MOORE MAY MOVE AHEAD WITH CONGRESSIONAL REMAPPING: Gov. Wes Moore hinted that he may move ahead with plans to redraw the state’s eight congressional districts, and for a possible special session, despite opposition from Senate President Bill Ferguson, who has expressed concern that Democrats could end up losing a congressional seat rather than gain one. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
US SENATE PANEL VOTES TO KEEP FBI HQ IN DC: A U.S. Senate committee voted on party lines Wednesday for a plan that would relocate FBI headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in downtown Washington, rejecting a planned move to Maryland. The move was quickly condemned by Maryland’s two senators, who said the law still requires that the new headquarters be in Greenbelt, after a competition to find a new home for the agency. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
LAWMAKERS URGE MOORE TO FUND SNAP BENEFITS: State lawmakers pressed Gov. Wes Moore and his administration to keep food benefits intact during the federal government shutdown — even if that means tapping the state’s Rainy Day Fund. “This clearly is a five-star hurricane for poor people who need food, so I’m totally on board with using Rainy Day Fund dollars to try to deal with this issue,” said state Sen. Jim Rosapepe. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
680,000 SNAP RECIPIENTS LEFT IN THE LURCH: Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who rely on federal assistance for food will be left in a lurch starting this weekend. And Saturday will mark one month since the government shut down after Congress failed to reach a budget agreement. Here’s a look, by the numbers, at food assistance in Maryland and how it’s being impacted by the government shutdown. Sara Ruberg/The Baltimore Banner.
- More than 680,000 Marylanders who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to pay for groceries may lose access to their monthly stipends when SNAP is no longer funded on Nov. 1. Matti Gellman/The Baltimore Banner.
- The Maryland Food Bank plans to spend over $3 million in the next month to help food-insecure Marylanders as the federal government shutdown continues and funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program run out. Sara Ruberg/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE SAYS HE RETAINS CONFIDENCE IN HUMAN SERVICES SECTY: Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday he was confident in Maryland Human Services Secretary Rafael López, despite the many challenges the embattled state agency has faced. Moore declared his public support for his hand-picked secretary hours after House Republicans called on the Democratic governor to fire López, citing a host of failures in the state’s foster care system. Lee O. Sanderlin and Jessica Calefati/The Baltimore Banner.
PERKINS CENTER MADE STRIDES IN EASING STAFF SHORTAGE: Maryland’s troubled forensic psychiatric facility, the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, has made strides in easing a staffing shortage, while working to mitigate safety concerns for both staff and patients, lawmakers were told Wednesday. Nicole Pilsbury/Maryland Matters.
FREDERICK EXEC FITZWATER: ‘CAN’T IMAGINE’ NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION: Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater said that she “can’t imagine” not filing to run for a second term in office next year. “I have not made any official announcement about running for re-election,” she said immediately following her annual State of the County address on Monday in Emmitsburg, “but it’s probably the worst-kept secret that I love this job, so I can’t imagine not running.” Erik Anderson/The Frederick News Post.
THE MYSTERIOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MORGAN STATE, ITS BENEFACTOR: Morgan State University President David Wilson has never actually spoken to MacKenzie Scott, the famously private benefactor, which makes it an unusual arrangement. Nobody at Morgan State even knew they were being considered for a second gift, he said. And they did not even know that was an option. Scott’s team largely works in the shadows. At this point, Scott has given Morgan State $103 million. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
ANIMAL SEDATIVE FOUND IN MASS OVERDOSE DRUG SAMPLES: A powerful veterinary sedative called medetomidine was detected in two drug samples collected after the latest mass drug overdose that hit the city’s Penn North community this month, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Taylor said Wednesday. The sedative is frequently mixed with the synthetic opioid fentanyl and can make overdoses harder to reverse. Alissa Zhu/The Baltimore Banner.
FORMER DEL. MARTHA KLIMA DIES AT 86: Martha Klima, a Baltimore County Republican who served in the General Assembly for 20 years, died of a respiratory condition Oct. 9 at the Mercy Ridge Retirement Community. She was 86 and had lived in Lutherville. Jacques Kelly/The Baltimore Sun.
Just because other states are redistricting, doesn’t mean we should or that it is the right move. I don’t find myself siding with the Senate President too often, But I agree with him. The map is already ridiculously lopsided, so when Gov. Wes Moore makes comment like making the map more “fair,” fair to whom exactly? Disenfranchising republican voters in the state? The truth is the Politicians of most of the states choose their voters and it stinks to high heaven. All of this Gerrymandering throughout the country makes us a worse Nation, not better, and even more beholden to s*itty political parties, that quite frankly do not care about you and I. Gov. Moore’s comments about a more fair map is completely disingenuous and insulting to the senses.