DEPENDENT ON FEDERAL GOVT FOR JOBS, MARYLAND FACING A CRISIS: President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming administration are vowing to slash the federal budget and drastically downsize the federal workforce. About 10% of Maryland workers, or an estimated 327,000 Marylanders, are directly employed by the federal government. These workers have relatively big paychecks from dozens of different agencies and military installations. They contribute substantially to the budgets of local and state governments via taxes. With Maryland’s state government facing a budget crunch, the last thing it needs is for a key economic driver — the federal government — to slow down. Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.
COLLEGES URGE FOREIGN STUDENTS TO RETURN BEFORE TRUMP’s INAUGURATION: Several Maryland colleges joined the likes of Harvard University, the University of Southern California and Cornell University, and have sent out travel advisories to their international students, encouraging them to return to the United States before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Earlier this year, Trump said he would reinstate the travel ban he enacted in 2017 that barred people from a number of predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE TAPS SEN. CARTER FOR BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS: Gov. Wes Moore (D) has plucked another Annapolis lawmaker for a key state position, announcing Monday evening that he would nominate state Sen. Jill P. Carter (D-Baltimore City) to serve on the state Board of Contract Appeals. He also moved to fill vacancies on two other state panels, the Maryland State Board of Education and the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
- Carter expressed gratitude to Moore and to the voters who put her in office, and said she’s leaving with a “deep respect” for the Maryland Senate. Her resignation will come with “profound gratitude and mixed emotions,” Carter said. Brenda Wintrode and Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
BPW IS ASKED TO EXTEND VOIDED CONTRACT FOR BENEFITS SYSTEM: State officials are seeking a contract extension to maintain the state’s electronic benefits system after a contract approved in July was declared illegal and voided. As a result, the Department of Human Services is asking the Board of Public Works to approve a six-month extension with Conduent, which is the incumbent vendor, while the agency appeals the decision in a Baltimore City court. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: BLUEPRINT FACES DOOM: To put it bluntly, it’s now or never for the governor and General Assembly to save the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Otherwise, the Blueprint is doomed and so are future generations of our schoolchildren. If I sound alarmist, I mean to. Still, this is extremely painful to write. Kalman Hettleman/Maryland Matters.
ABORTION RIGHTS GROUP BACKS DEL. JONES FOR SEN. ELFRETH’s SEAT: A leading Maryland abortion rights group is throwing its support behind Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel) in the battle to replace outgoing state Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D), who is resigning on Jan. 2, a day before she will be sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
3 MARYLAND TOP HEALTH INSURERS HAVE HIGH CLAIM-DENIAL RATES: Three of Maryland’s top health insurers have higher than average claim denial rates, according to research that’s gained traction in the wake of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the arrest of suspect and Baltimore area native Luigi Nicholas Mangione. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
BIDEN ADMIN OFFICIAL PICKED TO HEAD B’MORE DOT: A Biden administration official has been tapped by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to lead the city’s Department of Transportation, his office announced Monday — just days after the resignation of the city’s last director. Veronica P. McBeth, the deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy with the U.S. Department of Transportation, will start with the city in January, according to a news release from Scott’s office. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
FORMER B’MORE HEALTH COMMISH CLEARED OF WRONGDOING: Baltimore’s former health commissioner, fired seven months into the job amid reports of a criminal investigation, has been cleared of wrongdoing by state prosecutors and says her reputation was unfairly destroyed. Justin Fenton and Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
FAMILIES SUE PG COUNTY, BOE OVER DEATHS NEAR ‘WALKING SCHOOL:’ Riverdale Elementary in Prince George’s County bills itself as an “all-walking school.” But on a Monday in November 2023, a morning when no crossing guard was on duty, a van driver taking kids to the school ran over an adult and two children in a crosswalk feet from the front door. The adult survived. The two children did not. The driver is set to go on trial next month. The children’s families are also suing the county and the Board of Education. Jasmine Hilton, Rachel Weiner and Nicole Asbury/The Washington Post.
DRONES OVER MARYLAND? MAYBE, MAYBE NOT: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Or is it a drone? It might actually be Orion’s Belt. On Friday, former Gov. Larry Hogan took to his X account, writing that he “personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones” the night before above his residence in Anne Arundel County’s Davidsonville. But the bright lights videotaped by Hogan in the night sky might not have been an aircraft at all, but the constellation Orion, some experts say. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
PROSECUTORS OPPOSE ACCUSED JAN. 6 PARTICIPANT’s TRAVEL REQUEST: A former state board of elections official accused of involvement in the failed Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is seeking a federal judge’s approval to travel to El Salvador. Carlos Ayala, charged in January for his alleged participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, wants the court’s approval to travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3. Federal prosecutors are asking U.S District Court Judge John D. Bates to deny the request. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
RESTAURANT FIRES THREE AFTER INCIDENT INVOLVING CHARLES CO. STUDENTS: Cracker Barrel said it has fired three employees at its location in Waldorf,, including the general manager, after an incident in which parents and Charles County school officials said a group of special-needs children were refused service and treated rudely while on a field trip there. Emily Heil/The Washington Post.
