MARYLANDERS GATHER TO WATCH KAMALA HARRIS ACCEPT NOMINATION: Christine Vilbrun admits that, at first, her sister had to drag her out of her home in Harford County to attend a watch party in Baltimore, as Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) heard Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on the radio recently, boasting about Pip’s Dock Street Dogs in Annapolis. So naturally, with Moore coming to his hometown for the Democratic National Convention, Pritzker invited the Marylander to one of Chicago’s most renowned hot dog establishments, to prove a point. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
- The Democratic National Convention’s main program was staged at night at the United Center. But the four-day convention, ending Thursday with the acceptance speech by presidential nominee Kamala Harris, was filled with activities that didn’t make national television. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND GUITARIST WOWS AT THE DNC: Some of the biggest talk surrounding the third night of Democratic National Convention has not been about any of the major political figures who appeared (including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore). Nor has it been centered around the legendary Stevie Wonder or the performances of John Legend and Sheila E. Instead, it was a Maryland-born guitarist who stole the show. After Ariel “Ari” O’Neal’s solo, which capped off Legend and Sheila E’s rendition of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” people immediately took to social media to praise her. Taji Burris/The Baltimore Banner.
BETHESDA DELEGATE GOES VIRAL AT DNC: The spotlight may not have been on Montgomery County’s newest state representative, Del. Teresa Woorman (D-Dist. 16), at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday night, but the internet has decided otherwise. The General Assembly member, who represents the Bethesda area, was attending the convention as a Maryland voting delegate for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. During Oprah Winfrey’s speech Wednesday night, MSNBC and CNN cameras cut to a shot of Woorman as the TV icon referenced GOP vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance’s controversial “childless cat ladies” comment. Ginny Bixby/MoCo360.
DPW WORKER FAMILY DEMANDS ANSWERS AHEAD OF CITY COUNCIL HEARING: The family of a sanitation worker who died of heatstroke earlier in August called on Baltimore’s City Council to deliver answers during a hearing into issues at the Department of Public Works. Penelope Blackwell/The Baltimore Banner
- The Baltimore City Council grilled officials with the city’s Department of Public Works on Thursday over concerns about workplace safety brought to a head by the death of a sanitation worker on the job earlier this month. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
BALTIMORE CO. RESIDENTS FUMING OVER 70- MILE POWER LINE: More than 200 northern Baltimore County residents packed into Hereford High School’s auditorium to oppose a $424 million transmission line that would cut through pristine farmland and prized horse country to power both residential growth in Maryland and data center development in Virginia. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
MD’S LARGEST COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID GRANT RUNS OUT OF MONEY FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS: Maryland’s largest financial aid grant program does not have enough money to pay for the increase in eligible students, creating uncertainty as the academic year begins and families make decisions about paying for college. Lilly Price/The Baltimore Sun.
SALMON RAISING IN CECIL COUNTY: The first publicly announced client for the Bainbridge Development Corporation is a Norwegian-based company that aims to bring more than 300 jobs to Cecil County with its salmon raising operation.“AquaCon is pleased to confirm that it has an option to purchase approximately 160 acres of the Bainbridge redevelopment site, an approximately 1,200-acre former naval training facility being repurposed for economic development in Port Deposit, Maryland,” Henrik Tangen, executive chair and president, said via email. Jane Bellmyer/Cecil Whig.
STATE CONTRACT SEEKS BIDDERS TO CLEAN UP CHARLES CO. HOMELESS CAMP: The future for people living without homes in Charles County is always uncertain, more so for those at an encampment in northern Waldorf. The Maryland State Highway Administration has sent out an invitation for contractors to bid on a clean-up contract for a homeless camp located at Crain Highway and Mattawoman Beantown Road. Matt Wynn/Southern Maryland News.
SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE ASKED TO STOP USING COUNTY SEAL ON CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: After finding out that the Carroll County government seal was used on three pieces of campaign literature distributed by Greg Malveaux, a candidate for the Board of Educdation, county officials sent a letter to Malveaux telling him to stop. Sherry Greenfield/The Baltimore Sun/Carroll County Times.
GOUCHER POLLSTER TO BECOME NEW DIRECTOR OF UMBC POLICY INSTITUTE: Mileah Kromer, a longtime pollster and director of Goucher College’s Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics, will become the founding director next week of a new Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County – just in time for the fall elections. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
ELECTION 2024: WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY REGISTRATION: Join the Anne Arundel County Office of Equity and Human Rights to commemorate Women’s Equality Day on Monday, August 26th, 2024, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library. “Let’s unite on this Women’s Equality Day to engage in a conversation about “Election 2024: What it Means for Women,” and reconfirm our dedication to equal treatment under the law.” Anne Arundel County.
FDA APPROVES NEW COVID VACCINE: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine intended to address severe symptoms of the virus ahead of the cold and flu season. The new booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer follow a summer of increasing COVID-19 cases and are designed to better address the variants that are circulating now. Jennifer Shutt/Maryland Matters.
CHESAPEAKE’S GRASSES REBOUND FOR THIRD YEAR: Underwater grass beds in the Chesapeake Bay region expanded for the third consecutive year in 2023, reaching the seventh-highest level observed in four decades of monitoring. The news was especially good in high salinity areas of the lower Chesapeake, where underwater meadows — a critical habitat for many species — covered a greater area than had been observed in a quarter century. Karl Blankenship/Chesapeake Bay Journal.
BARRY BEAUCHAMP REPLACES ANDERTON IN HOUSE: Gov. Wes Moore officially appointed Barry Beauchamp, a Salisbury businessman and chair of the Wicomico County Republican party, to the House of Delegates, replacing Carl Anderton who joined the Moore administration. Eastern Shore Undercover
