JUDGE ISSUES PARTIAL RULING IN FAVOR OF UNAFFILIATED VOTERS: An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge issued a partial ruling Monday in favor of a group of unaffiliated Maryland voters who are challenging the state’s closed primary election system. A fuller victory might be harder to come by, though. The judge determined the voters had standing to file their case, but she has yet to decide whether she’ll dismiss the case on other grounds raised by the defendants — or allow it to proceed. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
TRUMP FREEZES BILLIONS IN APPROVED PROJECTS, INCLUDING IN MARYLAND: The Trump administration is freezing $11 billion worth of projects that had already been green-lit by the Army Corps of Engineers in several Democrat-run cities — including Baltimore. Several Maryland lawmakers have criticized the move, calling it another example of President Donald Trump putting partisan politics over people. David Collins/WBAL-TV.
- Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat who represents most of Baltimore City, denounced the decision. “This newly announced pause of preapproved funding for the Army Corps of Engineers projects in blue cities — including Baltimore — is another example of the Trump Administration placing partisan politics over the welfare of the American people,” Mfume said. Ben Mause and Mennatalla Ibrahim/The Baltimore Sun.
BATTLE OVER LOTTERY CONTRACT HEADS TO COURT: The battle over a lucrative contract to manage the state’s lottery systems is headed to court. Attorneys for Scientific Games — which currently manages lottery gaming for the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency — is asking an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge to intervene in what it says is an unfair and illegal process that saw the company lose the contract, then be awarded a 10-year deal to continue, only to have that stripped away by the state last month in an effort to rebid the contract. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND LAWMAKERS OUT FRONT AS SHUTDOWN CONTINUES: The federal government shutdown is approaching the second longest in U.S. history, however, Maryland lawmakers haven’t been idle as its members have often been front and center while parties spar over health care, rescissions and federal workers. Ben Mause/The Baltimore Sun.
MOORE USES SPORTS IN HIS POLITICAL GAME: Gov. Wes Moore, fresh off a trade trip to Asia, met with Shigeo Yamada, Japan’s ambassador to the United States, in Orioles owner David Rubenstein’s Camden Yards suite on a late May evening, according to emails obtained recently through a public records request. The meeting marked a collaboration between Moore and Rubenstein, the billionaire who headed a group that bought the Orioles last year. And it is another example of Moore’s penchant for using sports as a political entry point. Hayes Gardner and Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
CRIME RISES ON OR NEAR MARYLAND COLLEGES: Crime on or near Maryland’s colleges and universities rose significantly last year, driven mainly by sharp increases in vehicle thefts and aggravated assaults. Racquel Bazos and Steve Earley/The Baltimore Sun.
CREDITORS’ MEDIATIONS WITH ARCHDIOCESE CONTINUE: Mediations can still continue between the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese and the creditors committee, which represents the interests of people seeking funds for child sexual abuse by the church, as the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case goes forward during the federal shutdown. However, there is still uncertainty around other functions of the case if progress is made or if the case is dismissed. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
BA CO COUNCIL REJECTS LANDFILL REQUEST TO DUMP TOXIC WATER: The Baltimore County Council Monday night voted unanimously to call on the Maryland Department of the Environment to reject an application from a White Marsh landfill to dump more of its toxic water discharge into the Bird River. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
MO CO INSPECTOR GENERAL OVERRUN BY SCHOOL SYSTEM COMPLAINTS: Since her appointment in 2019, Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Limarzi’s office has caught the school system wrongly withholding millions in health insurance overpayments, paying more than 1,600 traffic citations for school vehicles, and using a shortcut to hire a crisis management firm. Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest district, eats up so much of their time that Limarzi has lobbied for another staff member to handle those investigations. Kristen Griffith and Ginny Bixby/The Baltimore Banner.
ARUNDEL TO PUT $10.6M TOWARD I-97 WIDENING: Anne Arundel County will contribute $10.6 million toward project planning and construction to widen the often-congested stretch of Interstate 97 between Route 32 in Millersville and U.S. 50 in Annapolis. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
FINALLY! Money to widen I-97 down to route 50. Why the F has it taken this long. I drive this everyday and the amount of traffic, especially going south in the evening is absurd. Don’t get me started on the US50 to 97N interchange. Long time coming though I doubt that interchange will get much better because people suck at merging especially when traffic is high.