JURISDICTIONS SEEK TO HOLD FOSSIL FUEL FIRMS LIABLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT: Baltimore city, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County are set to argue Monday at the Maryland Supreme Court that they should be able to sue to hold fossil fuel companies liable for deceptive practices related to climate change. Katharine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
CARROLL LANDOWNERS IN BITTER BATTLE OVER RELIABILITY PROJECT: The presence of Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project workers on this farm and hundreds of other properties in central Maryland is at the heart of a bitter legal battle now before a federal court — and could have national implications for eminent domain law. Lily Carey/The Baltimore Sun.
TRUMP CUTS CURBS AID PACKAGE TO LAID-OFF FEDERAL WORKERS IN PG: The Prince George’s County Council on Tuesday is set to vote on an aid package for thousands of residents who have lost federal jobs this year. But the county has been severely affected by the Trump administration’s massive cuts in federal spending, and there isn’t enough money available to help those residents in the way that the sponsors of the aid package want. Stella Canino-Quiñones/The Washington Post.
FOOD BANKS, BUSINESSES STEP UP DURING SHUT DOWN: As the shutdown continues, missing paychecks and the potential pause of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program support could lead to a surge of patrons at food banks around the state, said Chloe Woodward-Magrane of the Maryland Food Bank. “People should not go hungry because something is happening with their job.” Nicole Pilsbury/Maryland Matters.
- “Something like a government shutdown, the loss of a paycheck, the loss of public benefits, is really just a hammer down on Maryland families at a time when they can’t afford it,” said Anne Wallerstedt of the Maryland Food Bank. According to Wallerstedt, 1 in 3 Maryland families were experiencing food insecurity before the shutdown and, with the shutdown, they are preparing for an even larger need. Ashley Paul/WJZ-TV News.
REP. HARRIS, SEN. ALSOBROOKS BLAME OPPOSING PARTIES FOR SHUTDOWN: Maryland congressional members are blaming members of the opposing party for the federal shutdown that began last week. Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, leader of the House Freedom Caucus, said, “Because so many Marylanders are federal employees, I think that the two senators should realize that will harm a lot of Marylanders.” Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said, “This is their (the Republicans’) shutdown, and anyone who says anything different than that is dishonest. They have the keys to the kingdom.” She was referring to who controls the White House, Senate and House. Konner Metz/The Cecil Whig.
MD SUPREMES TRAVEL TO EASTON TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO COURT: The seven robed justices were the same. The attorneys pleading their cases acted with the same deference as always, and the dense legal arguments would have been familiar to anyone who has ever listened to arguments before the Maryland Supreme Court. But instead of the court’s dark-paneled and carpeted chamber in Annapolis, arguments Friday were held on a high school auditorium stage. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
- “This was such a unique experience to be able to see the Maryland Supreme Court at my school,” said Lorelai Yacks, an Easton High School junior. Friday was the first time the state’s highest court sat in Easton since 1851, back when it was known as the Court of Appeals and regularly alternated between Annapolis and Easton. Konner Metz/The Easton Star Democrat.
A DOZEN MARYLAND CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS CUT: The U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to void hundreds clean energy grants would cut funding to a dozen projects in Maryland, ranging from battery storage to fortify the power grid to inputs for hydrogen fuel cells and research into the applications of electric heat pumps. The cancellations in Maryland add up to nearly $88 million. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
ONE BARRACK USED CANDY BARS TO BOOST TRAFFIC STOPS: Troopers at the Maryland State Police’s Golden Ring Barrack in Baltimore County were incentivized with candy bars to make more traffic stops. Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner.
5 MONTHS INTO FLOOD RECOVERY, WESTERNPORT PAUSES TO CELEBRATE: Nearly five months after floodwaters ravaged Westernport, a rural Allegany County town of nearly 1,900 residents, the yearslong work of patching up, repairing and rebuilding paused, briefly, for a celebration. Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.
COLUMN: CIVIL SERVANTS ARE NOT ‘DEEP STATE:’ My brother is a federal scientist. My sister voted for Donald Trump. The federal bureaucracy, to her, is the Deep State. She wasn’t thinking about family. That’s my piece of the great American disconnect, the notion that civil servants are the problem. I’m not alone. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
$100,000 QUESTION: WHY DID JUDGE SEAL BA CO IG CASE? Little is normal about the lawsuit Baltimore County filed against a former employee that resulted in the county paying him $100,000. Inspectors general ferret out ongoing waste, fraud and abuse through research and reports. County attorneys generally handle county legal matters. County Council members should know what they’re voting on. And judges aren’t supposed to seal cases from the public except for “a special and compelling reason.” Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
FIRST 100 DAYS: PG COUNTY EXEC LAYS OUT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Prince George’s County Executive Aisha N. Braveboy on Friday laid out her accomplishments during her first 1oo days in office, saying her administration has worked to clean up the county’s streets and communities and streamline government, making it “open for business.” Lateshia Beachum/The Washington Post.
JUDGE RULES ABREGO GARCIA LIKELY VICTIM OF VINDICTIVE PROSECUTION: A federal judge in Tennessee ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s claim of vindictive prosecution is strong enough to require further investigation, court documents show. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw said in a 16-page memorandum opinion Friday that there was a “realistic likelihood of vindictiveness” behind the United States government’s decision to prosecute Abrego Garcia, an El Salvador native and Beltsville resident. Sara Ruberg/The Baltimore Banner.
UM EASTERN SHORE PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF PLAGIARISM IN DISSERTATION: The president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has been accused of plagiarizing portions of her doctoral dissertation in a complaint to the university system. Heidi Anderson is accused of lifting seven paragraphs of her 400-page dissertation nearly verbatim from a previously published scholarly article. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
