MARYLAND BRACES FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: State officials have been doing what they can to connect Maryland residents with food, housing, health care and financial resources ahead of a looming government shutdown. What they can’t do is make the White House and Congress come to an agreement that would head off the shutdown that is scheduled to hit at 12.01 a.m. Wednesday. Nicole Pilsbury/Maryland Matters.
- Maryland’s representatives acknowledged the difficult choice facing Congress. None of the Maryland lawmakers said for sure whether a shutdown is imminent, but they conveyed that they are between a rock and a hard place. Matt Gregory/WUSA-TV News.
- Democrats are demanding promises to lower rising health care costs, and Republicans are pushing for a “clean” stopgap bill to keep the government running through mid-November. Ashley Murray/Maryland Matters.
- The shutdown would rattle Maryland’s economy as more than 100,000 U.S. workers, many from the state, formally leave their jobs Tuesday under a deferred resignation plan. The timing – a shutdown coupled with a massive worker exodus – would create “double-barreled issues” with government services people rely on, Max Stier, of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group, told reporters Monday. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND TO CLOSE JESSUP PRISON NEXT SUMMER DUE TO REPAIR COSTS: Gov. Wes Moore said Monday that the state would close a Jessup prison by next summer due to “substantial capital costs” required to rehabilitate the ailing facility. The cost of repairs at the Maryland Correctional Institution would exceed $200 million, wrote the state’s public safety and corrections secretary. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE SHEDS 502 WORKERS, JOBS: Maryland’s state government workforce is shrinking by 502 positions, as workers take buyouts and vacant positions are eliminated. It’s all part of cost-saving measures taken by Gov. Wes Moore and his administration — saving $27.4 million in the current budget year and $47.2 million annually in future years. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE REPUBLICANS PUSH ELECTIONS BOARD ON JUSTICE DEPT DATA REQUEST: Maryland State Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis told the state board of elections in August that he has worked with the U.S. Department of Justice on its request for state elections data, but apparently that’s not good enough for state Republicans. In addition to being an electrician, entrepreneur and elected official, Sen. Cory McCray can now add the title of his author to his resume. Bryan Sears and William Ford/Maryland Matters.
NEEDED MARYLAND CHILD CARE AID PROGRAM IN LIMBO: In May, Maryland mostly stopped giving out new child care scholarship, unable to bankroll booming enrollment. Families use the vouchers to help cover limited, expensive child care. Day cares and preschools get money from the state to take those kids, and many rely on the income. The state estimated it could reopen the program to new families in September, offering a much-needed reprieve for them and their teachers. That didn’t happen. Maya Lora/The Baltimore Banner.
400+ STATE LAWS GO INTO EFFECT TOMORROW: More than 400 new laws will go into effect in Maryland tomorrow, Oct. 1, ranging from hefty fines for speeding to reduced penalties involving drug paraphernalia. The Maryland General Assembly has compiled a list of all the new legislation that goes into effect this week. Here are some you should know about. Clara Longo de Freitas/The Baltimore Banner.
COLUMN: KNOW ‘NO MOORE?’ NOT SO MUCH. If you’re not in the know about No Moore, count yourself lucky. It’s an anonymous website and social media presence posting nonstop criticism of Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor. Some of it is funny AI lampooning. Some is fact-based. And some slips into lazy racist memes and humor. None of it will make much of a difference in 2026, when voters decide on a second Moore term. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
MO CO’s TOP DOC COUNTERS FEDERAL OFFICIALS ON VACCINES, TYLENOL: Montgomery County’s top doctor is countering recent federal officials’ unsupported claims linking vaccines and Tylenol to autism, as well as their unbridled support for an experimental treatment for it. Antonio Planas/The Baltimore Banner.
AFTER YEARS OF PROMISES, MO CO TRASH FACILITY COULD BE SHUTTERED: Officials have been saying for years that they want to close the facility where Montgomery County’s waste is piled high, carried by claw into an industrial furnace, then reduced to exhaust and ash in a process that also generates electricity. Eight years ago, it was one of County Executive Marc Elrich’s campaign promises. The facility is still operating 24/7, but it appears that could change in the coming years. Jack Hogan and Nina Giraldo/The Baltimore Banner.
