MARYLAND SEEKS FEDERAL AID FOR OYSTER INDUSTRY AFTER STORM, SPILL: Maryland has requested a federal disaster declaration for the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery Friday, after a perfect storm of bad weather and headline-grabbing environmental incidents depressed the market. It’s not that there aren’t enough oysters, state officials say, but that the falling prices are hammering the industry. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
- Icy conditions in the Chesapeake Bay following a major winter storm and the perception of the quality of Maryland seafood after the Potomac sewage spill have been detrimental to watermen and stand to do further damage without federal assistance, Gov. Wes Moore wrote in a letter Friday. Darreonna Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
U.S. SUPREMES LET STAND MARYLAND GUN SEIZURE LAW: The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a Maryland Supreme Court ruling that said the state is justified in banning gun possession by people who have been sentenced to two years or more in prison, whether or not the crime they committed was a felony or a crime of violence. Staff/Maryland Matters.
BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR INSPECTOR GENERALS TO SECURE REFORM: Maryland’s inspectors general may now have a better chance of securing the reform they’re seeking to access records needed for investigations. Democratic Del. Vaughn Stewart and Republican Del. Ryan Nawrocki have partnered up to introduce bipartisan legislation that would clarify in Maryland law that inspectors general are not subject to standard Maryland Public Information Act request restrictions when conducting official investigations. Ginny Bixby/The Baltimore Banner.
MDOT LOTS, BROWNFIELDS TO HOST $50M IN STATE SOLAR PANELS: About $50 million worth of solar panels will appear in Maryland Department of Transportation parking lots and brownfields in coming years, paid for with money from a state renewable energy fund that has been in the news recently. State officials are not ready to identify the 25 potential sites for solar just yet. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
SENATE PANEL OKs BILL CUTTING CRIME LIST FOR CHARGING YOUTH AS ADULTS: A Senate committee gave overwhelming approval to a bill Friday that would reduce the number of crimes for which a youth would be automatically charged as an adult, a proposal that’s been worked on for more than a decade. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 10-1 for Senate Bill 323, which could be debated by the full Senate as soon as next week. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
SEN HESTER’s LEGISLATIVE PLATE IS FULL TO OVERFLOWING: Many Maryland legislators at this point in their 90-day session have very full days. But western Howard County’s state Sen. Katie Fry Hester has an overflowing plate as lead sponsor on 20 bills dealing with some of the hottest tech issues in Annapolis. Len Lazarick/Maryland Reporter.
MOORE SEEKS TO BUST MYTHS ABOUT ADMINISTRATION’s SPENDING: Gov. Wes Moore recently posted a video to his social media in which he purported to bust myths about how his administration has been spending taxpayer money. Moore shot back against allegations that Maryland’s spending is out of control, that his administration has added hundreds of new taxes and blown through the state’s surplus, and that his policies have neglected state employees. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
BLACK SUVs MOVE INTO WA CO WAREHOUSE, SIGNALLING ICE ACTIONS: Advocacy groups are raising concerns over a warehouse in Washington County that is slated to become an ICE processing facility after dozens of black SUVs were moved to the warehouse’s parking lot on Sunday. “When federal enforcement vehicles begin lining the warehouse lot, it sends a clear message about what’s taking shape in our community,” said the organizer of Hagerstown Rapid Response, Claire Connor. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
DHS REJECTED THREE OTHER MARYLAND WAREHOUSES AS DETENTION CENTER: As the federal government turns a Washington County warehouse into an immigration detention center, a new document shows the Department of Homeland Security also considered three sites in the Baltimore region. A document addressing flood plain issues at the Washington County site revealed three other sites that were considered and rejected for the massive detention center: 1940 Reservoir Road in Sparrows Point in eastern Baltimore County; 8250 Eastern Ave. near the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant also in eastern Baltimore County; 1010 Swan Creek Drive in northeastern Anne Arundel County near Baltimore’s Coast Guard Yard. Madeleine O’Neill, Pamela Wood and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
DOES FLAVOR FLAV HOLD UPPER HAND IN HOSTING WOMEN’s HOCKEY TEAM? What began as a bit of sly political theater between Gov. Wes Moore and President Donald Trump over who would fete the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey champions now has a third player who knows a thing or two about commanding a stage: hip-hop icon Flavor Flav. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND LAWMAKERS SPLIT OVER ATTACK ON IRAN: Maryland lawmakers split sharply on Saturday over U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, with Democrats condemning the action as unconstitutional and reckless while at least one Republican argued the Trump administration had no choice but to act. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
- Maryland’s congressional delegation is speaking out against the U.S. attack on Iran over the weekend. Many are concerned about presidential overreach and say they support a War Powers Resolution, which would require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of an attack and forbids the White House from keeping troops in Iran for more than 60 days without Congressional approval. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
STATE PROBES 2nd B’MORE BRIDGE FOR LEAD PAINT CHIPPING: State environmental regulators are investigating a second Baltimore bridge for allegedly shedding lead paint chips into storm drains, warning the city could face daily fines while cleanup and long-term repairs from the first incident remain unresolved. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
D.C.’s LOSS OF ARTISTS IS MARYLAND’s GAIN: The list of examples is growing: Amy Sherald’s American Sublime exhibit landed at the Baltimore Museum of Art in November after the painter pulled it from the National Portrait Gallery over censorship concerns. Then came the WNO’s announcement of West Side Story at the Lyric and the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Most recently, acclaimed composer Philip Glass, a Baltimore native, said he’ll bring his new Abraham Lincoln-inspired symphony to Maryland in 2027. Wesley Case/The Baltimore Banner.
NOVARTIS SETTLES WITH HENRIETTA LACKS FAMILY OVER STOLEN CELLS: The pharmaceutical giant Novartis has reached a settlement with the family of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were taken from her without her consent in 1951, when she was dying of cervical cancer in a segregated ward at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Michael Levenson/The New York Times.
McKELDIN: THE HISTORY MAKING REPUBLICAN MAYOR AND GOVERNOR: “He was arguably the most important Maryland Republican of the 20th century,” writes historian William J. Thompson. “He was the last GOP mayor of Baltimore and the first Republican reelected as governor.” Thompson was speaking of Theodore R. McKeldin. Dan Rodricks/Baltimore Brew.
TOWSON TIMES TO CEASE PRINT EDITION: The Towson Times published its final print edition on Wednesday, Feb. 25, marking the end of a long local newspaper tradition in the county seat of Baltimore County. In a front page “Note to Readers,” the Towson Times announced that changing reader habits, shifting advertiser priorities, and the rising cost of print and delivery have led to the decision to end the print product. Christopher Forhan/The Towson Torch. (Editor’s note: Both Len Lazarick and Cynthia Prairie worked at Patuxent Publishing’s Baltimore County newspapers, including The Towson Times.)
Not a fan of war or regime change. On the other hand Iran has never been more weak and this appears to be the best opportunity to hopefully return the power back to the oppressed people of Iran and put to bed any Nuclear concerns that we have been lectured about by our gov’t going back to 2002. There appears to be support by most of the other middle eastern countries as well. I will save my judgment after I see the results. Hopefully it will be short. We shall see. In the mean time, hold onto your butts.