BGE CUSTOMERS PLEAD FOR RATE RELIEF: Baltimore’s City Council and Baltimore residents grilled and pleaded with Baltimore Gas and Electric Company officials for rate relief at a legislative investigations hearing on Thursday night, following months of outrage over rising natural gas and electric bills. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner
STATE OFFICIALS DELAY $200 MILLION IN DDA CUTS: State officials said Thursday that they have been able to juggle the budget to delay Developmental Disabilities Administration cuts that had been scheduled to take effect in April — but cuts still loom on July 1. Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters.
ACCOUNTABILITY ON STATE GRANTS, NONPROFITS HAS ‘FALLEN THROUGH THE CRACKS’ : In 2020, state auditors made an eyebrow-raising discovery: A nonprofit had spent $750,000 in state money that was intended to combat opioid addiction to instead purchase a former country club and golf course. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
HOSPITALS AGREED TO COST CONTROLS, NOW NEED MORE MONEY: Hospitals in Maryland are renowned for their patient care. But for the past decade, these nonprofit institutions have also quietly operated under an innovative statewide experiment in cost controls. Meredith Cohn/Baltimore Banner.
BLACK CAUCUS DISCUSSES CONTESTED CIRCUIT COURT RACES: The Legislative Black Caucus debated all sides of a bill that would do away with contested elections for circuit court judges, but came away without a clear direction for its members. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
HO CO PARENTS, TEACHERS, SAY SPECIAL ED. IN CRISIS: Special education issues have festered for years at one of Maryland’s top public school districts, leading to a domino effect that resulted in a staffing crisis and left students with special needs falling behind, 11 News Investigates has learned through dozens of interviews and a review of district data. Tolly Taylor/WBAL TV.
CONCERNS OVER BILL TO USE GENDER AND RELIGION NEUTRAL TERMS IN STATE LAW: Two Republican senators are worried the Devil is in the details of a bill that makes technical changes to state law, fearing it will open the door to state recognition of Satan, cults, witches, “weirdo sects” and racists.An 18-page bill, sponsored by Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery), makes technical changes to sections of state law to make them more gender and religion neutral. Bryan P. Sears/ Maryland Matters.
MO CO FED WORKFORCE FACES LAYOFFS, ELECTED OFFICIALS FRUSTRATED: According to ABC News, more than 200,000 federal workers across the country have been laid off since Trump’s inauguration. The impacts hit close to home. Approximately 70,000 county residents are part of the federal workforce, according to Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart’s (D-Dist. 4) office. Ginny Bixby/Bethesda Today.
CARROLL CO PARENTS UPSET OVER BLUEPRINT MANDATES: Although the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future aims to direct resources to special education students, some say the multibillion-dollar state education law will worsen outcomes for students with individualized education plans. Thomas Goodwin Smith/Carroll County Times.
- The Carroll County Public School system received more than $20,000 from the state via a grant that intends to promote early access to gifted and talented education programs, according to Raven Hill, a spokesperson with state government. Brennan Stewart/Carroll County Times.
FORMER B’MORE CITY EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR BRIBERY, CARES ACT FRAUD: A federal judge sentenced a 35-year-old man who previously worked in Baltimore City’s revenue collections department to four years in prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to settle bills with the city and acquiring a fraudulent six-figure COVID-19 PPP loan. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
SEAN STINNETT TAPPED FOR OPEN DELEGATE SEAT: Baltimore Democrats nominated Sean Stinnett, the local party leader’s husband, to fill a House of Delegates vacancy created last month. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
WHITE HOUSE POSTED ABOUT AN UNDOCUMENTED TRANS WOMAN FROM MD: Instead of being released pending the resolution of her immigration case as her attorneys had hoped, the Kent County transgender woman was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to an ICE detention facility in Miami and held with men. John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
LEASE BROKEN ON WESTMINSTER RESPITE CENTER: The Board of Carroll County Commissioners on Thursday terminated a lease signed last month with Access Carroll Integrated Healthcare of Westminster for a respite facility in downtown Westminster. Sherry Greenfield/Carroll County Times.
