2027 LEGISLATURE WILL HAVE AT LEAST 25 NEW FACES: When the legislature returns next year, 25 familiar faces will have moved on. Some are looking forward to life after politics, after decades at it or after just one term. Others wish to focus on their personal lives. Several are looking to not just stay in politics, but advance. And for three lawmakers, that means going head-to-head in this June’s primary election. Rhiannon Evans/Maryland Matters.
MONTHS AFTER FEDERAL LAYOFFS, MARYLANDERS STILL STRUGGLE TO LAND JOBS: Jennifer Erie had planned to spend 20 years working in foreign public service. Instead, her 17-year career ended abruptly when the overseas public health office she led was dismantled. Seven months later, back home in Prince George’s County, she has submitted more than 250 job applications — and landed just two interviews. Her experience reflects a broader strain across Maryland, where a wave of federal layoffs, layered onto an already cooling job market, has left thousands struggling to find stable, comparable work. Mennatalla Ibrahim and Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
LAWMAKERS FACE HARASSMENT OVER DISABILITIES SERVICES CUTS: In another round of tense budget discussions and steep cuts to disability services, budget leaders and advocates anticipated impassioned and challenging dialogue as families across the state pleaded with lawmakers to fund those services. What they didn’t anticipate was verbal and online harassment of lawmakers and their staff over those cuts that reached a new intensity this year. That prompted some groups to call on advocates to tone down the rhetoric and remain respectful. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
McCLAIN DELANEY ACCUSES TRONE OF MISLEADING VOTERS: With just less than two months to go until the June 23 primary election, incumbent U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney is accusing her main Democratic opponent — Potomac businessman David Trone — of misleading voters about his current role. McClain Delaney’s campaign said in a Friday press release that Trone’s use of the term “re-elect” in his campaign literature, combined with his use of the title “Congressman,” amounts to an attempt to deceive voters into believing he still holds the office when he does not. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
CHALLENGER BLASTS MFUME FOR AIPAC, DEFENSE CONTRIBUTIONS: Baltimore Councilman Mark Conway, who is seeking to unseat U.S. Kweisi Mfume, criticized his campaign for its ties to pro-Israeli political groups and defense contractors following the release of this year’s first federal campaign finance reports in April. Conway said his rival accepted nearly $35,000 from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, as well as thousands from defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
BA CO EXEC CANDIDATE DENOUNCES ANTI-SEMITIC IMAGES: Baltimore County Councilmember Julian Jones has denounced a digitally altered image of him circulating on social media. The image depicted him having a Hitler-like moustache, raising his arm in a “Heil Hitler” salute, and wearing a keffiyeh on his head in the style Yasser Arafat did. Jones, a Democrat running for Baltimore County Executive, called it “a highly offensive meme circulated in attack of my campaign” in a statement he posted to Facebook. Aliza Worthington/Baltimore Fishbowl.
MARYLAND JOINS 13 OTHERS IN SUING EPA OVER FAILURE TO COMPLY: Maryland joined 13 other jurisdictions that sued the EPA Friday for its failure to meet a February deadline to determine which parts of the country are in compliance with a 2024 standard for “fine particulate matter.” That lack of federal guidance affects the states’ ability to set local plans that would address unhealthy air in “nonattainment” areas, or those not meeting the air quality standards, the lawsuit says. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
PEPCO CUTS RATE INCREASE REQUEST: Pepco, one of Maryland’s primary utility companies, has scaled back its rate increase request due to new provisions under Maryland’s mega energy policy overhaul, the Utility RELIEF Act. Gov. Wes Moore has all but promised to sign the legislation into law within the coming weeks, and with his signature will come a one-year ban on what’s known as forecast test years. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
TWO MORE MEASLES CASES CONFIRMED: Maryland health officials confirmed two more cases of measles in the state, bringing the total infections this year to three. The cases among Baltimore-area residents were linked to travel to other states with active transmission of measles. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
CECIL DELEGATION ASSESSES GOOD, BAD OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION: The Cecil County delegation to Annapolis told an audience Thursday morning that there was good news and bad news coming from the 90-day legislative session. Said Sen. Jason Gallion, “This was a year when programs are robbed to balance the budget. On the bright side, taxes and fees were not raised. But it has consequences down the road. Next year, we’re going to have to fight to keep those taxes and fees down.” Jane Bellmyer/The Cecil Whig.
WHY THE SUN IS PROBING MOORE’s MILITARY RECORD: Gov. Wes Moore remains one of the state’s most prominent political figures, but signs suggest the goodwill that once surrounded his rise may be fading. Over time, the Sun has heard from readers and viewers who have asked whether key parts of that public story withstand scrutiny. Two subjects come up repeatedly: Moore’s athletic background and his Army service. Drew Sullins/The Baltimore Sun.
ARUNDEL COUNCIL KILLS BILL TO BAR DEVELOPERS’ CAMPAIGN DONATIONS: Anne Arundel County Council members voted last Monday to kill a bill that would have barred developers with pending projects from contributing to their campaigns — after already accepting more than half a million dollars from developers since 2019, according to campaign finance records. Benjamin Rothstein/The Capital Gazette.
STATE SUPREMES OVERTURN MAJOR B’MORE OPIOID WIN: The Maryland Supreme Court tossed Baltimore’s $152 million victory in its opioid lawsuit against a pair of drug companies in a brief order issued Friday. The decision is a major loss for the city, which adopted a go-it-alone strategy for opioid litigation that appeared to be paying off. Baltimore still won hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from drug companies that decided to pay out and avoid trial, but Friday’s Supreme Court decision vacates a significant jury verdict that found opioid distributors liable for their role in the city’s overdose crisis. Madeleine O’Neill/The Baltimore Banner.
HAVRE DE GRACE COUNCIL SEEKS TO LIMIT DATA CENTER LOCATIONS: The Havre de Grace City Council introduced a bill last Monday night that would severely limit where data centers can be built, as the Harford County Council weighs a moratorium on the computing facilities. Bryna Zumer/The Aegis.
MARYLAND SISTER OF WHCD ASSAILANT SPEAKS WITH INVESTIGATORS: The Maryland sister of Cole Tomas Allen, who attempted an armed assault at the White House Correspondence Dinner on Saturday, told investigators her brother had legally purchased several weapons from a California gun store and kept them at their parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge, according to the official. She described her brother as prone to making radical statements, the official said. Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Balsamo/Associated Press.
THREE MEMBERS OF COLUMBIA ASSOCIATION BOARD OUSTED: A bitter feud on the Columbia Association board erupted into public view last week when three members were removed for allegedly weaponizing its ethics policy and not cooperating with an outside investigation. Jess Nocera/The Baltimore Banner.
OFFICIALS PROBE FOR ARSON AT VACANT CARROLL PSYCH BUILDINGS: Officials say they are investigating a possible arson after two vacant buildings at a state-owned psychiatric hospital in Southern Carroll County caught fire Saturday morning. According to a social media post from the Maryland State Fire Marshal, emergency personnel from the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department and other departments responded to Springfield Hospital Center shortly before 8 a.m. They found two buildings — both vacant — ablaze. Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.
