STATE ADMIN INVOKES EMERGENCY POWERS TO AID FLOODED WESTERN MARYLAND: The Maryland Insurance Administration is invoking emergency powers to ensure people in western Maryland have access to drugs and medical equipment after flooding in the region last week. The MIA directed insurers to suspend restrictions on prescription medication refills and the replacement of medical equipment, glasses and dentures for residents in Garrett and Allegany counties. They also instructed all insurers active in Maryland to suspend any cancellations of auto, home, commercial, life or health insurance for the counties. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
HIGH PROFILE BILLS STILL REMAIN UP IN THE AIR: As high-profile energy and immigration bills await Gov. Wes Moore’s signature, the question remains: Will he sign them, allow them to go into effect without his signature or issue more vetoes? His office provided few details in recent days. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
REGENTS GIVE MARYLAND COLLEGES OK TO FURLOUGH, CUT SALARIES: The University System of Maryland Board of Regents voted on Monday to authorize potential furloughs and temporary salary reductions for university employees. The vote does not mean each of the 12 universities in the system will have to cut salaries or conduct furloughs. Rather, it gives schools the authority to pursue those options as colleges grapple with a 7% state budget cut and the loss of millions of dollars in federal grants. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
- But the resolution, approved by the board in less than 10 minutes during a virtual session, states any actions must be reviewed with the university system chancellor and “in consultation with appropriate employee organizations.” The board also approved an amendment that would allow the Office of the Attorney General to review any proposal that seeks to reduce employment benefits to ensure that it complies with the Fair Labor Standards Act. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
DRUG COST BOARD WORKING ON TYPE 2 DIABETES MEDS: A Maryland board tasked with bringing down prescription drug costs is working through a “dossier” of a medication to treat Type 2 diabetes — the first of many such reports to determine if there are ways for the state to save money on certain medications. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
BA CO SCHOOLS BRACE FOR LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING: About 8 percent of the Baltimore County Public School’s budget comes from the federal government and county officials are weighing the consequences of possibly losing that funding. George Sarris, the schools’ acting CFO, told the county council at a budget hearing that they are counting on $178 million in federal grants for next year’s budget, about two-thirds of which will go to low income schools and special education. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
POWER COMPANY FIGHTS FOR PRIVATE LAND ACCESS IN COURT: The contentious debate over a 67-mile power transmission line proposed for Central Maryland reached a Baltimore courtroom on Monday, with three hours of arguments on eminent domain. PSEG, the New Jersey-based power company building the line, sued more than 100 landowners along the proposed route of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, who it said were refusing access to company representatives for environmental surveys. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
ANNUAL REAL ESTATE ‘PARTY’ 2,400 MILES FROM MARYLAND: The premier event for real estate leaders and electeds in Maryland takes place some 2,400 miles from Baltimore at a gambling resort participants flock to under the premise that they’re there to attend a shopping center convention. Welcome to The Maryland Party, where on Monday night, 1,500 people were set to sip orange crush cocktails and quietly arrange real estate deals at the sprawling Encore Beach Club at Wynn Las Vegas. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
ANALYSIS: MARYLAND’s 1ST DISTRICT A REFUGE FOR SCOUNDRELS: Even by the standards of the United States Congress, where all sorts of scoundrels have found refuge, Maryland’s 1st District stands out. Even in this putrid pond of dishonor, however, current occupant Andy Harris stands out. The greatest hits of Harris, an anesthesiologist and former Maryland state senator, show the scars he has inflicted on our political system. Len Foxwell/Baltimore Fishbowl.
DESPITE VIRTUAL APPOINTMENTS, OUT OF STATE COLLEGE STUDENT LOSE THEIR THERAPISTS: Young people all over the United States lose access to their therapists when they move across state lines, simply because therapists aren’t licensed to practice everywhere. States license health service providers — and even in an age of virtual medical appointments, they can only offer care to patients in a state where they’re licensed. And while there’s a compact that makes driver’s licenses valid from state to state, there’s no such automatic reciprocity when it comes to medical licensing. Caroline Pecora of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
MEDIA WAR IN THE MAKING? SUN, BANNER GO ON HIRING SPREES: The two largest media organizations in Baltimore – the Baltimore Banner and the Baltimore Sun – have embarked on something of a hiring binge, restoring a portion of the dozens of media jobs lost in recent years. The imminent staffing reinforcements means that a media war that industry watchers are closely monitoring won’t end soon. Jon Morgan/Baltimore Fishbowl.
