HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT RATTLES THE CAMPUS: For much of her nearly three years on the job, Howard Community College President Daria Willis has contended with mounting complaints about her leadership. On campus and across the suburban, education-obsessed county, detractors claim that near-constant hirings and firings and what they describe as a toxic culture have negatively affected staff and student services. Jess Nocera and Brenna Smith/The Baltimore Banner.
ENVIROS CONCERNED ABOUT WATER SAFETY FROM TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT: The controversial transmission line called the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, that would cut through Northern Baltimore County, would come close to the Prettyboy Reservoir. While officials say the project would not threaten the Baltimore area’s drinking water which comes from Prettyboy, environmentalists remain concerned. Baltimore City owns the reservoir although it is in Baltimore County. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
AUDIT FINDS BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION FIRM RECOMMENDED ITSELF FOR PROJECTS: The construction giant selected by Maryland officials to replace the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge recommended itself for at least $64 million in contracts while serving as the construction manager for a Connecticut pier project, according to a state audit. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
OPINION: TRUMP IS BAD NEWS FOR DEMS, WORSE NEWS FOR MARYLAND: The Trump victory was bad news for many Maryland voters, compounding what was already lingering bad news for Maryland’s budget that faces big deficits. The incoming Trump administration is not likely to provide much help. Its policies may even make a bad state fiscal situation worse. While many individual Marylanders might benefit from Trump income tax policies, it’s hard to come up with a Trump campaign proposal that would not actually hurt the state budget. Len Lazarick/MarylandReporter.com.
CONCERNS OVER TRUMP DAMPEN NATURALIZATION CEREMONY: Despite incoming President Trump’s anti-immigration, closed-border policies, Maryland has largely welcomed its foreign-born residents. Census Data shows Maryland has gained about 95,000 residents via immigration over the last five years, and an economic report released earlier this year said immigrants made up 16.7% of the population and 21.1% of the labor force in Maryland in 2022. Darreonna Davis and John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
***Maryland Reporter is happy to join with the Community Foundation of Howard County in honoring our long-time colleague and friend Jean Moon, our friends at HoCoPoLitSo (the Howard County Poetry & Literature Society that Jean co-founded 50 years ago), and major local philanthropists Greg and Roberta Kahlert and their Kahlert Foundation at the Community Foundation’s Annual Dinner and Celebration of Philanthropy on Dec. 10 at Turf Valley. Individual tickets are sold out, but sponsorships are still available. Contact Dan Flynn via [email protected].***
PRIVACY OF POLICE DISCIPLINE RECORDS TAKES ANOTHER TURN: Details of the 2010 Montgomery County police encounter with woman he pulled over as a suspected impaired driver are among information in a court filing that was accidentally made public recently after it was sealed by a Maryland circuit court associate judge. The revelation, due to a court clerk error, marks the latest turn in a court case filed in 2022 that centers on how much of an officer’s disciplinary record the public should have the right to see. Steve Thompson/The Washington Post.
THE NEXT CONGRESS: LOSS OF EXPERIENCE, GAIN OF NEW PERSPECTIVES: The loss of experience is undeniable, said outgoing U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes. There’s 80-plus years in federal service between himself, Sen. Ben Cardin and Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger and David Trone, not to mention time the former three spent in state and local offices. But the institution stands to benefit from the new perspectives, ideas and energy the millennials and Gen Xers will bring, Sarbanes said, as they serve alongside the remaining practiced lawmakers. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
DEL. BUCKEL GETS 2 YEARS SUPERVISED PROBATION IN DRUNK DRIVING CASE: More than five months after the Maryland State Police arrested him on allegations of drunken driving, House Minority Leader Jason Buckel on Monday accepted responsibility in the case while maintaining his innocence. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
- He received two years of supervised probation, which will be modified to unsupervised once he completes that assessment. The delegate said that assessment should be completed by Tuesday. The sentence is in addition to a 270-day suspension of his driver’s license related to the incident. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
HEAT PROBLEMS ON RISE BEFORE DEATH, SAY DPW WORKERS: Before Ronald Silver II died of heat stroke while collecting trash for Baltimore City on Aug.2, there were already warning signs that the day could turn deadly, according to one coworker. Travis Christian, one of Silver’s coworkers on that fatal day, shared details of that day and how he, himself, experienced heat sickness that has left him with lasting complications. Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR-FM.
