CROSSOVER DAY AT THE LEGISLATURE: The Maryland legislature hits a key deadline Monday, signaling the final three weeks of a 90-day session marked by budgetary woes and continual blows from the federal government. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
NEW FBI HQ GOES TO DC, NOT MD: President Donald Trump said Friday that he doesn’t want the new FBI headquarters to be built in Maryland but rather in the nation’s capital. Trump said he prefers Washington for the headquarters promised to 61 acres in Greenbelt in 2023. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
FBI HQ MOVE, TOWSON UNIV. TARGETED: Maryland, a hub for research and home to thousands of federal workers, is already seeing the effects of the administration’s directives. Clara Longo de Freitas and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY CLOSING: The abrupt closure came without warning in a March 7 email and took effect immediately. There have been no announcements about the future of classes at the academy since, but the outlook seems grim. Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters.
MOORE TALKS TARIFFS, FBI HQ ON “FACE THE NATION”: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore addressed during Sunday’s “Face the Nation” how the Trump administration’s policies are impacting the state. Adam Thompson/The Baltimore Sun.
- Here’s the nine-minute video from “Face the Nation.”
FREEDOM CAUCUS: INVIGORATE THE GOP – OR DELIVER A SECOND MOORE TERM? President Donald Trump’s second term has inspired a Republican faction in the Maryland House of Delegates to be more disruptive, more energized — and more online — than their fellow conservative lawmakers. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
Anthony McCarthy
LONGTIME BALTIMORE AIDE ANTHONY McCARTHY DIES AT 57: Anthony W. McCarthy was a communications wunderkind who served such prominent Baltimore figures as Sheila Dixon, Martin O’Malley, Kweisi Mfume and Elijah Cummings during decades of political work in Maryland, along with hosting an award-winning radio show. McCarthy died Sunday after a lengthy battle with kidney disease. John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
- Anthony McCarthy, a fixture in the Baltimore region for over three decades and known for his career in public policy and media relations, peacefully lost his long battle with kidney disease early Sunday morning at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown. Gary Collins/Fox 45 News.
AACO FARMERS BRACE FOR HIGHER COSTS DUE TO TARIFFS: Anne Arundel County farmers are preparing to shoulder the brunt of the price increases while also bracing for cost increases due to bird flu and changes in state tax policy. James Matheson/The Baltimore Sun.
FUNDING IN DOUBT FOR FIVE WATERSHEDS: Maryland is targeting five of its ailing watersheds for a concentrated push to restore them — but the state’s budget crisis has put funding for the effort in doubt . Timothy Wheeler of Chesapeake Bay Journal/Maryland Reporter
SECOND LOOK ACT ADVANCES TO SENATE: A bill that would let some inmates ask a judge to reduce their jail time after they have served decades cleared a preliminary vote in the House of Delegates Saturday. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
HARRIS SPEAKS AT DORCHESTER CHAMBER AFTER RALLY CALLING FOR TOWN HALL: Hours after a rally was held questioning Rep. Andy Harris’ (R-Md. 1st) loyalty to his constituents, Harris told Dorchester Chamber of Commerce members inside the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort that his office is here to help them. Maggie Trovato/The Star Democrat.
- “I wrote about his congressional district art contest two weeks ago, and the Republican from Cambridge hated it so much he told one of my colleagues he wouldn’t talk to her because she works at The Baltimore Banner.” Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
ELRICH PROPOSES 3.5% TAX INCREASE: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced Friday he is proposing a 3.5% property tax rate increase in order to fully fund Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) $3.65 billion budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. Ginny Bixby/Bethesda Today.
LAWMAKERS HOPE TO IRON OUT ISSUES WITH MOORE’S HOUSING BILL: The clock is ticking on Gov. Wes Moore’s bill to expedite housing development in the state, a proposal that county officials have warned has substantive issues and will need “significant” work before they can get behind it. Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters,
SERVICES ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK TO PLUG $3B BUDGET HOLE: Drastic cuts to core services are on the table as Maryland state lawmakers scramble to plug a projected $3.3 billion hole in the state budget. House and Senate leaders are working with the governor to come up with another $1 billion in savings. David Collins/WBAL-TV.
MINERAL BILL HEADS TOWARD “CHROMETASTIC’ FINISH: If the chromite bill is approved and signed into law, Maryland would join more than two dozen states that have designated an official state mineral. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
MOORE SILENT ON BUSINESS SERVICES TAX: Key legislators in the ongoing tax reform debate in Annapolis said Friday they were charging ahead with a tax hike on business services two days after they received an avalanche of threats from business owners who said it will cause them to close, leave Maryland or raise prices for consumers. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
LAWMAKERS TARGET TRANQUILIZERS BEHIND OVERDOSE DEATHS: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is attempting to push Maryland’s Department of Health to restrict the distribution of two veterinary tranquilizers that play a growing role in the state’s overdose crisis. Paul Kiefer/Maryland Matters.
The First District’s Rep. Andrew P. Harris hasn’t conducted a “town hall” for his Eastern Shore constituents ever since he was challenged loudly and long during a large public meeting in March 2017 at Chesapeake Community College. The subject then was the Affordable Care Act.