FOREIGN CARMAKERS SHIP, STORE VEHICLES AT PORT, AWAITING NEXT MOVE: Mitsubishi Motors is still shipping cars from Japan to Baltimore, even as Trump administration tariffs take hold. But none of the cars are headed to customers — yet. The delay is due to President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on autos and certain parts. Automakers don’t pay a tariff on their imported vehicles until they remove them from port facilities, and some are choosing to leave their products in limbo as they assess their final costs and whether to add import fees to the price tags or to absorb the tariffs. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS ASK MOORE TO VETO FEE INCREASES: House Republicans on Monday called on Gov. Wes Moore (D) to veto four bills that would increase state fees on various licenses, permits and other filings. The letter from the 39-member House Republican Caucus was released a day before Moore was scheduled to hold his third post-legislative bill signing of the 2025 session. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
ATTORNEY JOINS ‘DAVID V. GOLIATH’ FIGHT OVER UTILITY LINE: A prominent Baltimore attorney is joining a federal lawsuit to defend over 60 Maryland property owners in their battle against an out-of-state utility company. Harris Eisenstein, a partner at Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP, said Monday morning that representing private property owners against the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is a passionate feat. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
WHERE FEDERAL WORKERS CAN FIND JOBS IN MARYLAND: It’s been a terrible few months for many federal workers and, by extension, many Marylanders and their families. The state faces an uncertain future where its most reliable industry — the federal government — no longer feels like it’s on solid footing. In response, local leaders and state officials are trying to help workers find stability and chart a new path forward. But according to Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Maryland Commerce Secretary Harry Coker Jr., Maryland’s the private sector is stronger than you might think, and that many state and local agencies are eager to hire federal workers. Giacomo Bologna and Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
FORMER FED EMPLOYEE NAMED CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER OF STATE DEPT OF INFO TECH: The Maryland Department of Information Technology has named a former U.S. Office of Personnel Management information officer Monday as its next chief information security officer. The department said James Saunders started in an acting capacity on Monday. Saunders will lead DoIT’s Office of Security Management, which is responsible for securing the state’s IT systems, infrastructure and private data. Staff/Maryland Matters.
BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION PROGRAM GARNERS SUPPORT FROM PARENTS: A vast majority of parents are content with their use of the Maryland Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care program. Of 231 families who completed a satisfaction survey, 98.3% reported they would be likely or very likely to recommend the social work intern to a friend or family member. Along with its internship, the program offers statewide, over-the-phone behavioral health consultation services in collaboration with the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Katelynn Winebrenner of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
AG BROWN JOINS MORE LAWSUITS AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) joined two more lawsuits Monday against the Trump administration and signed on to a motion seeking a preliminary injunction in a third case. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
- Attorney General Anthony Brown sued President Donald Trump’s administration Monday for freezing the development of offshore wind energy projects. In filing their suit, Brown and a coalition of 17 other attorneys general allege that the executive order threatens states’ abilities to secure affordable energy sources, meet the increasing electricity demand, meet climate goals and disrupt billions of dollars in infrastructure and supply chain investments. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
***Join Maryland Reporter at the Annual Spring Party of the Community Foundation of Howard County on Thursday, May 15, 5-8 p.m. in Columbia for food, drink, socializing and networking. Help raise critical operating funds for the foundation’s mission to connect people, places and organizations to worthy causes across Howard County and beyond. Click here for more information and tickets.***
AMERICORPS TERMINATION LIFE ALTERING FOR WORKERS: Maria Fetter was cutting a downed tree with a chainsaw, helping a Boy Scout troop restore an old archery range in Gunpowder Falls State Park, right before she got the news. Her program, the Maryland Conservation Corps, had been terminated, just before the busy summer season. It was among the Maryland casualties of President Donald Trump’s cuts to AmeriCorps. The program’s termination also has also thrust her housing and other benefits into question. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
BA CO COUNCIL HAS PARTISAN SPLIT OVER SOCIAL SECURITY JOBS RESOLUTION: Non-partisan. Collegial. Working across party lines. These are the ways members of the Baltimore County Council use to describe themselves. But on Monday night, the council was debating a resolution that decries job cuts at Social Security’s headquarters in Woodlawn and the threat of losing benefits. The three Republicans on the seven member council dismissed the resolution as partisan and a scare tactic. Republican Wade Kach said social security is sacred and that President Trump has promised not to cut benefits. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
JUDGE REJECTS NEW TRIAL FOR WHITE SUPREMACIST: A federal judge rejected a white supremacist’s request to be tried again after the Florida resident was convicted of a conspiracy charge stemming from a plot to disrupt the Baltimore-area power grid. Lawyers for Brandon Clint Russell, 29, had filed the motion for a new trial after the Department of Justice revealed additional payments by the FBI to an undercover informant who testified as a witness. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
BANNER WINS PULITZER FOR OVERDOSE SERIES: The Baltimore Banner was awarded the Pulitzer Prize on Monday for groundbreaking local journalism that exposed Baltimore as the deadliest large city in the nation for drug overdoses, calling attention to a crisis that has unfolded as government officials paid little attention to the problem and treatment centers were poorly regulated. The three Banner journalists spearheading the project – reporter Alissa Zhu, photojournalist Jessica Gallagher, and data specialist Nick Thieme — worked for nearly two years. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
