430 NEW LAWS TO TAKE EFFECT OCT. 1: Next week, 430 new laws will go into effect in Maryland, including one that sharply raises speed camera fines from a $40 flat fee to a sliding scale based on speed, with tickets ranging from $50 (12-15 miles over the limit) to $425 (40 or more mph over the limit). Here is a look at some others being implemented Oct. 1. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND’s AIR NATIONAL GUARD SAYS GOODBYE TO ITS PLANES: On Tuesday, the royal blue unit flags of the 175th Operations and 175th Maintenance Groups of Maryland’s Air National Guard were presented to salutes from commanders, before they were slowly rolled and encased, ending more than a century of the state’s military air mission. The U.S. Air Force announced 18 months ago it would decommission all 21 planes in the Maryland National Guard, leaving the guard without any aircraft and effectively wiping any future air missions. Instead, the Air Force expanded the Maryland National Guard’s ground-based cybersecurity mission. Clarence Williams and Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
MOORE PROMISES TO ADDRESS ISSUES BROUGHT UP BY AUDIT: After a recent series of audits critical of his executive agencies, Gov. Wes Moore (D) promised during remarks Monday in Randallstown to address the issues, though he asserted that problems at the relevant agencies began before his tenure. Also, the Maryland Democratic Party is calling on Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan to denounce some social media posts produced by a shadowy group that has spent the last year targeting Gov. Wes Moore. Bryan Sears and Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
$13 MILLION WATERFRONT PROJECT IN CAMBRIDGE LANQUISHES: Seven years and more than $13 million in taxpayer money later, an Eastern Shore nonprofit tasked with transforming Cambridge’s waterfront has produced little more than a slab of concrete and a brick promenade along the Choptank River. “We have been spending a lot of money and we still have an empty field,” said Republican state Del. Tom Hutchinson. Glynis Kazanjian and Josh Davis/The Baltimore Sun.
TRUMP PUTS MARYLAND U.S. ATTY IN SPOTLIGHT BY TARGETING SCHIFF, BOLTON: Maryland’s U.S. attorney may help determine the outcome of President Donald Trump’s pursuit of criminal cases against his political enemies. Two of the president’s political targets — California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and former national security adviser John Bolton — live in Maryland. Trump has said each should be jailed — Schiff for alleged mortgage fraud, and Bolton for allegedly retaining classified material. Each has denied the allegations, and neither has been charged. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
BLACK CAUCUS INSPECTS GRAVESITE OF BOYS WHO DIED IN CHELTENHAM: About a dozen members of the Legislative Black Caucus walked through heavy brush, weeds and thorny undergrowth to inspect graves of boys who died in what was the old House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children in southern Prince George’s County. The neglect of the boys’ graves is made more stark by the fact that it sits next to the pristine, manicured lawn of the Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
- Leading the tour was Marc Schindler, the former assistant secretary of the state Department of Juvenile Services. He explained to lawmakers how he and former Secretary Vincent Schiraldi came across the record of a House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children while researching Maryland facilities decades ago. And he never let it go. After the pair took over the state agency in 2023, they continued looking. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND COFFEE SHOPS WRESTLE WITH EYE-OPENING PRICES: U.S. coffee prices were nearly 21% higher in August than a year earlier, according to data from the Consumer Price Index. The soaring costs, which American sellers say were in part caused by new tariffs on coffee exporters, sent specialty businesses into a tailspin. Matti Gellman/The Baltimore Banner.
POLICY WONK VAN HOLLEN SURPRISES WITH PUSH AGAINST ‘WIMPY POLITICS:’ During more than two decades in Congress, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has earned a reputation as a mainstream policy wonk and loyal lieutenant to Democratic leaders. So it came as something of a shock this month when Van Hollen derided top Democrats for failing to endorse New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist. Liz Goodwin/The Washington Post.
FIND THE BIGGEST TREE IN MARYLAND STATE FORESTS, WIN $500! This year, the state’s Big Tree Program is celebrating its centennial by hosting another Tree Contest, focusing on trees in Maryland State Forests, with a $500 prize for finding the biggest tree you can. Ashley Stimpson/The Washington Post.
LITTMANN WINS DEM PRIMARY FOR ANNAPOLIS MAYOR: Jared Littmann’s early lead in the Democratic primary for Annapolis mayor held, and even widened slightly, in an overwhelming win over longtime City Council Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, according to official results released Tuesday. Littmann now faces Republican Bob O’Shea in the Nov. 4 general election. Staff/Maryland Matters.
- Littmann maintained the approximately 2-to-1 lead he built during in-person voting, securing almost 2,600 votes compared to just shy of 1,300 for Pindell Charles. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Banner.
SINCLAIR PREEMPTS KIMMEL ON ITS ABC STATIONS: Hunt Valley-based Sinclair Broadcast Group began preempting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with the return of his show on Tuesday, along with Nexstar Media Group Inc. Todd Karpovich/The Baltimore Sun.
- Sinclair’s flagship station, Baltimore’s Fox45, is not an ABC affiliate, but WJLA, or ABC7, based in Arlington, Va., is a Sinclair station that broadcasts into large swaths of Maryland, including Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
