SENATE PANEL ADVANCES PORTIONS OF EDUCATION REFORM PLANS: A Senate committee advanced parts of Maryland’s sweeping education reform plan Friday, splitting the difference between versions of the bill advanced by the House and the Moore administration and setting up a showdown in the waning days of the legislature. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY COMMUNITY CAUTIOUS, OPTIMISTIC WITH RESTORED FUNDING: Weeks of persistent lobbying, heart-wrenching public testimony and rallies that brought hundreds to the State House apparently paid off, with legislative leaders signaling an agreement last week to restore hundreds of millions of proposed cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: WHAT’s MORE IMPORTANT: A $3 BILLION DEFICIT OR VOTING ACCESS? We are being inundated with rhetoric intended to scare residents of this state that the federal government is once again trying to roll back voter protections and make it harder for eligible voters to register to vote. “Earlier this year, congressional Republicans introduced the SAVE Act, legislation that would make it more difficult for American citizens – including married women, rural voters, and veterans to cast their ballots.” Seriously in Maryland? There is a $3 billion hole in the state budget and this is what the legislature is concerned about? Marc King/MarylandReporter.
MOORE: DALI OWNERS, OPERATORS CAUSED CRASH: Two days after a scathing National Transportation Safety Board report said Maryland could’ve done more to prevent the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, Gov. Wes Moore shifted the blame to the owners and operators of the ship that crashed into the bridge. Cathy Woodall/The Baltimore Sun.
A YEAR AFTER THE COLLAPSE: EAST OF KEY BRIDGE, A STRANGE STILLNESS: One year later, people who live and work east of Baltimore are adjusting to an interstate broken at the water’s edge. With the Francis Scott Key Bridge gone, they say they have lost a vital connection to the world. Drive I-695 in Eastern Baltimore County toward what was once the Key Bridge and traffic falls away with each exit. Congressman Johnny Olszewski, who grew up in Dundalk, said there is a strange stillness. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
DALI CREW REMAINS IN MARYLAND: Family back in India and Sri Lanka kept asking Dali crew members when they’d be home. Seafarers are used to being away for months at a time. But the contract end dates for this crew meant little after the cargo ship lost power and plowed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early morning of March 26, 2024. With investigations into the crash under way, some Dali crew members told loved ones they would need to remain in Baltimore a few more weeks, then a few more months … Hayes Gardner and Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
ARUNDEL PROPOSED WEAPONS DETECTION SYSTEM THAT EXPERTS SAY IS FLAWED: Anne Arundel County Public Schools has proposed spending $2 million for “noninvasive weapons detection systems” in all high schools, something a number of the region’s school districts have done. But experts say the technology has flaws. Bridget Byrne/The Baltimore Sun.
CITY SANITATION WORKERS DEMAND HELP AFTER TWO DEATHS IN 2024: Sharing harrowing stories of injury, violent threats, and illness, Baltimore City sanitation workers demanded higher pay during a heated city council oversight hearing on Thursday night. Two sanitation workers died of injuries sustained on the job in 2024. Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR-FM.
HOW WILL TRUMP’s RECENT ACTIONS IMPACT MARYLAND? President Donald Trump took steps this past week to nix the Education Department, a campaign promise that goes hand in hand with his administration’s battle against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It’s unknown how Congress will respond, but many of Trump’s orders have been challenged — and temporarily reversed — in court. What went down recently and how could it affect Maryland? Clara Longo Des Freites/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE ADDRESSES VOTER ANGER OVER DOGE CUTS: As his Democratic Party struggles to win back working-class Americans, Gov. Wes Moore talked on Fox News Sunday about voters’ frustrations with the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE — including a viral moment involving his constituent at a town hall. Cathy Woodall/The Baltimore Sun.
FEDS CUT FARM TO SCHOOL FOOD FUNDING, HARMING LOCAL GROWERS: Emma Jagoz’s nightmare started last Monday when she received a text from a coworker and found out that the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled $1 billion in funding for food banks and school meal programs that prioritize locally grown food — eliminating one such program that has helped her farm thrive for years. “I was deeply disappointed and heartbroken,” she said. Brennan Stewart/The Baltimore Sun.
RASKIN STANDS IN FOR HARRIS AT INDIVISIBLE TOWN HALL: Failing to attract the attention of their Republican U.S. representative, Andy Harris, hundreds of people flocked to a middle school gymnasium on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to hear from a willing Democratic stand-in — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin. The Democrat made the nearly two-hour drive Saturday from his Montgomery County district at the invitation of Cambridge and Eastern Shore Indivisible, activist groups protesting Harris for not having held an in-person town hall since 2017. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
VAN HOLLEN CLOSER TO CALLING FOR DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP CHANGE: As national Democrats remain fractured about their focus and strategy, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen inched closer this week to calling for a change in leadership in the Senate. Van Hollen said that the Senate Democratic caucus needs to “urgently take a different approach,” but stopped short of calling for the ouster of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from his leadership post, as other Democrats have. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND CONFIRMS 3rd CASE OF MEASLES: Health officials have confirmed three measles cases in Maryland this month, but say it’s not time to panic about an outbreak given the state’s more than 96% vaccination rate against the highly transmissible virus. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
GOP CHAIR FILES BALLOT INITIATIVE TO CURB COUNTY SPENDING: Montgomery County GOP chair Reardon Sullivan said this week he has filed a ballot initiative committee with the state board of elections with the goal of reining in local government spending. The Committee to Control Montgomery County Spending has a goal of capping spending increases approved by the county executive and County Council. Ginny Bixby/Bethesda Today.
