CRISFIELD IN A STATE OF PERIL WITH FEDS YANKING $36M IN MITIGATION FUNDS: Eastern Shore watermen harvested billions of oysters in the 1800s, so many that they used the shells to fill a Somerset County marsh. On top of them, the town of Crisfield sprouted into what its residents called the “Seafood Capital of the World.” Today, the dwindling population face a slow-moving disaster. Just 3 feet above sea level, the Eastern Shore town is disappearing into the Chesapeake Bay. Last summer, FEMA awarded Crisfield $36 million for phase one of a mammoth undertaking — to surround Crisfield with bulkheads, raised roads and absorbent wetlands. Then, in April, the government went back on its word. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
TRUMP POLICIES POSE THREAT TO MARYLAND’s CLIMATE EFFORTS: The low-lying coastal community of Crisfield lost a federal grant aimed at preventing flooding and managing sea-level rise, while universities and research institutions across the state face extensive funding cuts. Disappearing, too, are federal incentives to move to clean energy sources — replaced by President Donald Trump’s effort to repeal state laws aimed at addressing climate change. Under the Trump administration, “We’re not doing that climate change, you know, crud anymore,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Sam Gauntt of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
MOORE PUSHES BACK AGAINST CRITICS ON HANDLING OF REPARATIONS BILL: Gov. Wes Moore is pushing back against critics of his handling of reparations legislation who questioned why he drafted his own plan before ultimately vetoing one approved by lawmakers. Pamela Wood and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
- “The governor vetoed this legislation, and the staff’s draft alternative differed from her (Del. Aletheia McCaskill’s) proposal,” said Fagan Harris, Moore’s chief of staff. “No documents showing a press plan were shared, those are lies, and the governor highlighted his continued concerns about her legislation.” An aide to the governor refused Monday to share the administration’s alternative plan, saying the administration would not share what he called draft materials. Sam Gauntt/Maryland Matters.
19th CENTURY CHILDREN’s GRAVES NEAR CHELTENHAM REDISCOVERED: About 100 mossy graves believed to belong to black children who died while imprisoned at the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children — now Cheltenham Youth Detention Center — sit under towering trees, their weathered tombstones sinking into the forest floor beneath leaves and branches. For more than a century, their stories have been lost and their graves left to deteriorate, despite records that show state officials have been aware of the segregated cemetery since at least the 1970. Sen. William C. Smith Jr. and former Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi are hoping to rectify the situation. Kate Mettler/The Washington Post.
MEDICAL EXAMINERS CALLED 20% OF DEATHS AUTOPSIED ‘UNDETERMINED:’ State medical examiners labeled nearly 1 out of every 5 Maryland deaths they autopsied “undetermined” in 2023, the latest year for which data is available, with Baltimore City having the highest rate at 23.5%. The figures are high, according to medical experts and criminologists, and raise questions about the accuracy of the state’s accounting of homicides, suicides and accidental overdose deaths. Glynis Kazanjian/The Baltimore Sun.
MOORE MULLING TRUMP’s SCHOOL CHOICE PLAN: Gov. Wes Moore isn’t yet taking a stance on whether Maryland should opt into a new school choice program implemented at the federal level, as advocates and opponents rally over the issue. The federal school choice plan was passed as part of President Donald Trump’s expansive tax bill earlier this month. If Maryland opts in, taxpayers could choose to donate up to $1,700 toward private education grants in the state and receive the same amount back as a tax credit. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
RASKIN’s BANK OUTSTRIPS MARYLAND COLLEAGUES: U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin raised more than $2.5 million in the first six months of the year, according to the latest campaign finance reports, four times the amount raised by the second most-prolific fundraiser in the state, Rep. Andy Harris, who brought in $609,303. And Raskin had nearly $5.9 million in cash on hand as of June 30, more than 2.5 times Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-Md.) $2.2 million. Lauren Lifke/Maryland Matters.
STATE READY TO TUSSLE WITH FEDS OVER WIND PROJECT PERMIT: After federal environmental regulators told Maryland to reissue the construction permit for a contested wind project off Ocean City, the state clapped back, insisting its paperwork is fine. In a letter sent Thursday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain said the state won’t make the correction requested by the feds and doesn’t have any plans to reissue its permit. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
HOWARD COUNCIL CHAIR WALSH JOINS RACE FOR COUNTY EXEC: Howard County Council Chair Liz Walsh will run for county executive in 2026 to replace Calvin Ball, she announced Monday. She says moving from representing District 1 on the council to county executive would allow her to make more of an impact in the community. Walsh, 54, is the third Democrat to announce a run for the county executive position. April Santana/The Baltimore Sun.
IG GROUP BLASTS KLAUSMEIER’s INVOLVEMENT IN NAMING NEW WATCHDOG: The Association of Inspectors General has joined in the widespread disapproval of Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s involvement in the selection of a new inspector general. In a letter released Monday morning, the AIG, which represents 2,000 local and state corruption watchdogs nationwide, said the selection process set up by Klausmeier was compromised by serious conflicts of interest and failed to follow county law that established the inspector general’s office. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
COURT OVERTURNS DOCTOR’s ACQUITTAL IN MEDICAID FRAUD CASE: A federal appeals court has overturned a judge’s unusual decision to acquit a Maryland doctor whom a jury found guilty in a $15 million health care fraud case involving Covid-19 tests, but upheld a ruling to grant him a new trial. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
FORMER ARUNDEL EXEC JOHN GARY DIES AT 81: Former Anne Arundel County Executive John Gary, a staunch Republican who served one term, died on July 12. He was 81, and no cause of death was given. Born in Baltimore in 1943, Gary moved to Anne Arundel as a child. He later entered public service and represented the county in various capacities, including in the House of Delegates from 1983 to 1994 and as executive from 1994 to 1998. James Matheson/The Baltimore Sun.
