NEW EVIDENCE TRACKING SYSTEM TO HELP SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS: Maryland officials hope a simple barcode will help survivors of sexual assault navigate a confusing criminal justice system that historically has often been hostile to those who have endured traumatic and invasive attacks. Pamela Wood and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
SOME DALI CREW MEMBERS CAN GO HOME: Legal obstacles are now cleared to allow some crew members of the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge to return home after 12 weeks aboard the vessel. A court hearing Thursday morning confirmed that the army of lawyers involved in litigation surrounding the crash reached an agreement late Wednesday that will permit some members of the crew to leave the United States and be deposed at a later date. Jean Marbella and Madeleine O’Neill/The Baltimore Sun.
- B’MORE’s TUGBOAT FLEET ESSENTIAL TO PORT OPERATIONS: As a 574-foot, Korean-flagged car carrier glided through the Chesapeake Bay at 7 mph on a recent afternoon, a welcoming committee came in the form of two Baltimore-based tugboats. The tugs matched the ship’s speed, one latching itself to the freighter’s port side and the other coming up to the stern. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
AACO BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES BUDGET, RAISES FOR SOME TEACHERS, NEW POSITIONS: The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County adopted its final fiscal year 2025 operating and capital budgets during a meeting in Annapolis Tuesday evening. The $1.69 billion operating budget, which the council passed June 14, was approved by the school board 6 to 1, with the sole no vote coming from Corrine Frank, of District 3. The capital budget of $184.4 million was approved unanimously. Brian Jeffries/Capital Gazette.
NEW PASSPORT RENEWAL SYSTEM FOR MARYLANDERS: The U.S. State Department is testing a new online passport renewal system, which it says will make the renewal process easier and faster. That’s good news for Marylanders looking to travel overseas, especially after many faced extended delays last year due to “unprecedented demand” for passport services on top of the regular seasonal demand. Penelope Blackwell/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND HEALTH OFFICIAL RESIGNS AFTER NURSING HOME LAWSUIT: The head of the Maryland agency tasked with regulating nursing home and hospital safety will resign effective June 27, several weeks after a lawsuit revealed a substantial backlog in inspections and complaint investigations. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
PART OF ROUTE 1 GETS SMART GROWTH AMERICA PILOT PROJECT: Maryland transportation officials just got a new partner in improving safety on the roadways, including a stretch of Route 1 in Howard County. Smart Growth America, a national leader in sustainable transportation and Complete Streets efforts, will provide technical assistance to the State Highway Administration as officials design, build and test three temporary safety installations across Maryland this summer. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
CLIMATE CHANGE OBSTACLES REMAIN DESPITE NEW SHORELINE FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECT ON EASTERN SHORE: The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science announced this week that researchers from the center’s Horn Point Laboratory on the Eastern Shore will partner with the Cambridge city government to build and monitor a natural shoreline flood mitigation project along the Choptank River. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for the first phase of the work, expected to last three years and cost $16 million. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: SICK OF ALL THE CAMPAIGN COVERAGE? IT WILL GET WORSE: Say what? Donald Trump wants Larry Hogan to win the U.S. Senate seat in Maryland? That’s what he told a TV reporter in mid-June, just days after his campaign manager trashed Hogan’s campaign and his daughter-in-law, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, said Hogan deserved no respect. Len Lazarick /MarylandReporter.
OPINION: IS HOWARD CO. GOV’T ABOUT TO GET MORE OVERSIGHT?: For over a year now, several Council Members and civic groups have discussed the possibility of Howard County creating an Office of Inspector General. An IG provides independent investigation into government waste, fraud, abuse or illegal activity. Several other jurisdictions in Maryland have either a staffed Office or the Inspector General position alone. Lisa Markovitz/Business Monthly.
FORMER PG CO. COUNCILMAN CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT: Former Prince George’s County Council member Jamel “Mel” Franklin has been charged in a felony theft scheme in which authorities say he embezzled at least $130,000 of his campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including rent, loans and cosmetic procedures for himself and a close friend. Katie Mettler, Lateshia Beachum, Jasmine Hilton and Nicole Asbury/The Washington Post.
OPINION: WHEN POLITICAL JOBS OPEN IN ANNAPOLIS, VOTERS ARE LARGELY SHUT OUT: It is a season of replacements in Annapolis, with political dominoes deeply lined up for a chain-reaction fall. As many as six political vacancies in Annapolis could be filled by early next year. And they all have this in common — the vacancies have or will be filled through appointments by small, sometimes obscure groups, not by voters in special elections. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
NEW HARRASSMENT REPORTING SYSTEM FOR MCPS SCHOOLS: Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will roll out a new harassment reporting system and process handbook in time for the first day of school on Aug. 26, school system officials said during a hearing Thursday held jointly by the County Council’s Education and Culture and Audit committees. Ginny Bixby/MoCo360.
