TWO GOP LAWMAKERS MOCK CHINESE DELEGATE, IMPLY HE IS A SPY: Two Republican state lawmakers are being urged to apologize and take down a social media video that mocks a Chinese-born lawmaker and suggests he is a communist spy. Del. Mark Fisher and Del. Brian Chisholm posted a 13-minute video on social media focused on Del. Chao Wu, a Democrat representing parts of Howard and Montgomery counties. Throughout the video, they engage in racist stereotypes and insinuate that Wu has communist sympathies. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- Fisher and Chisholm also criticized Wu’s accent. During the podcast, Fisher said, “How did this guy win from Howard County, because you can barely understand what he’s saying?” Chisholm responded, “God bless the subtitles we now use. They’re actually pretty good because every time he goes to speak, everybody looks down at the subtitles.” Mennatalla Ibrahim and Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
- The video was first flagged Friday by House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk , who wrote Fisher and Chisholm urging them to delete the video and apologize to Wu. It was followed Monday by statements from the legislature’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, even the leader of the House Republican Caucus, all of whom said the video was out of line. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
FERGUSON FACES RETRIBUTION OVER SCUTTLING GERRYMANDER PUSH: As Republican Indiana state senators lost their seats this week in a revenge-fueled primary after defying President Donald Trump on redistricting, Senate President Bill Ferguson, the prominent Maryland Democrat who also sank partisan gerrymandering, took note. He faces a Democratic version of that retribution, drawing the most difficult primary challenge of his 16-year career. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
- Gov. Wes Moore made his case for redistricting in a private discussion with Ferguson. But Ferguson, who has argued that a new map would carry legal risks that could backfire, didn’t budge. Moore then excluded his fellow Democrat, facing the toughest primary challenge in his nearly 20-year career, from his list of dozens of endorsements. Tarini Parti/The Wall Street Journal.
MARYLANDERS FEEL THE PINCH AFTER EXPIRATION OF ACA SUBSIDIES: Millions of Affordable Care Act enrollees are struggling after the federal government allowed its special enhanced tax credits to expire at the end of 2025. Even in Maryland, where lawmakers implemented a replacement subsidy program to temporarily offset losses for many ACA recipients, many people are paying dramatically more for health insurance. As a result, people are beginning to rethink their health insurance plans and how they spend their money. Amelia Twyman of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.
DECLINE IN BLUE CRAB STUMPS SCIENTISTS: In recent years, fewer young blue crabs have survived their crucial early months, depleting an iconic bay species and hampering one of Maryland’s signature fisheries, which produces tens of millions of dollars dockside each year. But despite a sweeping, two-year investigation, the reason for this decline remains largely mysterious. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE LEADERS CALL FOR CHANGE TO PJM SYSTEM: The PJM Interconnection — the regional power grid operator for Maryland and 12 other states and DC — is holding its annual conference in Downtown Baltimore this week, and Maryland leaders are taking the opportunity to call for change within the energy management system. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
- Gov. Wes Moore’s criticisms focused on PJM’s troubled interconnection queue, the process that new energy projects must navigate in order to connect to the grid, and PJM’s auction process, which has been thrown out of whack by immense demand projected to come from data centers, resulting in higher prices for consumers. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
PENSION BOARD SEEKS PUBLIC TRUSTEES: The Board of Trustees for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) is seeking two trustees, one each from Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. Public Trustees serve a three-year term, from July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2029. The Board holds fiduciary oversight of the ERS for the sole benefit of members and beneficiaries. County residents interested in serving must submit a statement of qualifications and resume, by 5:00 p.m. on May 27, 2026 to [email protected]. For more information, contact [email protected] or (301) 454-1415 or visit us at ers.mncppc.org.
WOMEN PUSH FOR BETTER MENOPAUSE CARE; LAWMAKERS ARE LISTENING: The Maryland Commission for Women was looking for ways to elevate menopause care in the state. Turns out all they had to do was ask. Women from across Maryland responded on social media, telling stories of life-altering symptoms and frustrations with a medical system failing them. Out of this came a bill co-sponsored by House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Sen. Dawn Gile that puts Maryland in a league with a growing number of states enacting menopause-related protections and a national movement to encourage an oft-avoided conversation. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
HOYER’s SUPPORT FOR BOAFO RUNS DEEPER THAN ENDORSEMENT TO SUCCEED HIM: It’s hardly a secret that Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th), the dean of Maryland’s congressional delegation, is working hard to elect Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s) in the race to succeed him. Hoyer endorsed his former aide early, calling Boafo “as strong as he is smart, as principled as he is pragmatic.” But the full extent of Hoyer’s investment in Boafo’s campaign is only now coming into focus. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
NEW STATE HEALTH TRACKER TO KEEP TABS ON WEATHER RELATED ILLNESSES: Maryland released a new weather-related illness dashboard last week to help the state and local organizations keep track of hypothermia and hyperthermia incidents. The dashboard gives a weekly snapshot of the health data during Maryland’s hot and cold seasons. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
FBI PROBE CECIL SHERIFF’S EMPLOYEES OVER VULGAR VOICE RECORDING: The FBI is investigating four Cecil County Sheriff’s Office employees who were recorded in 2023 fantasizing about sexually assaulting the county executive. Kate Cimini/The Baltimore Sun.
TWO MARYLANDERS ON FLIGHT WITH HANTAVIRUS VICTIM BEING MONITORED: Two Marylanders who were on a flight that briefly included a M/V Hondius cruise ship passenger infected with hantavirus are being monitored by the Maryland Department of Health, according to authorities. Travis Case/WMAR-TV News.
MO CO COUNCIL TO CONSIDER BILL TO ALIGN COUNTY GUN LAW WITH SUPREME COURT: Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke will introduce a bill on Tuesday with the goal of bringing an existing gun law into alignment with a recent Supreme Court of Maryland opinion on the limits of the county’s authority to regulate firearms. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
Re: GOP Dels. Chisholm and Fisher, Republicans tend to be racist these days. Exhibit A is the states that comprise the Old Confederacy, which are rushing to eliminate majority Black voting districts in the wake of the SCOTUS’s recent Callais decision. The Maryland General Assembly must censure them for their racist attack on Del. Wu!
The funny thing about the Chinese Delegate thing is in CA a Chinese-American Mayor just plead guilty to the felony offense of acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China. So it is not RACIST to question if he is a communist spy. It is logical to do so. Did you know every Chinese person is legally obligated to spy for the state of China? We need to take that seriously and with what has transpired in CA with former mayor Eileen Wang. Now i did not listen to the podcast so I cannot comment specifically on how they were mocking him and maybe it was done in a distasteful way, but we should not ignore the fact that it is possible that he could be a spy for the communist party until we officially cleared him with an investigation. We need to stop this madness that people get a pass for things because they look a certain way. ANY and ALL politicians should be on the table for scrutiny, whether it is their ties, policies, corruption, or fraud. PERIOD.
“RT” writes: “Did you know every Chinese person is legally obligated to spy for the state of China?” No, I did not know that, and I don’t believe it. Please supply your source for this highly questionable statement.