ED HALE TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR AS A REPUBLICAN: Retired banking executive Ed Hale Sr. is switching parties to become a Republican as he hopes to unseat Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in 2026. Hale, who owns the Baltimore Blast soccer team and was CEO of the former First Mariner Bank, announced his party switch Wednesday morning at Canton Waterfront Park, in the shadow of an office tower where he once ran the bank. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- Hale described himself as a moderate, but said his party switch was rooted in political pragmatism more than ideology. “There’s no way I could win running against Wes Moore with that machine he’s got,” Hale said of the incumbent Democratic governor. “He takes all the money and oxygen out of the room. I can’t do it. I’m a pragmatist and I’m a moderate person. That’s just the way I am.” Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- Hale says he can bring fees and taxes down better than anyone else. But Maryland Republicans are skeptical of his party switch and have concerns about the “sincerity of Hale’s Republican conversion.” Mikenzie Frost/WBFF-TV News.
STATE SEES RECORD NUMBER OF HEAT-RELATED DEATHS: Thirty people have died so far this summer due to heat-related illness in Maryland, the highest number of heat deaths in the state in more than a decade, according to the latest state data. And the grim milestone comes with weeks still remaining in this year’s “heat season,” the Maryland Health Department said. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: BURNING THE SAFETY NET AGAINST ENERGY POVERTY: Imagine having to choose between keeping your child’s medication cold or running the air conditioner during a 100+ degree heatwave. For more than 25 million Americans — including hundreds of thousands of Marylanders — this is daily life. This is energy poverty. Climate-driven heatwaves, aging housing, and soaring utility bills are colliding with a federal rollback of critical support. Felipe Martinez and Claudette Villegas/Maryland Reporter.
A LONG WAIT BEHIND BARS FOR A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL BED: Individuals under court order for placement in state-run psychiatric facilities, on average, find themselves languishing nearly two months in local jails for their mandated hospital bed, with at least 10 instances of people waiting more than 200 days since 2023. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
SOME QUESTION WHY CRANDELL WASN’T ARRESTED: Baltimore County Councilman Todd Crandell, a Dundalk Republican, has publicly acknowledged his struggles with alcoholism. But the altercation with police last year only came to light after Crandell’s wife filed a protection order against the councilman in May. Some advocates from the Black community and defense attorneys say law enforcement gave Crandell more grace than the average Baltimore County resident because he’s an elected official. Céilí Doyle and Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
BODY CAM FOOTAGE SHOWS INCIDENT BA CO COUNCILMAN INCIDENT: Body camera footage shows Baltimore County Councilman Todd Crandell belligerent, uncooperative, apparently drunk and yelling at police to release him during an encounter at the Eastpoint Mall last year. Céilí Doyle/The Baltimore Banner.
MONTGOMERY BRACES FOR INFLUX OF TRUMP-DISPLACED HOMELESS PEOPLE: The encampment near the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was cleared of its dozen or so homeless residents last week. Many could end up in Maryland, advocates for the region’s homeless population say, straining county budgets and shelters already at capacity. Among those bracing for a possible influx is the state’s largest county, Montgomery, which says its 10 shelters are already full. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
***Join Maryland Reporter’s Len Lazarick at Howard Community College for a four-week noncredit seminar on China Today 2025 beginning Sept. 4 and a three-week seminar on Vietnam: 50 years after the War beginning Oct. 2. For more info, see the catalog. He will again be teaching East Asian Civilization for credit for the fall semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:30. Tuition is waived (but not fees) at HCC and most Maryland public colleges and universities for residents over 60.***
MOORE NAMES THREE TO BLUEPRINT BOARD: Two newcomers and an old hand will fill three open seats on the seven-member board that oversees the multibillion-dollar Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan, as the program enters its fourth year of implementation. Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Wednesday appointed Contina Quick-McQueen and Robin Werner and reappointed Joseph Manko to the Accountability and Implementation Board for terms of six years. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MOORE’s ASIA TRIP COST $322,000, $72,000 MORE THAN FIRST ESTIMATE: Gov. Wes Moore’s international trip to Japan and South Korea earlier this year cost Maryland taxpayers about $322,000 — roughly $72,000 more than originally estimated, according to The Baltimore Sun’s review of receipts and other financial records from the trip. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
JAWANDO MAKES RUN FOR MO CO EXEC OFFICIAL: Montgomery County Council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) has officially filed with the state to run for county executive in the 2026 election. While Jawando announced his campaign in May, candidates must file paperwork with the county and state elections boards in order to officially appear on the ballot. The deadline to do so is February 2026. Jawando filed Tuesday. Ginny Bixby/Bethesda Today.
CECIL DEPUTY SHERIFF CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL DATABASE SEARCHES: A Cecil County sheriff’s deputy faces more than 40 criminal counts for repeatedly searching a law enforcement database to turn up information about his wife, romantic partners and others, the Maryland State Prosecutor announced Wednesday. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
ABREGO GARCIA’s LAWYERS SEEK DISMISSAL OF HUMAN SMUGGLING CHARGES: Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia are asking a federal judge in Tennessee to dismiss human smuggling charges against him, calling the case a clear example of “selective and vindictive prosecution” by the Trump administration. In a motion filed late Tuesday, just days ahead of Abrego’s expected pretrial release, the attorneys conceded their argument to dismiss the case is “infrequently made and rarely succeeds.” Anita Wadhwani /Maryland Matters.
