JEWISH COMMUNITY MOURNS ISREALI EMBASSY STAFFERS AS PATROLS INCREASE: Several Baltimore area police agencies are stepping up their presence in Jewish communities in light of Wednesday’s deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers. WJZ- TV NEWS.
- The amount of investment the Jewish community has to make in security measures is “phenomenal,” according to Howard Libit, executive director for the Baltimore Jewish Council. And Wednesday night’s deadly shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. serves as further proof of why it continues to be necessary. Elizabeth Worthington/WMAR-TV.
MOORE ALLOWS PAYDAY LOAN BILL, OTHER MEASURES TO BECOME LAW WITHOUT SIGNATURE: A bill meant to regulate so-called “earned wage access” loans for the first time in Maryland will become law without the governor’s signature and over the objections of a coalition that strongly opposed it. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
FEMA REOPENS NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY: Almost three months after the Federal Emergency Management Agency abruptly canceled classes at the National Fire Academy, saying it would only support mission-critical functions, someone at FEMA apparently decided that fire training is critical to the agency’s mission. Maryland Matters Staff.
U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH THROUGH MASSIVE TAX AND SPENDING BILL, SLASH MEDICAID: Maryland Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) was the only House member to vote “present” on the bill, which passed by a one-vote margin, 215-214. Two Republicans voted against the measure and two more did not vote, but every other Republican voted for the bill and every Democrat in the House voted no. Jennifer Shutt and Ashley Murray/Maryland Matters.
CHESAPEAKE BAY BLUE CRAB NUMBERS HIT NEAR RECORD LOW: The estimated population number for the iconic Chesapeake Bay blue crab has fallen compared to last year, causing concern among state officials and alarm among advocates. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE CO PASSES BUDGET WITH NO TAX HIKE: The Baltimore County Council passed a budget Thursday for the next fiscal year that does not raise taxes. The council left County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s $5.2 billion spending plan virtually untouched. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
- On Thursday, the Baltimore County Council approved all but $6.6 million of County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s proposed $4.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026, denying county funds for a golf course renovation that her predecessor had championed. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
IVEY HEADING TO EL SALVADOR TO SEE ABREGO GARCIA: Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) will travel to El Salvador on Friday in hopes of checking in on one of his constituents, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the undocumented immigrant who has been held by authorities there since mid-March at the direction of the Trump administration. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
CARROLL COUNTY SCHOOLS GET $13 MILLION MORE IN FUNDING: The Carroll County Public Schools got a $13 million increase in funding for fiscal 2026 as county commissioners unanimously adopted a $581 million operating budget Thursday. Thomas Goodwin Smith/Carroll County Times.
B’MORE CITY COUNCIL WARNS MAYOR: DON’T EXPECT ‘BLANK CHECKS’ FOR OVERTIME: Baltimore City Council grilled city financial leaders Thursday about increasingly bloated overtime spending and hundreds of vacant positions, questioning whether there are other ways to balance the budget than fee increases sought by Mayor Brandon Scott. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
UMD BALTIMORE PROFESSOR WARNS OF ‘REALLY TREACHEROUS TIMES’’: Dr. Kirsten Lyke was among the nearly 200 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine who signed a letter urging the Trump administration to reconsider potential federal funding cuts to science programs. Jess Daninhirsch, Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter
B’MORE BASED YOUTH CHARITY ORDERED TO HALT FUNDRAISING DUE TO ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD: Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, along with Secretary of State Susan Lee, announced Thursday that a Baltimore-based charity has been ordered to cease fundraising. Dominick Philippe-Auguste/WMAR-TV.
PIMLICO PICKINGS: STATE AUCTIONING OFF RELICS OF HISTORIC RACETRACK: The Preakness will move to Laurel Park for a year — or two — while the aging track in Baltimore is razed to make way for a new track and complex that is currently planned to open in 2027. In the meantime, Maryland’s Department of General Services is auctioning off items from Pimlico. The online auction, which kicked off Saturday, ends Friday night, but there are still pages of items left. Kate Ryan, WTOP/Maryland Matters.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MO CO’S $7.6B OPERATING BUDGET: After months of deliberation, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed Thursday a $7.6 billion county spending plan for fiscal year 2026 – with no tax increase required. Ginny Bixby/Bethesda Today.
TOP LAWMAKERS, LONGSHOREMEN, AND MORTON SALT PRESS MOORE TO KEEP LOCUST POINT PIER OPEN: With dozens of longshoremen’s jobs in the balance, some of Maryland‘s most influential lawmakers are making urgent pleas to Gov. Wes Moore to keep a state-owned shipping pier open beyond the year’s end. Lee O. Sanderlin and Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Banner.
