MORE MARYLAND KIDS PLACED IN KINSHIP CARE INSTEAD OF FOSTER CARE: More Maryland children are now benefiting from a law Maryland passed last year that said, when safe, child welfare officials should place children separated from their parents with family or other loved ones rather than foster parents they don’t know. Those trusted adults, known as kinship caregivers, can include godparents, coaches and family friends — people a kid may call “auntie” or “tío” despite not being related to them at all. Maya Lora/The Baltimore Banner.
PANEL STUDYING LYNCHING SEEKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT, PAYMENTS TO FAMILIES: A final report produced by a commission established to investigate the history of lynchings in Maryland urges the state and several local jurisdictions to acknowledge their parts in the acts of racial terror committed during the 19th and 20th centuries — and calls for payments of up to $100,000 for every descendant of a known lynching victim, among dozens of other recommendations. Jonathan Pitts/The Baltimore Sun.
JUDGE DENIES US WIND COURT INJUNCTION AGAINST TRUMP: A federal judge has declined to issue an injunction that would have protected US Wind from what it says are Trump administration attempts to kill its planned wind farm off Ocean City, for which it already has permits. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher in Baltimore noted in her decision — handed down Tuesday — that US Wind technically could move forward with constructing its wind farm off of Delmarva. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
DHS CONFIRMS EMPLOYEE BILLED FOR MASSAGES; MUM ON DISCIPLINE: The Maryland Department of Human Services confirmed procurement rules were violated when an employee billed taxpayers $400 for massages — an expense the state worker tried to conceal. But the agency has refused to say whether anyone was disciplined, fired or required to repay the money. Tessa Bentulan/The Baltimore Sun.
SEN MUSE SAYS HE’LL FIGHT TO KEEP PRINCE GEORGE’S JOB: State Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s) is vowing to fight a determination by the state legislature’s ethics committee that he cannot hold a job in Prince George’s County government as long as he remains in the Senate. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
DEL LEWIS TO TAKE SENIOR ROLE AT UM: House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George’s) is resigning from the legislature to take a senior role with the University of Maryland. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
BOP APPROVES $147M TO REPLACE MARYLAND COURTS BUILDING: The Board of Public Works approved a $147 million contract Wednesday to replace the current “inadequate” Maryland Courts of Appeal Building with a new six-story, environmentally efficient building on Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis, just north of the current District Court. Staff/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND JOINS SUIT TO FREE BIDEN FUNDING FOR EV INFRASTRUCTURE: Maryland joined 15 states and Washington, D.C., to sue the Trump administration for withholding billions in federal funds that are supposed to help states build out their electric vehicle infrastructure. The suit says the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are sitting on funds that were approved by Congress in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law under former President Joe Biden. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
BALTIMORE COUNTY’s ICE MOU RAISES LEGAL QUESTIONS: Baltimore County’s MOU with ICE locks in a longstanding agreement that former County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. agreed to in June 2024 to hold inmates in the county’s detention center past their release dates if ICE has a detainer against them. The county’s actions, meanwhile, sparked questions about their constitutionality from immigration and legal experts, while county officials defend them. Céilí Doyle/The Baltimore Banner.
BALTIMORE COUNTY NEARS SETTLEMENT WITH INMATES WHO SOUGHT MINIMUM WAGE: Baltimore County appears close to settling a five-year-old lawsuit that former inmates in the detention center filed arguing they were entitled to minimum wage for working in the county’s waste and recycling center. Those settlement costs would bring the county tab to nearly $8.3 million. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE BOARD VOTES AID JHU IN DATA CENTER INSTITUTE: Despite hours of testimony from outraged residents, Baltimore’s spending board voted unanimously in favor of two items allowing Johns Hopkins University to proceed with more work on its planned Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
UM-EASTERN SHORE PRES SUES PLAGIARISM ACCUSER: Heidi Anderson, president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, is suing the former professor who accused her of plagiarism, seeking $1 million in damages. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
MONTGOMERY COUNCILMAN SEEKS TRANSPARENCY IN DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT: Montgomery County Council member Evan Glass says he plans to introduce legislation that brings more transparency to data center projects. This after the former Dickerson coal plant along the Potomac became the proposed site for a data center development, those windowless buildings that store the cloud and power artificial intelligence. Jenny Abamu and Tyrone Turner/WAMU-FM.
WORCESTER COMMISSIONERS REJECT PAY HIKE FOR SHERIFF’s DEPUTIES: Worcester County commissioners on Tuesday voted 4-3 to reject a midyear pay increase for sheriff’s deputies that officials said would have helped the department compete in a tight law enforcement hiring market. Josh Davis/The Baltimore Sun.
