MARYLAND CONSUMER ADVOCATE JOINS OPPONENTS TO 70-MILE POWER LINE: Maryland’s consumer utility watchdog joined the chorus of residents, legislators, environmental advocates and farmers concerned about a plan to build a 70-mile power line through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
SOME ED BOARD MEMBERS BALK AT HOLDING THIRD GRADERS BACK: Some members balked Tuesday as the Maryland State Board of Education reviewed a proposed literacy policy that could lead to third grade students with reading difficulties being held back, with one calling it “harmful to children.” William Ford/Maryland Matters.
STATE GETS FEDERAL ENVIRO OKs FOR KEY BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION: The Maryland Transportation Authority and the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration received federal environmental approvals to begin reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. While the project is expected to restore the positive socioeconomic and transportation impacts that the demolished Key Bridge once provided, the MTA said the rebuild will not cause negative impacts to the environment or require people or businesses to relocate. Cristina Mendez and Christian Olaniran/WJZ-TV News.
BALTIMORE LOSES OUT ON TECH HUB GRANT: Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and Oklahoma bested Baltimore in a competition this month for federal dollars to build a tech hub. The loss was disappointing and surprising for the partners of the Greater Baltimore Tech Hub Consortium, who applied for a $70 million grant after winning a designation last year as a federal tech hub. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE HEALTH DEPT UNVEILS NEW OVERDOSE TRACKING TOOL: The Maryland Department of Health released a new online drug overdose dashboard Tuesday, that will allow visitors to home in more deeply into demographic and geographic data. The new dashboard will be updated monthly and has new features like the ability to search data by ZIP code, age, race and gender. Visitors can also look up administration of naloxone by emergency medical services and non-fatal emergency room visits. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
MOORE SIGNS ‘PLAIN LANGUAGE’ EXECUTIVE ORDER: Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Tuesday directing state agencies to use “plain language” that provides clear and brief information on any documents or websites from state government aimed at the average reader in Maryland. Moore signed the four-page order – with eight whereas clauses and nine subsections – to make government websites and services easier to read and access in recognition of the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act later this week. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND SEEING RISE IN COVID: Maryland is seeing the biggest spike in Covid levels in its wastewater — or sewage — since early January, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were “very high” levels of viral activity, nearly double national levels, measured in the state’s wastewater as of last week. Angela Roberts/The Baltimore Sun.
TO ANGELA ALSOBROOKS, KAMALA HARRIS IS FRIEND, MENTOR: When Democratic Party leaders convene in Chicago next month, they are expected to name Vice President Kamala Harris the party’s presidential nominee. But to U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, Harris is a friend and mentor. She first met Harris 14 years ago, when Harris was the San Francisco district attorney and Alsobrooks was running to hold the same role in Prince George’s County. Rachel Baye/WYPR-FM.
WHO IN MONTGOMERY HAS BACKED HARRIS FOR PRES? Following President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he would no longer seek the Democratic party nomination for a second term as president, several Montgomery County officials and organizations have followed the lead of Biden and the party by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the job, starting with U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Takoma Park. Who are the others? Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
OPINION: GIVING UP POWER OR HANGING ON TOO LONG: It has become a bit of a tradition in Maryland politics. After long years of public service, at a certain age, on their own time, politicians open the door to a younger generation. ….The retirement of Maryland political leaders is in sharp contrast to the stubborn hold on power by President Joe Biden. He framed it as a high-minded fight for democracy, but it is ultimately a fight to retain power against the force that will do us all in eventually: time. Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter/Business Monthly.
MARYLAND CONGRESSMEN DIVERGE OVER NETANYAHU’s VISIT: Maryland Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen usually see eye-to-eye and frequently work in tandem. But they have diverged when it comes to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled speech to Congress Wednesday. Josh Kurtz and Elijah Pittman/Maryland Matters.
PG SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER FOUND TO BE WORKING IN MISSOURI SCHOOLS: Some parents and voters in Prince George’s County have reacted with outrage after finding out a school board member has spent essentially all of this year working for a school system in Ferguson, Missouri, while maintaining his elected office in Maryland. While state law that says that school board members are required to live in the district they represent, a court of law may look at the definition of home differently. John Domen/WTOP-FM.
MO CO COUNCIL NIXES PLACING 2 QUESTIONS ON BALLOT: The Montgomery County Council decided Tuesday against placing two proposed questions on the November ballot that would have asked voters to decide whether to amend the county’s charter concerning how many councilmembers must approve a tax increase and how certain government positions are appointed. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
B’MORE COUNCIL PASS ON CHANCE TO KILL BALLOT MOVE TO CUT ITS SIZE: Baltimore City Council members on Monday let go their last opportunity to neutralize a ballot initiative that could cut their membership by nearly half, leaving six of them without jobs and upending politics at City Hall. Instead of introducing their own counterquestion, the 15 council members are betting city voters will side with them and reject the ballot measure this November. That could be a risky wager. Adam Willis and Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: ‘RELUCTANT TESTIMONY’ FORCED BIDEN OUT: President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and the ascent of Donald Trump highlight the importance of what we in the field of rhetorical study call “reluctant testimony.” Some call reluctant testimony the most important key to sustained persuasion. It describes when a source speaks in favor of a person or an issue he or she is thought to oppose — or in opposition to a person or issue he or she is thought to support. Richard Vatz/The Baltimore Sun.
