TRUMP, MUSK IMPERIL KEY BRIDGE, DISASTER RELIEF FUNDING: Full funding for a new Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland — along with a provision giving D.C.’s National Guard fighter jets to that state — was thrown into uncertainty after House Republicans scrapped a federal spending bill Wednesday evening that had been released just a day before and included those regional priorities. Meagan Flynn, Erin Cox and Sam Fortier.
- Republican President-elect Donald Trump issued a scathing statement ordering Republicans not to support the sprawling bill, piling on to a barrage of criticism from Elon Musk, who spent Wednesday trashing the measure on social media and threatening any Republican who supported it with political ruin. Catie Edmondson and Carl Hulse/The New York Times.
- House Republicans, particularly the House Freedom Caucus — led by Republican Maryland Rep. Andy Harris — had raised concerns days ago about the cost of the overall spending bill, known as a continuing resolution. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
- A government shutdown would have a huge impact on Maryland: More than 240,000 households reported receiving $23.9 billion in federal government wages in 2021, not including the large number of government contractors in the state. Also at stake is $1.3 billion in funding to replace the Key Bridge, part of the more than $100 billion in disaster aid that was included in the continuing budget resolution. Jennifer Shutt/Maryland Matters.
BPW EXTENDS BENEFITS CONTRACT FOR E-BENEFITS SERVICES AS CHALLENGE LOOMS: The Board of Public Works voted unanimously Wednesday to extend a contract that ensures electronic benefits services — including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments — will continue even as a contract approved this summer is the subject of a courtroom battle. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- The human services agency is contesting the decision in circuit court and has asked a state board that oversees spending and contracts to extend the current vendor’s contract while it awaits the legal review. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
U.S. SENATE OKs CHESAPEAKE RECREATION AREA ACT: The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act, a bill to give parts of the Chesapeake Bay over to the National Park Service to form a federally recognized recreation area. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. John Sarbanes, both Democrats, announced the bill’s passage in a news release Wednesday. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
DELAWARE COUNTY COUNCIL REJECTS WIND FARM PROPOSAL FOR MARYLAND: The Sussex County Council in Delaware rejected an application crucial to the completion of a new wind farm off the Atlantic coast, with one council member saying “None of the benefits flow to the residents of Sussex County or to the people of the state of Delaware. They all flow to the benefit of the state of Maryland and the residents of the state of Maryland.” While the wind farm would be visible from the coast of Delaware and connect to the region’s energy grid in the First State, it is actually regulated by Maryland and positioned in federal waters. Nick Stonesifer/Maryland Matters.
STATE SUES W.L. GORE FIRM, CITING ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS:’ Maryland officials have filed suit against W.L. Gore & Associates, the manufacturer of Gore-Tex, alleging that at least 13 of the company’s 14 facilities in Cecil County have contaminated the environment, including soil, air and groundwater, with “forever chemicals” for some 50 years. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE MEDICAID SPENT $68M IN YEAR ON OBESITY DRUGS, STUDY SAYS: Maryland’s Medicaid program has spent more than $68 million over 12 months on medications for both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, the seventh most in the nation. That’s according to an analysis by Real Chemistry, a healthcare marketing firm that looked at spending and variations in the way state Medicaid programs cover GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, approved for obesity. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
DEL. BOUCHAT AGAIN SEEKS REPEAL OF HIV CRIMINALIZATION LAW: Republican Del. Eric Bouchat, of Carroll and Frederick, is again putting his support behind a draft bill that would repeal a Maryland law that makes it illegal to knowingly spread or attempt to spread HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. “HIV is the only criminalized sexually transmitted disease,” Bouchat said in an email. Sherry Greenfield/The Carroll County Times.
CALVERT COMMISSIONERS FORWARD LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS: Among proposals for legislation that the Calvert County Commissioners will send to the Calvert General Assembly delegation are one to eliminate the county treasurer as a popularly elected office and a request to establish a tax adjustment for local, nonprofessional caregivers. Marty Madden/Southern Maryland News.
RACE AUTHORITY TO BUILD HORSE TRAINING CENTER AS PART OF PIMLICO PLAN: The Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority has agreed to build a state-of-the-art training center at Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, setting in motion a key component of the state’s plan to redevelop Pimlico Race Course. Childs Walker/The Baltimore Sun.
FULL LIST OF CONTENDERS FOR PRINCE GEORGE’S EXECUTIVE: The special primary election to finish Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks’ term as Prince George’s County executive has been set by the county council for March 4, with a loaded group of contenders. Confirming their interest are former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, state Sen. Alonzo Washington, Prince George’s State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, County Council chair Jolene Ivey, County Council member Calvin Hawkins and attorney Tonya Sweat. The filing deadline is Friday, Dec. 20. Richard Elliott/The Washington Informer.
EMBATTLED HOWARD PRESIDENT BACKS BIGGER BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Howard Community College President Daria Willis said she backs a measure by local lawmakers to expand the college’s board of trustees even as she tries to move past concerns about her turbulent tenure. Jess Nocera/The Baltimore Banner.
WWI ‘HELLO GIRL’ MAY SOON BE HONORED FOR SERVICE: Marie Edmee LeRoux has been buried at the Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Prince George’s County for 79 years, but she may soon win a gold medal for her service in World War I. LeRoux was one of 223 bilingual women deployed to France as telephone operators, often under combat conditions, as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. They were the country’s first women soldiers, popularly known as the “Hello Girls.” Robert Stewart of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com
MARTIN MALARKEY, DESIGN DRAFTSMAN FOR SPACE PROGRAM, DIES: Martin F. Malarkey Jr., a longtime Ellicott City resident who contributed to space exploration program designs, died of cancer Dec. 8 at MedStar Harbor Hospital. He was 92. He worked for the Westinghouse Corp. before joining Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he was a design draftsman for satellite and rocket projects, including SkyLab, the U.S. space station launched by NASA in 1972. Jacques Kelly/The Baltimore Sun.
