EXPECTED DECREASES IN FEDERAL AID TO FORCE EVEN MORE CUTS OR TAXES IN MARYLAND BUDGET: Maryland’s Senate president said Friday that lawmakers will likely have to look for “several hundred million” in additional cuts or taxes to cover expected decreases in federal aid. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) blamed the new gap on what he described as “tax cuts for billionaires” he expects to come from congressional Republicans in Washington. “I wish I had good news to share. Unfortunately, I don’t,” Ferguson said. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- Earlier proposals to cut spending did not anticipate how the Trump administration’s actions would further strain Maryland’s budget, said Ferguson, who projected the state could need to make as much as $1.5 billion in additional spending cuts beyond Moore’s $2 billion, though he said it is too soon to say exactly how much will need to be cut. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
DISABILITY ADVOCATES STILL SEEKING CLARITY ON CUTS: An effort by the Department of Health to get public input Friday on $200 million in proposed cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration instead left advocates feeling frustrated and confused. Advocates who took part in the virtual meeting said the hour set aside for it was not nearly long enough for state officials to fully explain the eight categories of cuts under consideration, and left little time for community members to ask clarifying questions. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
- In the weeks since the proposed cuts were announced, advocacy groups, care providers and family members of people with developmental disabilities have been vocal in their opposition. They’ve contacted lawmakers and educated them. They’ve shared stories on social media. A rally on Lawyers Mall this week drew hundreds to Annapolis with a clear message: “Save our services.” Now, advocates are working to keep that momentum going as budget hearings approach, and they’re asking lawmakers to focus not just on the numbers but the human cost, as well. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
RASKIN SETS SIGHTS ON MUSK: U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin has long fashioned himself as one of President Donald Trump’s most fervent opponents. Now, the Maryland Democrat is going after Trump’s top surrogate, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and federal contractor who recently accessed Treasury records and said he was told $100 billion a year in entitlement payments are made to individuals with no Social Security or temporary identification number. Democrats say Musk had no right to infiltrate the Treasury and is trying to overthrow the government. Candy Woodall/The Baltimore Sun.
PREP WORK BEGINS ON KEY REPLACEMENT BRIDGE: Pre-construction work is officially underway in anticipation of tearing down the existing piers and building the new bridge. The piers that once held up the bridge still stand in the Patapsco River. Around them, industry moves along at the Port of Baltimore, an oyster reef thrives underneath abandoned Fort Carroll, and the city is business as usual. Soon, the piers will leave the picture. Before that happens, crews are completing pre-construction. Tommie Clark/WBAL-TV News.
WHAT TRUMP RESIGNATION DEMANDS MEAN FOR MARYLANDERS: The Trump administration gave about 2 million full-time federal employees one week to decide whether to resign and receive pay and benefits through Sept. 30. A federal judge temporarily paused the buyout program hours before the deadline, which was at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The new deadline is Monday at 11:59 p.m. In Maryland, about 327,000 people are directly employed by the federal government. What does this mean for Maryland and you? Clara Longo de Freitas/The Baltimore Banner.
- Federal workers and Maryland leaders continue to combat President Donald Trump’s efforts targeting government employees as courts examine the legality of his orders — and as he reportedly plans to issue more. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
SHUTDOWN OF USAID SLAMS ORGANIZATIONS IN MARYLAND: Stop-work orders this week at the U.S. Agency for International Development are having an outsized effect on the Baltimore region, home to a cluster of global organizations and contracting companies funded in large part by the federal agency targeted for elimination by the Trump administration. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
IMMIGRANTS OF ALL STATUSES SEEK TO AVOID ICE: Across the Baltimore region, immigrants, regardless of status, have responded to Trump’s tough talk and early moves on immigration by altering their routines. Some have pulled back from more public venues. Others are avoiding the scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are leaving the country. John John Williams/The Baltimore Banner.
PRINCE GEORGE’S BUDGET SHORTFALL BALLOONING: Prince George’s County is facing a ballooning budget shortfall that could reach $247 million over the next six years as the county braces for the impacts of potential cuts in the Maryland state budget and efforts by the Trump administration to slash federal spending and shrink the federal workforce. Lateshia Beacham/The Washington Post.
HOWARD COUNTY SEEKS TO AID ITS 50,000 EMBATTLED FEDERAL WORKERS: Howard County has a plan to help thousands of residents whose jobs in the federal workforce are currently in limbo as President Donald Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk look to downsize the federal government. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said the county is reallocating funds into its existing aid programs to accommodate federal workers who could soon be unemployed. Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR-FM.
- The suburban county, located less than an hour’s drive from Washington D.C., is home to an estimated 50,000 federal workers — many whom recently received buyout offers or were ordered to cease pandemic-era remote work and return to the office. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
FEDERAL WORKERS SPEAK OUT: Howard County Executive Calvin Ball hosted an open public forum on Feb. 4 at Howard Community College that gave federal employees throughout the region an opportunity to share experiences related to the Trump administration’s orchestrations to pare the federal workforce. A near-capacity crowd filled the 424-seat Smith Theater and voiced concerns that ran the gamut from personal income and health insurance struggles to the broader implications for the economy and national security. Nearly all who spoke declined to give their identities, and a vast majority declined to identify the offices or agencies that employed them. George Berkheimer/The Business Monthly.
HOWARD COLLEGE FACULTY SAY OFFICES ENTERED, UNION POSTERS REMOVED: Several Howard Community College faculty members complained to lawmakers Wednesday that, hours before they were to testify on a bill to improve transparency at the college, they found their offices had been accessed and union posters removed from the doors, walls and windows. Jess Nocera/The Baltimore Banner.
DAVID RUBENSTEIN OUSTED BY TRUMP AS CHAIR OF KENNEDY CENTER: David Rubenstein, the Orioles control person and owner, was removed from his position as chairman of the board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday by President Donald Trump, who announced the move in a Truth Social post. In the post, Trump named himself chairman of the Kennedy Center. Andy Kostka/The Baltimore Banner.
LONG-TIME WBAL EDUCATION REPORTER TIM TOOTEN DIES: Former WBAL-TV education reporter Tim Tooten has died, according to the Baltimore television station, which posted a tribute to its “highly beloved” colleague Sunday. Tooten retired from the TV station in 2023 after more than 35 years on the air. Michelle Deal-Zimmerman/The Baltimore Sun.
- For the better part of his career at WBAL-TV 11, which started in 1988, Tim was the only full-time education reporter in Baltimore, delivering stories of challenges and triumphs from local school systems. Greg Ng/WBAL-TV News.
