DESPITE FINANCIAL CLAWBACK, DISABILITY SERVICES MAY STILL FACE CHALLENGES: Early in this year’s legislative session, state officials looking to close a $3 billion budget gap targeted the “unsustainable growth” in developmental disabilities services as one of the main drivers of the deficit and set out to cut $457 million from the program. Advocates were able to claw back close to $300 million in cuts and got program reductions to a level they said was regrettable but survivable, at least. Now, both sides now wonder if they fixed the problem they set out to solve. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
PROCESS TO RELEASE AILING, AGING PRISONERS TO BE OVERHAULED: Maryland lawmakers have passed legislation that overhauls the process for releasing sick and aging prisoners, which advocates had long described as broken and among the worst systems in the United States. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE SECTY: ‘TWIN STORMS’ IMPACTED HOUSING, OTHER PRIORITIES: Facing “dual twin storms” from Maryland’s internal budget woes and the uncertainty coming out of President Donald Trump’s Washington, state housing Secretary Jake Day said housing and other priorities “fell victim to that turbulence.” Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
85 MORE JOIN COMPLAINT AGAINST STATE, JUVIE SERVICES: Eighty-five people have joined a civil complaint against Maryland and the state Department of Juvenile Services over alleged sexual abuse at dozens of youth detention centers as early as 1974 to 2018, attorneys said. Darreonna Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
BREASTFEEDING MOMS AMONG THOSE WHO MAY GET PASS FROM JURY DUTY: Breastfeeding mothers and any guardian caring for children younger than 3 years old may be excused from jury duty across Maryland once a new state law goes into effect in October. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
POWERLINE CONTROVERSY: WHAT EXACTLY IS EMINENT DOMAIN? The often-misunderstood issue of eminent domain is now front and center in debates over the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, which critics say would bring a 70-mile, high-voltage transmission line across central Maryland without much benefit for the state’s residents or economy. The principle of eminent domain was established by the Fifth Amendment’s “takings clause,” which states that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Carson Swick/The Baltimore Sun.
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COMMANDERS, D.C. TO ANNOUNCE STADIUM DEAL TODAY: D.C. and the Washington Commanders are planning to announce a deal Monday to build the team’s next stadium at the derelict RFK Stadium site on the Anacostia waterfront, according to a person familiar with the plan. Sam Fortier, Meagan Flynn and Nicki Jhabvala/The Washington Post.
$5M FROM STATE WILL HELP MO CO MOVE FORWARD WITH PARKS RENOVATIONS: Thanks to $5 million in capital funding from the state secured during the 2025 legislative session, Montgomery Parks can move ahead with renovating four parks across the county and push closer to fully funding the construction of the Action Sports Park in Wheaton Regional Park, according to department officials. Elia Griffin/Bethesda Today.
FEDS REVERSE TERMINATION OF LEGAL STATUS FOR SOME INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: The federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges around the U.S., a government lawyer said Friday, a decision that affects dozens of students in Maryland who suddenly lost their visas. Janie Har and Kate Brumback/Associated Press and Ellie Wolf/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND CHILD CARE IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Months after finding close-to-perfect child care for her daughter with special needs, Jessalyn Schwartz is about to lose it again. Her 3-year-old, who has severe mobility delays and uses a walker,“ has grown exponentially in the last four months, and it’s because every teacher knows who [she] is,” said Schwartz. Her child attends Sunny Days, an early-learning program in Riverdale. In August, it’s expected to be effectively shut down by the federal government. Maya Lora/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND JOINS OTHER ATTY GENS SUING U.S. ED DEPT ON DEI: Maryland’s Attorney General joins 18 state attorneys general in a lawsuit over the U.S. Department of Education’s threats to pull funding from public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Mathew Schumer/The Baltimore Sun.
- State and local agencies were told on April 3 that they must accept the administration’s new interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, or risk loss of federal education funds. Dominick Philippe-Auguste/WMAR-TV News.
OP-ED: TRUMP IS BRINGING MANUFACTURING BACK; BALTIMORE IS PROOF: Last year, Emergent BioSolutions, a company specializing in life-saving solutions for health threats like smallpox, Ebola, anthrax and opioid overdoses, announced plans to close its Baltimore manufacturing facility. That decision hit the Baltimore region especially hard as it came with the termination of 300 jobs across all areas of its business — and the removal of a key investment in the Baltimore region. Enter the Trump administration. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris/The Baltimore Sun.
TRUMP LOYALTY REMAINS IN CRISFIELD PRECINCT: In the Crisfield-area precinct, Trump loyalty appears as prevalent today as it was on Nov. 5, when he was elected for the second time after promising to tame inflation and conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
COMMENTARY: CASSILLY DOES NOT SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT: Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly has failed to fund the sheriff’s office’s needed upgrade to our taser, body camera and in-car camera programs to ensure our deputies are equipped with the most up-to-date and effective non-lethal use of force tools available. And nowhere is Mr. Cassilly’s lack of support for law enforcement more evident than, in a time when protests and civil unrest are on the rise, Mr. Cassilly’s refusal to even fund a modest $122,000 request to replace outdated and expired riot helmets to protect our men and women. Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler/The Aegis.
‘PRO-GROWTH’ CANDIDATE TO LAUNCH BID FOR BA CO EXECUTIVE: Nick Stewart, 40, is a partner at the Duane Morris LLP legal firm, specializing in business law, and active Baltimore County booster who once worked for then-Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, will launch his bid for Baltimore County’s top elected office this week, in what’s expected to be a competitive spring 2026 primary. Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
