STATE SEEKS TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN PROCESSING BULLYING COMPLAINTS: State officials said they are working to restore faith in how workplace bullying complaints are tracked and investigated in state agencies, acknowledging that “pinch points” in the current system are causing delays. “One reason it’s really problematic is that it causes the complainants to sort of lose faith in the process that’s happening, because they’re not getting feedback quickly,” Catherine Hackman, acting executive director of the Office of Personnel Services and Benefits, said Tuesday to the Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight. Hackman outlined changes made this year, including a new electronic tracking system for cases. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
BIDEN VISITS B’MORE TO TOUT $3B PORTS INVESTMENTSa: President Biden visited Baltimore’s Dundalk Marine Terminal on Tuesday, appearing alongside Gov. Wes Moore and other officials to reveal a $3 billion national investment in America’s ports. The investment, coming from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, includes $147 million directed to the Port of Baltimore with the goal of making the port more eco-friendly. Jack Bowman of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
- “I’m proud to announce $3 billion in funding from my Inflation Reduction Act, to clean up and modernize ports from 27 different states and territories. From Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and beyond. Including – yes, Puerto Rico,” Biden said, a dig at former President Donald Trump’s rally Sunday, where a warm-up speaker caused waves by calling the territory an “island of garbage.” There were other partisan shots during the afternoon event at the Dundalk Marine Terminal but the event, which included a number of state and local Democratic officials, focused mostly on the grant. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
BIDEN, ALSOBROOKS GET A FEW LICKS IN AT ICE CREAM SHOP: Secret Service agents were swarming around the quaint Patterson Park corner ice cream shop Bmore Licks, a motorcade blocked all traffic out front, and media members with boom microphones were elbowing for positions. Inside, the president of the United States, accompanied by Senate hopeful Angela Alsobrooks, was being asked questions about the presidential election, Ukraine and North Korean troops training in Russia. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
ATTORNEYS IN KEY BRIDGE COLLAPSE SUITS TRADE BARBS, BLAME: Attorneys involved in the sprawling civil case stemming from the Key Bridge collapse traded barbs Tuesday about the March 26 disaster at a hearing called to figure out how to resolve such a complicated legal matter. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Sun.
VIDEOS: ALSOBROOKS AND HOGAN ON THE ISSUES; AND ONE OF THEM SINGS: The battle for Maryland’s open Senate seat is the costliest political race in the state’s history, as Democrat Angela Alsobrooks defends the historically blue seat from a Republican offensive launched by Larry Hogan. The pair have known each other for years. They worked together during Hogan’s second term as governor and Alsobrooks’s tenure as Prince George’s County executive. Now, they offer competing pitches to Maryland’s deeply Democratic electorate. Erin Cox, Hadley Green, Katie Shepherd and Joy Sung/The Washington Post.
HOGAN VISITS NORTH EAST ON CAMPAIGN TOUR: Larry Hogan visited downtown North East on Friday while campaigning for a seat on the U.S. Senate. With the general election 11 days away at that point, North East was one of the campaign-trail stops in the state that day for Hogan, who was dressed casually in blue jeans, sneakers and two Under Armour articles of clothing — a jacket and a baseball cap, both adorned with a “Hogan for Maryland” logo with a Maryland flag backdrop. Carl Hamilton/The Cecil Whig.
HOGAN’s PICK FOR PRESIDENT: NOBODY: When former Gov. Larry Hogan casts his ballot this year, he could be leaving the vote for president blank. Speaking on CNN on Tuesday evening, Hogan indicated that he’ll skip over president completely, rather than vote for Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris. “I’ve decided that neither one of them has earned my vote, and I’ve never voted for anybody I didn’t believe in,” Hogan told host Wolf Blitzer — a statement that Hogan has made before. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
AG JOINS LAWSUIT TO SUPPORT UNDOCUMENTED SPOUSES, STEPKIDS: Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) joined 19 other attorneys general Tuesday in support of a Biden administration plan that would let undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens apply for permanent residency without first having to leave the country. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND REPUBLICAN HAVE HIGH HOPES; FORECASTERS SKEPTICAL: Maryland isn’t typically fertile ground for Republicans hoping to reach Congress. Only one of the state’s eight congressional districts has voted to send a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives since 2012. It’s been even longer for the U.S. Senate, where Maryland Democrats have held a monopoly since the 1986 election. Still, Maryland Republicans entered the 2024 election cycle with reasons to believe those fortunes could soon change. Nevertheless, election forecasters have remained skeptical of Republicans’ odds. Aiden Hughes of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
OPPOSITION GROWS TO MO CO EXECUTIVE TERM LIMITS: With just one week until Election Day, a movement opposing the referendum to limit the terms a person can be elected Montgomery County executive is gaining momentum, with U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 8), former County Executive Ike Leggett, four state senators and 14 state delegates who represent the county encouraging constituents to “vote no” when they cast their ballots, according to the “Against Question A” political action committee website. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
YOCUM ISN’T ONLY SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE TO FACE LEGAL ISSUES: Anne Arundel County school board candidate Chuck Yocum made headlines when the Baltimore Banner reported earlier this month that he was accused and acquitted of child sexual abuse three decades ago. He’s not the only Maryland school board candidate to have faced legal issues of one sort or another. Alverne W. Chesterfield, a Somerset County candidate, had a peace order issued against him in 2022 which, he said, was tied to a dispute with a neighbor. And the state filed a tax lien against St. Mary’s County candidate Brandie Edelen back in 2019. Randy Chow, Ashley Burkett and Maximo Legaspe of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
