MOORE SAYS HE WILL FOCUS ON JOB GROWTH AWAY FROM WASHINGTON’s WHIMS: In the effort to recover Maryland’s economy amid federal funding cuts and mass job loss, Gov. Wes Moore (D) says he will push a legislative agenda this year that focuses on investing in what he calls “lighthouse” industries like technology and aerospace that could make the state less reliant on the whims of Washington. Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.
MARYLAND OVERPAID, FAILED TO RECOVER MILLIONS IN JOBLESS BENEFITS: Maryland overpaid $807.4 million in unemployment benefits since the Covid-19 pandemic and missed the opportunity to recover $760 million of that amount because it took too long do to so, state auditors said. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
NEW HOUSE SPEAKER PUTS HER STAMP ON STATE POLITICS: Joseline Peña-Melnyk is new to the job of Maryland House speaker, but the veteran delegate is wasting no time putting her stamp on state politics. After being elected by her peers to the top job in December, Peña-Melnyk shuffled leadership roles in the House of Delegates, elevating younger and more progressive members. She brought new advisors onto her team, attended fundraisers for her colleagues and got used to having a state trooper always nearby. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- She begins her first session leading the 141-member chamber Wednesday looking to balance a budget with a $1.5 billion deficit, provide affordable health care and protect immigrants. All of it, she says, will be achieved against a backdrop of civility. “We’re not Washington, D.C. We’re going to act appropriately,” she says. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
LAWMAKER PROPOSES BANNING ICE AGENTS FROM PUBLIC SAFETY JOBS: Outraged by the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement tactics, a Maryland lawmaker proposed banning agents recruited and hired to carry out the president’s mass deportations from ever working in state public safety jobs. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
ICE ARRESTED 3,308 MARYLANDERS IN FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2025: More 3,200 people in Maryland were arrested by ICE from Jan. 21, 2025, the day after President Donald Trump returned to office, through Oct. 15, 2025. The data comes from the Deportation Data Project. All told, ICE had arrested 3,308 people in Maryland from Jan. 1 to Oct.15, 2025, the last date that for which the Deportation Data Project provided numbers. That compares to 1,353 for all of 2024 and 387 for the last four months of 2023, according to the data. Nicole Pilsbury/Maryland Matters.
CANDIDATES LINING UP TO RUN FOR HOYER’s 5th DISTRICT HOUSE SEAT: Even before Steny Hoyer bowed out of running for re-election to the U.S. House, nine people had filed to run in the 5th District. As of Friday, there were five Democrats, two unaffiliated candidates and one Republican signed up for the seat. A number of notable elected officials may also get into the race. Christine Condon and William Ford/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: WHEN STENY HOYER STOOD AGAINST MAGA VULGARITY: When Rep. Steny Hamilton Hoyer, the former House majority leader, announced that he will retire after 23 terms, I immediately recalled his finest hour — the winter evening in 2021, just a month after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, when the Maryland Democrat stood up for decency against the onslaught of MAGA vulgarity. Dan Rodericks/Commentary.
YOU CAN DO IT: WALK 250 MILES OF MARYLAND STATE PARK TRAILS: Nothing says Maryland pride more than hiking in state parks — at least according to the state Department of Natural Resources. As the U.S. turns 250 years old, the department is inviting Marylanders to hike 250 miles of state park trails by the end of 2026. The number may seem daunting, said Ranger Melissa Boyle Acuti, chief of interpretation for the Maryland Park Service, but it’s more doable than it sounds. Clara Longo de Freitas/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLANDERS COULD GET BIGGER TAX RETURNS WITH DIFFERENT FILING: With tax season underway, Maryland residents could see more cash returned to them because of federal tax laws that were enacted last year — but whether it’s a subtle bump or a larger boost will depend on how they file. Ben Mause and Carson Swick/The Baltimore Sun.
PROTESTERS, INCLUDING BA CO COUNCILMEMBERS, PROTEST ICE: The biggest turnout yet for a weekly protest against Trump administration policies occurred on Sunday when several groups gathered on an interstate overpass in Catonsville to hold a vigil following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by ICE agents in Minnesota. Included in that group were two Baltimore County councilmembers. Protesters gathered in groups in other areas as well. Jasmine Vaughn-Hall/The Baltimore Banner.
HOWARD EXEC HOPEFUL CALLS FELLOW CANDIDATE’s REMARKS ‘RACIST:’ At a Howard County executive candidate face-off on Saturday, candidate Liz Walsh was the solitary voice to criticize remarks by candidate Bob Cockey that she characterized as “racist.” When asked about what he would do to represent the over 60,000 Asian American and Pacific Islander residents in the county, Cockey’s answer, which praised the community, provoked the current District 1 councilmember’s displeasure and some groans among the crowd. April Santana/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE SCHOOLS EXTEND CONTRACT WITH CONTROVERSIAL BUSINESS: Baltimore City Public Schools extended its contract with Concentric Educational Solutions in June 2025 — even after finding that the company had overbilled them and submitted questionable tutoring documentation. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
EX-WORKERS SAY EMPLOYEES OF B’MORE SCHOOLS CONTRACTOR ALTERED RECORDS: Six former employees of Concentric Educational Solutions say workers deliberately doctored records of the company’s tutoring and home visits for Baltimore City Public Schools between 2021 and 2024. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
MEET BALTIMORE’s INSPECTOR GENERAL: Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming has spent decades investigating fraud, misconduct and abuse of public trust — work that has taken her from private-sector auditing to high-profile public corruption cases in Maryland and beyond. After earlier stints as a federal and local prosecutor and as deputy inspector general for the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority, Cumming returned to Baltimore in 2018 to lead the city’s Office of the Inspector General. Ruben Castaneda/The Baltimore Sun.
BONIFACE TO RUN FOR HARFORD COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Billy Boniface, who was Harford County’s director of administration and chief adviser to former County Executive Barry Glassman, announced Friday that he will run this year for president of the Harford County Council. Bryna Zumer/The Aegis.
EMPLOYEES CALL CECIL SHERIFF’s OFFICE ‘CHRISTMAS LIST’ TOXIC: Inside the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, every year, the employees fill out a “Christmas List” for others in the department. While it sounds like a sweet holiday tradition, what they write on it has perpetuated a toxic workplace, current and former employees said –– and in some cases, it may constitute a hostile work environment, they said. Kate Cimini/The Baltimore Sun.
