CAUCUSES URGE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO PASS CIVIL RIGHTS, DIVERSITY LEGISLATION: The Maryland General Assembly’s six “ethnic and intersectional” caucuses joined forces Monday to decry federal attacks on diversity and urge their colleagues to pass state legislation protecting civil rights and diversity. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- Members of the Black, Jewish, Latino, Women’s, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and LGBTQ+ caucuses summarized legislative priorities, which include making sure diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, remain vital in the fourth-most diverse state in the nation. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
POLL: MARYLAND BACKS EDUCATION IMPROVEMENTS, WILL PAY TO A POINT: Marylanders support improving public school education, but a poll released Tuesday suggests there might be a limit to what people are willing to pay. One in every two Maryland voters said they oppose increasing taxes to pay for the education reforms known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, according to Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
B’MORE COUNCIL URGES STATE TO FULLY FUND EDUCATION BLUEPRINT: By a unanimous vote Monday, the Baltimore City Council passed a resolution urging state legislators to fully fund Maryland’s multibillion-dollar Blueprint program — potentially fueling an intra-party showdown between Gov. Wes Moore and Democratic lawmakers over education funding. Carson Swick/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE FAILS TO ADDRESS TEENAGE GAMBLING PROBLEMS: Nearly 1 in 5 Maryland high school students have gambled in the past year, according to the CDC. In Garrett and Queen Anne’s counties, that rate is close to 1 in 4. Yet unlike neighbors West Virginia and Virginia, and a handful of other states, Maryland has no statewide education policy built to combat the rising popularity of online gambling among teenagers. In those states, education efforts have been effective — but so far, such efforts have faltered in the Maryland General Assembly. Adam Hudacek Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
COMMENTARY: A GOOD COMPROMISE FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT: Maryland HB 1222, Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement is a compromise worth supporting. It satisfies the need to remove some violent offenders from our country while at the same time recognizing the harm that can be done by including state and local law enforcement in an overzealous enforcement of federal immigration laws. Karl Bickel/Maryland Matters.
FEMA ANNOUNCEMENT SHUTTERS EMMITSBURG FIRE ACADEMY: Firefighters across the country were stunned by the FEMA’s abrupt announcement Friday that classes at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg were canceled, beginning yesterday. The directive came via email on Friday afternoon, said a spokesperson for Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th). It applies to all classes that require a federally funded instructor, which encompasses virtually all programs besides “click and watch” instruction. Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters.
- Also missing out on training are Maryland firefighters. In fiscal year 2021, the National Fire Academy trained over 98,000 people in courses dealing with, for example, how to respond to hazardous materials incidents, structural collapses or fire investigations, according to its website. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
SEAN SPICER AMONG TRUMP APPOINTEES TO NAVAL ACADEMY BOARD: President Donald Trump this weekend announced four appointees for the U.S. Naval Academy’s Board of Visitors, one month after purging six of the board’s previous members and claiming U.S. military academies have been “infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues.” Among them are former Trump spokesman and Dancing with the Stars contestant Sean Spicer and Dr. Ronny Jackson. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND WATERMEN FIGHT NEW STRIPED BASS REGULATIONS: A coalition of Maryland fishing associations and charter boat operators have escalated their legal battle against new striped bass fishing restrictions, filing an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to block the regulations. Hannah Combs/The Easton Star-Democrat.
SPEAKER JONES RETURNS TO HOUSE AFTER SON’s FUNERAL: House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) returned to lead the House of Delegates in floor session Monday, just days after the funeral for her eldest son, Brandon, who died unexpectedly late last month. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND WOMAN SCAMS $3.7M FROM MEDICAID: Using stolen identities, fake patient records and forged signatures, a Maryland woman already on probation scammed the state out of nearly $3.7 million for mental health services she never actually provided. Meredith Cohn and Alissa Zhu/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE’s BUDGET SURPLUS DWINDLES AS LATE REPORTING COMES IN: Baltimore’s big budget surplus projected for last year has dwindled to pretty much a nothingburger due to late-reporting agency overspending. Widespread employee overtime and unanticipated contractual services consumed the $50-million-plus “windfall” that was reported last October for fiscal 2024, according to Budget Director Laura Larsen. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
