COUNTIES OBJECT TO LAW REQUIRING THEY PAY HALF FOR ERRONEOUS CONVICTIONS: County officials said a change in state law requiring them to pick up half the cost of compensating individuals who were erroneously convicted puts more pressure on their budgets and holds county governments responsible for events they cannot control. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
MOORE, DUFFY EXPECTED TO MEET OVER KEY BRIDGE REBUILD: Gov. Wes Moore will meet with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week about the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild, as well as other local transportation projects. Duffy sent a letter to Moore in September about the Key Bridge, offer collaboration between DOT and Maryland on how to best construct the bridge and keep it on schedule. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
GEORGETOWN U TEAMS TAKES ON PROBE OF CHELTENHAM YOUTH DEATHS: Georgetown University is launching a research hub tasked with investigating the deaths of children and teenagers who perished in juvenile facilities nationwide in the last 150 years, a first-of-its-kind effort that will initially focus on the rediscovered graves of Black boys who died in Maryland state custody in Cheltenham. Michael Brice-Saddler and Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.
MDOT CAPITAL BUDGET INCLUDES BWI SAFETY PROJECTS: The latest iteration of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s six-year, $21.5 billion Capital Transportation Program includes several public transportation upgrades, BWI Airport safety improvements and Key Bridge updates. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
US WIND DEFENDS OCEAN CITY PROJECT, ITS SOLVENCY IN COURT: Offshore wind company US Wind battled the Trump administration in a Baltimore courtroom Wednesday, defending its Maryland project against the government’s plans to revoke and reconsider a construction permit issued under President Joe Biden (D). For US Wind, the threat is existential, attorneys said Wednesday. Not only would the government’s revocation of the permit threaten to upend the project along Ocean City’s coast, it also could send the entire company heading toward bankruptcy. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
POLITICAL NOTES: COMMITTEE CHAIRS SHUFFLED: Senate President Bill Ferguson announced committee chairs for the 2026 General Assembly. The biggest change was in the Senate Executive Nominations Committee, where last year’s chairman, Sen. Clarence Lam was replaced by Sen. Benjamin Brooks. Sen. Shelly Hettleman leaves the Rules Committee to become chair of Budget and Taxation’s Public Safety, Transportation and Environment Subcommittee. Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard and Montgomery) takes over Rules. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MDGOP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FILES TO RUN FOR SENATE DISTRICT 42: Adam Wood, the executive director of the Maryland GOP, has filed to run for state Senate District 42, which encompasses parts of Carroll and Baltimore counties. Wood’s entry into the race means the June 2026 Republican primary for District 42 will be contested. Two Republican candidates have filed for the seat, and both have secured key endorsements from experienced local officials. Lily Carey/The Baltimore Sun.
10 PROJECTS RECEIVED $24M IN HISTORICAL TRUST AWARDS: Christmas came early this year to developers of 10 restoration and adaptive reuse projects that received more than $24 million in historic revitalization tax credits for 2026 from the Maryland Historical Trust. Ed Gunts/Baltimore Fishbowl.
BA CO FIRE DEPT MEMBERS STUNNED BY ACCUSATION AGAINST COLLEAGUE: As allegations swirl that a paramedic masturbated with his colleagues’ food and property, members of the Baltimore County Fire Department are being kept out of the loop and left to assess their own risks of illness, three sources within the agency said. “Potentially every single member was exposed,” one of the workers said. “We have no idea.” Luke Parker/The Baltimore Sun.
GREENBELT: MADE BY NEW DEAL HISTORY, WITH CO-OP SPIRIT: Greenbelt is a city built by the federal government during the Great Depression, where today many of the main attractions are co-ops — including the New Deal Cafe, which locals call the “community living room” with live music six nights a week, and the Greenbelt Co-Op Supermarket & Pharmacy, which boasts nearly 11,000 members who spend as little as $10 a month to participate in food samplings, wine tastings and wellness programs. Elliot Williams/The Washington Post.
FORMER DEL. TOM DEWBERRY DIES. HE WAS 74: Thomas E. Dewberry, who served in the Maryland House of Delegates and was later a Maryland administrative law judge, died of multiple complications related to heart disease and pneumonia Dec. 7 at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital. He was 74 and lived in Catonsville. Jacques Kelly/The Baltimore Sun.
- A dedicated public servant and lifelong Democrat, Dewberry was a delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. He was appointed to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1989, and represented Districts 12 and 43B. He also held the role of Speaker Pro Tempore until May 2002 at which time he resigned from the House to become Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings, a position he held until his retirement in 2019. Candlelight Funeral Home.
This constant push to pass the buck to lower gov’ts needs to end. We have the Feds pushing more SNAP compensation onto the states and now we have our very own State which has been showing an increased push to pass the buck to county gov’t, in order to balance their absurd over spent State Budget. Let’s go back to the years of the Rain Tax, which the state passed but forced the counties to enact their own rules and fees upon that tax, effectively pushing the burden and political consequences onto the Counties. One could argue that was part of the push to elect Former Gov. Hogan as the electorate sniffed out that bullshit, but arguably wouldn’t have been such a big deal had O’Malley’s administration not hike Tolls to such absurd levels. It was a coalescence of increases in taxes and fees by his administration and a very well run campaign by Hogan for us to say we need a hand brake to this overzealous regulator.
Now here we are today as the state tries to push 50% of lawsuit liability payments onto the Counties which is wholly unfair, most of the shitty agencies and lawsuits are our states agencies failing to execute their laws and regulations upon themselves. How is this fair to shift those lawsuits onto the counties. Not to mention the Kirwan Education costs which are killing us!
I am not a fan of the Wind Farms of any kind, people ignore their negative environmental impacts. SUCH AS Killing birds, causing noise and vibration in the ocean that affects marine life and their own communications as well, such as whales. Not to mention the destruction of the sea floor where they put these farms. These are not harmless to our environment. NOT TO MENTION they only work when the wind blows, and if the wind blows too hard they must shut them down so as to not damage their turbines. Also their life span is only about 10 years. What will the cost be to take down those same turbines when they age out? The cost and environmental impacts out weigh the electrical benefits of this project. I feel for US Wind as it is tough to run a business, however, they struck out with this project, sucks to be them. Finally to a lesser degree, myself and many others do not want to look at wind turbines on the horizon of our beloved Ocean City Beaches. Nuclear Power is what we need. Anything else is a waste of time and money until Fusion is finally figured out.