STATE AGENCIES CONTINUE TO PAY HUNDREDS OF MILLION IN OVERTIME: Maryland government agencies that have struggled for years to remain fully staffed — sometimes at the risk of safety to those working in facilities like prisons — have continued to spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually in overtime costs even as Gov. Wes Moore’s administration makes progress on filling vacancies, according to public reports and payroll data. Sam Janesch and Steve Earley/The Baltimore Sun.
SOME FUNDS RESTORED FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: Mental health advocates showed up to a House hearing Wednesday prepared to fight for the restoration of more than $100 million in funding that had been cut by the Moore administration — only to have administration officials surprise them by announcing the replacement of some funds. But in the same hearing where the administration said it was restoring some programming, legislative analysts recommended that lawmakers claw back another pot of money. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
REFORM SOUGHT FOR MANAGING STATE’s TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS: The chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Wednesday said his committee will look to resolve how the state handles major information technology projects, saying the current process has resulted in money “going down a hole.” Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
LAWMAKERS EXPECT MORE FEDERAL JOB LOSSES: A Trump administration demand that federal agencies start planning for “large scale” cuts is just more bad news for Maryland officials who say the state has already lost thousands of federal jobs in the weeks since Trump took office. “I can say definitively we’re already at a job loss the size of a Ford plant closure in Michigan,” Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery) said Wednesday. Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters.
FEDERAL WORKERS PACK HOWARD COUNTY JOB FAIR: Nearly 600 federal workers packed a job fair in Howard County this week to take part in mock interviews, pose for professional headshots and adapt their often-lengthy resumes for the private sector. Lilian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
OLSZEWSKI SAYS HE’s CONCERNED ABOUT MARYLAND MEDICAID RECIPIENTS: U.S. House Republicans’ budget plan, which passed Tuesday night, calls for more than $800 billion in Medicaid cuts. U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski said he’s concerned about the 152,000 Marylanders in his district who rely on Medicaid. That number grows to more than 1.5 million statewide. Cathy Woodall/The Baltimore Sun.
MOORE SEEKS TO SLOW SPENDING ON BLUEPRINT: As part of his plan to lessen projected budget shortfalls over the next five years, Gov. Wes Moore (D) wants to slow spending on an ambitious education reform plan championed by state lawmakers and instead allocate some of the funding toward a national teacher recruitment campaign. Nicole Asbury and Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
LAWMAKERS SEEK STRONGER ETHICS RULES FOR GOVERNORS: Lawmakers are seeking to require that Maryland governors place their personal financial holdings into a blind trust months after conflicts of interest were raised during Maryland’s U.S. Senate race between former Gov. Larry Hogan and now-Sen. Angela Alsobrooks. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
HOUSE PASSES BILL TO ALLOW CONDOMS IN SCHOOL VENDING MACHINES: To the chagrin of the Republican Party, the Maryland House of Delegates passed legislation Friday to repeal the prohibition of selling condoms in public school vending machines, removing a criminal penalty. “Condoms for kiddies,” Del. Kathy Szeliga, a Baltimore County Republican, said before the bill passed. “This goes too far.” The bill is not a mandate. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
PAT YOUNG ANNOUNCES RUN FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY EXECUTIVE: Pat Young did not have any grand plans to become a politician. But for the past decade, that’s what the father of two and Iraq War combat veteran has become. After eight years as a delegate in Annapolis and a few as a councilman representing the same Catonsville district where he grew up, Young wants to continue the work on a larger scale. He is announcing Thursday morning that he is running for Baltimore County executive in 2026. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
JHU NURSING SCHOOL PROTESTS ICE MEDICAL SETTING ARREST POLICY: Students and staff at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing are calling out the Department of Homeland Security for a new policy that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter medical settings to arrest undocumented immigrants. The policy was created one day after President Donald Trump took office and allows ICE to enter places like hospitals and churches to arrest people. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
POLL: MAJORITY OF MARYLANDERS CONSIDERED MOVING OUT: A majority of Marylanders said they have considered moving from the state in the near future even though they believe it is a good place to raise children, according to a poll released Thursday. Many of those participating in the survey by the Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, expressed concerns with the state’s business climate, job market and friendliness toward retirees. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
WES & DAWN MOORE: AN INTENTIONAL PARTNERSHIP: In the world of politics, power dynamics shift and personal lives may take a back seat to public demands. But Maryland’s first Black governor, Wes Moore, and his wife, first lady Dawn Moore—who is breaking barriers as a Black woman in the role—are shining examples of intentional partnership and shared purpose. Together they are making waves well beyond state borders. Melissa Noel/Essence.
DOCUMENTARY: BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE: The major Maryland story of 2024, the collapse of the Francis Scott Bridge by the collision of the Dali container ship, was turned into a 54-minute documentary on the PBS Nova science series. It pieces together video and expert commentary that explains and illustrates what happened, how and why it happened, and the complicated story of what it took to fix it. Readers may have followed the story piecemeal, but this documentary puts all the pieces together and puts it in a national context of bridges vulnerable to collision including a brief cameo of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the work done to protect the Delaware Memorial bridge. NOVA/PBS.
TALBOT COUNTY DIVERSITY STATEMENT REMAINS UNSETTLED: A resolution to repeal Talbot County’s diversity statement was left unsettled following a heated and impassioned Talbot County Council meeting Tuesday. Konner Metz/The Easton Star Democrat.
