WINNERS & LOSERS OF WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A QUIET SESSION: It’s the fourth year of the legislative term, when lawmakers are supposed to stick to noncontroversial topics, avoid taxes and just not screw up. They didn’t pass any new taxes or raise any fees. But it wasn’t exactly drama-free, from the election of a new House speaker weeks before the start of the session and continuing through the final minutes, when House Democrats and Republicans erupted into a shouting match over the Maryland Voting Rights Act, which passed with a minute to spare. Bryan P. Sears, Christine Condon, Danielle J. Brown and William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
CHILD-CARE SCHOLARSHIP FREEZE COULD START THAWING SOON: This legislative session’s infusion of $20 million into the state’s child care scholarship program for pre-schoolers aims to cut the current waiting list of 5,000 families by more than half, starting next fiscal year. When funding will actually arrive and how many seats could be filled at these childcare centers remains unclear. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
POLICE CONTINUE TO BE FIRST RESPONDERS TO MENTAL HEALTH CRISES: When 25-year-old Alex LaMorie called Howard County Police for help during a mental health crisis, his family expected officers trained to de-escalate the encounter. Instead, police fatally shot the Columbia man, who had autism. Advocates say LaMorie’s March 1 death reflects a broader problem across Maryland and nationwide: Police are often the first responders to mental health crises, and too often, those encounters turn deadly. Brendan Nordstrom/The Baltimore Sun.
DENSE UTILITY RELIEF BILL DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE: At more than 100 pages, the Utility RELIEF bill passed by the General Assembly addresses issues large and small, from data centers that burn through 25,000,000 watts of electricity a month to the minimum size of the sign for a public hearing on a transmission line route. But what’s in those pages for a typical utility customer? What savings will they see on their monthly bills? As you might imagine, it’s complicated. Jean Marbella/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND AMONG 14 STATES THAT DON’T REPORT DATA CENTER INCENTIVES: Though public scrutiny of data centers is growing, 14 states do not disclose how much revenue they lose to data center tax breaks. Three states — Georgia, Virginia and Texas — report losing $1 billion or more per year to data center incentives, according to Good Jobs First. But Maryland, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah all failed to report data center incentives, which generally include sales, use and property tax breaks. Kevin Hardy/Maryland Matters.
DEVELOPER THINKS DATA CENTER COULD BE GOOD FOR POWER GRID: A planned data center along the Potomac River in Southern Maryland would sap more energy than all of Baltimore. Could that be good for the region’s buckling power grid? Its developer thinks so. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND ACADEMY FAILED TEENS, BUT SOME STILL SEE NEED FOR PROGRAM: Even as the Freestate Challenge Academy struggled with declining graduation rates, rising costs and serious safety concerns, some sociologists and former cadets say Maryland still cannot afford to lose programs like it. Kate Cimini/The Baltimore Sun.
OCEAN CITY MAY STRUGGLE TO FILL SUMMER JOBS WITH OVERSEAS STUDENTS: Ocean City depends on college students from other countries to fill summer jobs through the State Department’s Summer Work Travel program. Through the program, about 3,600 international students came to work in the Maryland beach town last year. This summer, however, it could be tougher than usual for students to get J-1 visas. Those are visas granted to individuals approved to work or study in exchange visitor programs. Michelle Basch/WTOP-FM.
BA CO SCHOOLS LURES HOMESCHOOLERS WITH REVAMPED ONLINE LESSONS: A revamped online learning program is gaining popularity with homeschool families. Baltimore County’s online option allows 600 students to learn at home with real-time instruction from teachers who use the same curriculum given to in-person students. It’s helping the district rebuild enrollment — and recover money attached to it — after losing students for the past five years. Kristen Griffith/The Baltimore Banner.
JUDGE GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO B’MORE WATCHDOG’s LAWUIT AGAINST CITY: Baltimore’s law department has “cut off, foreclosed, shut down” Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming’s ability to investigate waste, fraud and abuse, the judge overseeing a dispute over her access to records said Friday. Justin Fenton and Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
- Then on Friday night, in a major blow to Mayor Brandon Scott and City Solicitor Ebony Thompson, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela J. White denied their request to disqualify independent counsel representing Cumming, thereby allowing Cumming’s lawsuit against the city to proceed. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
ICE AGENTS CHASE MAN INTO BAKERY, SCARING WORKERS, CUSTOMERS: Federal immigration officers chased a man they were attempting to detain into a Baltimore bakery on Friday morning, leaving staff shaken from the encounter. The bakery’s owner said a man asked staff members in front if they spoke Spanish before running into the back area. Four ICE agents, described by the owner as “jacked up,” followed him into the business and began questioning staff and customers. Sara Ruberg and John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
RESIDENT WHO TRAVELED INTERNATIONALLY BECOMES STATE’s 1st MEASLES CASE OF 2026: Maryland health officials announced the first case of measles in the state this year in a Baltimore-area resident who recently traveled internationally. The Maryland Department of Health issued a warning Sunday that people may have been exposed to the patient. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
I really don’t think more training would have changed the outcome of the poor autistic man from being shot. The police did exactly as they are trained to do for knives. What a lot of people don’t realize is knives are a deadly threat from 15 feet away. If they start charging you, you have to discharge your weapon on them because the risk of getting stabbed and dying are too high. It can even happen after you killed them, they can fall forward and if you get hit in the wrong spot by that knife, you too are dying despite the fact that you neutralized the threat. The truth is our very own medical institutions do not medicate and do not treat people properly for their mental illnesses. Many people are arrogant and do not listen to their patients. A friend of mine is allergic to the drugs they want to give her, despite even showing with 2 allergy tests that she is allergic, they still ignore her and her test results and say take these. Then we expect the police to handle these people on the street. Often times their own arrogance and safety take priority over the situation. Cops do not know your mental state. They are trained to take control of the situation and if you do not comply, get physical. There is no easy answer to this and we cant expect our police officers to act as if they are psychiatrists too. Hindsight it is easy to say oh but he’s autistic, well that does not change the fact that he was dangerously brandishing a knife in a chaotic situation where the police have a duty to protect themselves and the public.