. A groundbreaking executive order from Gov. Wes Moore to establish healthy air standards for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and water heaters brings such a future within reach, paying dividends for generations to come. Ruth Ann Norton/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND COULD GET $15M IN J&J TALC SETTLEMENT: Maryland is expected to receive nearly $15 million as part of a $700 million multistate settlement with Johnson & Johnson for deceptive practices to promote its talc-based baby powder and shower products that allegedly caused cancer. Attorney General Anthony Brown (D), along with 42 other attorneys general, announced the settlement Tuesday, pending final court approval. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
AUDIT: STAFF SHORTAGE AT STATE LAB IMPACTED PAYMENT OVERSIGHT: Staffing shortages at a state laboratory testing unit contributed to a lack of proper oversight in the handling more than $8 million in checks and the management of $463,400 of debt for outstanding lab fees, a recent audit found. The Office of Legislative Audits report covered the period from January 2020 through October 2023 for the Maryland Department of Health’s Laboratories Administration, which provides health and environmental testing services for public and private entities. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
ELLICOTT CITY’s FLOOD PLAN ENTERS NEW PHASE: Construction is beginning on the next phase of Ellicott City’s Safe and Sound flood mitigation plan — a 5.5 million gallon flood retention pond, which is the third and largest pond to be constructed since the plan started in 2018. Sherry Greenfield/The Baltimore Sun.
OPPOSITION GROWS TO TWO PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS IN B’MORE: A coalition of labor organizations, social justice groups and elected officials launched a campaign Tuesday to defeat two proposed charter amendments likely to appear on ballots this fall, calling them potentially “disastrous.” One would cut the size of the Baltimore City Council in half and the other would cap and step down the city’s property tax rate. The amendment to reduce the size of the council has been championed by the People for Elected Accountability & Civic Engagement, a group funded almost exclusively by David Smith, chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group and co-owner of The Baltimore Sun. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
- Elected officials, union groups and progressive activists launched a coordinated campaign Tuesday against a proposed measure to cut Baltimore’s property tax rate, calling themselves the “Baltimore City Is Not For Sale” coalition. The charter amendment they oppose, pushed by a group of politicos and economists, would gradually reduce Baltimore’s property tax rate each year through 2031. The movement organizes and fundraises under the moniker Renew Baltimore. Emily Sullivan/The Baltimore Banner.
FOLLOWING GUILTY PLEA, NEW ARUNDEL REGISTER OF WILLS SWORN IN: Jasmine M. Jackson, a longtime employee in the Anne Arundel County Register of Wills office, was sworn in Tuesday to run the office that was considered vacated after former Register of Wills Erica Griswold pleaded guilty last week to misconduct in office. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- Previously an auditor in the office for 14 years, Jackson replaces Griswold, who resigned after pleading guilty to charges stemming from cashing a cashier’s check intended for her office, according to a news release from the state prosecutor’s office. Royale Bonds/The Baltimore Banner.
