MOORE, AFSCME FAIL TO REACH CONTRACT AGREEMENT: The largest union in state government said it has rejected a contract proposal offered by Gov. Wes Moore. The announcement came hours before Moore, a Democrat, announced reaching an agreement with unions representing six other groups of state employees. The failure to reach an agreement with AFSCME Council 3 represents the first time Moore’s administration has missed the annual Dec. 31 deadline to reach agreement on annual salary increases. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- AFSCME said the Democratic governor’s final proposal “continues to lag behind the rate of inflation and understaff state services.” The union, which represents 26,000 workers, also faulted the Moore administration for not considering union-proposed ways to save money, such as cutting back on contracts with private companies and eliminating duplicative programs. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
$340M CONOWINGO DAM SETTLEMENT CAN MOVE FORWARD: Maryland’s $340 million settlement with the owner of the Conowingo Dam can now move forward, after a group of Eastern Shore counties dropped their challenge of the deal. The withdrawal came less than a month after the administrative appeal was originally filed. Officials at the Maryland Department of the Environment, which brokered the key settlement deal, had lobbied hard for the handful of counties to back down. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
HOW SAFE ARE MARYLAND TAX DOLLARS FROM FRAUD? With Maryland staring down a projected $1.4 billion budget deficit that state analysts warn could deepen in the coming year, scrutiny is intensifying over how effectively the state protects taxpayer dollars from fraud and abuse. The questions have grown louder amid national fallout from a Minnesota fraud scandal that federal prosecutors say could exceed $9 billion. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
YOUNG DEMS SET SIGHTS ON OUSTING LONGTIME INCUMBENTS: Young Democrats in Maryland are setting the 2026 political stage, taking on entrenched incumbents — U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer and Kweisi Mfume — to usher in generational change that they say is long overdue. The growing momentum adds to the wave of younger politicians challenging storied incumbents across the country, including New York’s new 34-year-old mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
DEMS LINING UP TO RUN FOR DELEGATE SEATS IN CARROLL: For the first time since 2014, multiple Democrats are planning to run for state delegate in Carroll County. The county has historically been represented in Annapolis by Republicans, and in the 2022 elections, no Democrats ran against Eric Bouchat, Chris Tomlinson or April Rose for the three open seats to represent District 5 in the House of Delegates. Lily Carey/The Carroll County Times.
PG DEMS PICK COLEY FOR DISTRICT 24 HOUSE SEAT: The Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee unanimously chose Derrick Coley on Monday to fill a soon-to-be vacant seat to represent District 24 in the Maryland House of Delegates. The nearly two-hour public hearing in Lanham was almost standing-room-only, as the crowd heard pitches form four candidates, then waited to hear all 25 committee members present vote for Coley, who’s been a member of the committee. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
AMID MOURNING, CITY CELEBRATES FEWEST HOMICIDES IN 50 YEARS: In 2025, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, the number of people killed in the Maryland city once notorious for its crime had plummeted to a nearly 50-year low of 133 deaths — marking the third straight year of steep declines in the homicide rate and a nearly 60 percent decrease since 2021. Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.
- While Monday’s media event was largely celebratory after the city saw a 31% decrease in homicides in 2025, Scott and other officials used the moment to insist that the work was not done. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
- Still, hundreds flocked to War Memorial Plaza on Monday evening to mourn those lost to gun violence in Baltimore in 2025. Christmas lights covered the trunks of otherwise naked trees, and people held artificially lit candles that illuminated the plaza. They braved bitter cold with custom shirts, sweaters and hoodies bearing their loved ones’ photos. Darreonna Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
BATES’ REELECTION BID AMID DISPUTES OVER MOVING FORWARD: Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates is seeking reelection as the city records some of its lowest levels of violent crime in decades — and as disagreements over how that progress should be sustained spill into public view. Luke Parker/The Baltimore Sun.
BA CO COUNCILMAN SEEKS MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS DURING REVIEW: As debate over data centers grows statewide, a Baltimore County councilman on Monday introduced legislation aimed at slowing any potential development until the county weighs the impact. The bill would direct the county’s planning board to study future data center projects and make recommendations to the County Council and administration. It would also impose a moratorium on permits and construction of data centers while that review is underway. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
REP McCLAIN DELANEY CALLS FOR TRUMP’s IMPEACHMENT: On the same day Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared before a Manhattan judge, Western Maryland Rep. April McClain Delaney called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment over the operation that brought Maduro to the United States. Ben Mause/The Baltimore Sun.
COLUMN: REP HARRIS REFUSED TO HONOR POLICE WHO DEFENDED CAPITOL ON JAN. 6: Today’s anniversary — five years since the violent mob attack on the Capitol to stop the transfer of presidential power from Trump to Joe Biden — brings to mind some of the reasons reasonable people regard Rep. Andy Harris with contempt. Let’s go there, shall we? As a guest on a radio show the evening of the attack, Harris said “there was no indication that this was a truly violent protest, as violent as one that you’d worry about.” Dan Rodricks/Substack.
LONGTIME ARUNDEL PROSECUTOR RUNS FOR STATE’S ATTY: When an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge dismissed Carolynn Grammas’ boss from prosecuting a high-profile homicide case, Grammas knew it was time to do something. “That’s when I knew 100% that I could not be a part of this,” Grammas said, referring to the office of State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess, which she described as having become tainted by “integrity issues” and evidence-sharing violations. “So that’s when I started thinking, what can I do about this?” She decided to run against her. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Banner.
EARLY VOTING SITES SET FOR WA CO, LOWER EASTERN SHORe: Early voting sites for Maryland’s 2026 elections are set for Washington County and the Lower Eastern Shore. The Maryland State Board of Elections, in December, approved election plans for many local jurisdictions, including early voting sites, according to a YouTube video of the state election board’s Dec. 18 meeting. Julie Greene/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
I don’t know if I’m upset more at the Gov or the Union. Like yeah the state probably should look into cutting costs. Also when it come to wages not keeping up with inflation, join the party guys.
It’s really sad that it takes a budget crisis for the Govt to take seriously how well our money is getting spent. In the age of AI we should be pushing for AI audits to catch fraud. But that will assuredly have lots of push back, why would gov’t officials want to be found out that they or people they know our bilking us.