‘SUMMER HUNGER GAP’ HITS RURAL MARYLAND CHILDREN HARDEST: The “summer hunger gap” is a challenge throughout the state, as low-income families who rely on schools to help feed their kids during the academic year lose access to those meals during summer break. But it can be an even greater challenge in rural counties, where miles can separate families from the food they need and transportation options are limited. Other than Baltimore, the most food-insecure areas in Maryland are in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore, Feeding America reports. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
EASTERN SHORE PERDUE FACILITY AGREES TO PAY $12M OVER AIR POLLUTION: A Perdue soybean processing facility on Maryland’s Eastern Shore has agreed to pay $12 million to settle air pollution violations uncovered by the Maryland Department of the Environment. The civil penalty is the second largest in the agency’s history. Under the agreement, $8 million would go to the state, and nearly $4 million would fund environmental projects at the plant and in its hometown of Salisbury. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
GEORGIA PORT CHALLENGES BALTIMORE AS TOP U.S. AUTO PORT: The executive overseeing Georgia’s seaports said Tuesday that a record 830,000 automobiles moved through the Port of Brunswick south of Savannah in the 2024 fiscal year, bringing it neck-and-neck with Baltimore, the top U.S. auto port. Staff/The Associated Press.
BODY CAM FOOTAGE SHOWS RESCUE OF KEY BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION WORKER: Newly released body-camera video shows the moment that Baltimore Police officers helped pull to land a construction worker who survived the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after first responders rescued him from the water. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
SENATE HOPEFUL HOGAN CALLED A ‘MAVERICK:’ The head of the U.S. Senate Republican campaign committee on Tuesday called former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan a “maverick” who has managed to distance himself from both political parties in his campaign for an open Senate seat in a Democratic-dominated state. But, in a state with twice as many Democratic voters as Republicans, Hogan must capture a significant number of Democrats and unaffiliated voters to win. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
4-SEAT EXPANSION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY COUNCIL WON’T BE ON THE BALLOT: Baltimore County voters will not get a chance to decide whether to expand the County Council by four members. Linda Dorsey-Walker, the chair of the grassroots organization Vote4More!, said it did not get enough valid signatures on petitions to get the question on the November ballot. It ends a more than two year effort. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
$100,000 STATE GRANT TO AID ELLICOTT CITY SHOP OWNERS: Shop owners in historic Ellicott City will have the opportunity to spruce up their storefronts, thanks to a $100,000 state grant awarded to Howard County. The historic town is home to 80 small businesses along Main Street, and the grant is intended to enhance the attractiveness of these businesses to attract customers. Sherry Greenfield/The Baltimore Sun.
NEW B’MORE HEALTH COMMISH OUSTED, UNDER INVESTIGATION: The abrupt termination of Baltimore Health Commissioner Ihuoma Emenuga, the city’s top health official amid a “pending investigation” into possible wage theft raised concerns about turnover in the office from some members of the Baltimore City Council, who said Tuesday that the separation comes at a critical time. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
- The Baltimore Office of the Inspector General opened a probe into Emenuga’s work at a private health clinic while she was also serving as health commissioner, according to multiple people familiar with the matter but who were not authorized to speak publicly. The inspector general’s office made a criminal referral to the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor, which is now investigating. Lee O. Sanderlin, Adam Willis, Alissa Zhu and Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
- Deputy City Administrator Simone Johnson will act as interim health commissioner until Baltimore finds a permanent replacement. Johnson has more than two decades of local and state government experience. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
MO CO SCHOOLS MISHANDLED BUS CONTRACT, IG’s OFFICE SAYS: An electric bus company that was supposed to deliver hundreds of vehicles to the Maryland’s largest school district repeatedly missed delivery deadlines and made late repairs to its vehicles, leading to “millions of dollars in wasteful spending,” according to a report from Montgomery County inspector general criticizing the district’s handling of the contract. Nicole Asbury and Lauren Lumpkin/The Washington Post.
