RESIDENTS FEAR FREDERICK WILL BECOME STATE’s DATE CENTER ALLEY: Frederick has more planned hyperscale data centers than any other county in Maryland, according to an industry-created dataset. These facilities will come online in as early as three years, according to some estimates, prompting local concerns that the area will soon resemble “data center alley” in nearby Loudon County, Va. Olivia Borgula of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.
ELRICH PAUSES NEW DATA CENTERS IN MONTGOMERY FOR SIX MONTHS: For the next six months, Montgomery County’s permitting department will be barred from accepting, processing or considering permit applications for new data centers under an executive order signed by County Executive Marc Elrich on Friday. “It’s not a ban on data centers. It’s not a statement that data centers should never be built in Montgomery County, and it’s not a judgment about any specific proposal,” Elrich said. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
NEW TRUMP MEDICAID REQUIREMENTS TO HAVE LARGE IMPACT: Starting in January 2027, new Medicaid requirements will go into effect as part of President Donald Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Part of the requirements is that adults must work 80 hours a month to qualify for Medicaid. The government recently put out new rules on who will be exempt from those requirements, which could have large impacts on people living in Maryland and the coverage they can receive. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
AS INFLATION SURGES, MARYLANDERS PAY THE PRICE: Inflation surged last month to the highest rate in more than three years, driving up the costs of everything from food to gas for Maryland families, experts said, and putting aid groups on edge. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in May, bringing inflation for the year to 4.2%, the highest level since April 2023, driven in large part by the spike in fuel prices, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mayah Nachman/Maryland Matters.
ANALYSIS: MOORE CONTINUES TO MISCHARACTERIZE MILITARY CAREER: Gov. Wes Moore went on CNN Thursday morning and answered the central question plainly; however, what he said was not true. Asked by Kate Bolduan whether he had misstated, mischaracterized or misrepresented his military service, Moore replied, “I have never mischaracterized my military career,” which is a false statement. Moore then tried to use institutional silence from the Army as vindication. Drew Sullins/The Baltimore Sun.
COLUMN: WHERE THE TRUTH ACTUALLY LIVES: Armstrong Williams, co-owner of The Baltimore Sun and a longtime conservative columnist, sees the truth as undeniable. Manifest, he said, from God. “Truth has a biological advantage,” he said Monday. “It doesn’t need the artifice of man. You cannot hold it, you cannot control it. You can manipulate it, but eventually the truth reigns.” As I compare his newspaper’s monthslong investigation of Gov. Wes Moore’s military record to that of my colleague Lee O. Sanderlin, which was published Thursday, I’d suggest the truth is more complicated. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
WEALTHY CANDIDATES SPEND BIG ON THEIR CAMPAIGNS: More than $25.5 million has flooded in to Maryland congressional campaigns in the last two months, almost all of it in the form of personal loans from a handful of well-heeled candidates to their own campaigns, according to new campaign finance reports. The surge in preprimary spending almost doubled the total amount raised for primary races for the state’s eight congressional districts, with total fundraising now at $58.8 million, less than two weeks from the primary date. Will Hammen/Maryland Matters.
ETHICS COMPLAINT CALLS OUT HOWARD EXEC CANDIDATE’s SCRUTINY OF PROJECT: Less than two weeks before the June 23 primary election, a Howard County executive candidate’s ongoing scrutiny of public funding for a community development project has drawn accusations of an ethics violation for political gain. The project’s developer, Brian Kim, accused County Councilwoman and candidate Deb Jung of violating county ethics rules in how she’s questioning the project’s funding to boost her campaign. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
KACH, SEN WEST BACK LE GARDEUR OVER MANGIONE: The Republican Party put Nino Mangione on the Baltimore County Council to complete the last six months of Wade Kach’s term. Kach resigned in May due to health reasons. Now Kach wants Mangione gone. Kach, a Republican, is endorsing environmentalist Theaux Le Gardeur over Mangione in the June 23 GOP District 5 County Council primary. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
- A veteran state legislator is also backing environmentalist Theaux Le Gardeur in a Republican primary Baltimore County Council race. Earlier this year, state Sen. Chris West said he was not taking sides in the contest between Le Gardeur and Councilman Nino Mangione in the race for the mostly rural fifth council district seat that runs from the I-695 Beltway to the Pennsylvania line. West now says he supports Le Gardeur, who runs a fly fishing shop and is the Gunpowder River Keeper. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
SEN SALLING’s PRIMARY CHALLENGE MOVES TO COURT: State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling has fought off several challengers since he was first elected in 2014 to his District 6 seat in Baltimore County. But the competition with his Republican primary opponent this year, Dundalk resident and children’s dentist Daniel Eisenhart, has moved to the courts ahead of the June 23 primary election. Nolan Rogalski of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.
AFTER INDICTMENT, COULD SEN ATTAR BE UNSEATED? After her federal indictment on blackmailing charges in late 2025, state Sen. Dalya Attar (D-Baltimore City) faces a formidable opponent in Del. Malcolm Ruff (D-Baltimore City) who now has the governor’s backing and a fundraising edge. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
FIRST TERM DEL TOMLINSON READY TO SEEK A SECOND: After one term in Maryland’s House of Delegates, Chris Tomlinson feels like he’s hitting his stride in Annapolis. With a new committee assignment and several pieces of legislation passed in the most recent session, the District 5 Republican said he thinks he’s been as successful as a Republican can in the heavily Democratic legislature. Ryan Marshall/The Frederick News Post.
WHO IS RUNNING IN MONTGOMERY’s COURTHOUSE RACES? With early voting underway for the June 23 gubernatorial primary election, Montgomery County residents can head to the polls to cast votes in races for county, state and federal offices. Five of those races are centered around posts based in the Montgomery County Circuit Court: sheriff, circuit court judge, state’s attorney, clerk of the court and register of wills. Elia Griffin/Bethesda Today.
AFSCME RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF LAID OFF COLLEGE EMPLOYEES: Members from the state’s largest public employees union had a message Friday for University System of Maryland leadership: Rescind the employee layoffs. More than 100 members of AFSCME rallied in support of workers at the University of Maryland, College Park, where 73 union members were recently laid off, and at Bowie State University, where 21 members lost jobs. And the union said at least one layoff notice was issued from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The rally was held about a week after College Park officials announced layoffs during a “period of uncertainty.” William Ford/Maryland Matters.
WHY BLACK MARYLANDERS ARE STAYING AWAY FROM ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTS: Melanie Hood-Wilson of Baltimore is as opposed to President Donald Trump as anyone could be. There was a time when she would be marching against Trump policies alongside friends. She’s joined protests in the past, but now it is different. She’s become more selective on when she practices her advocacy. While anti-Trump movements have taken up issues such as immigration and federal job cuts, what is being largely ignored is one of the most important issues to African Americans like her: racism. John-John Williams/The Baltimore Banner.
PARENTS PROTEST DETENTION OF TWO BALTIMORE PARENTS: Parents, activists and elected officials gathered Friday evening to condemn the detention of two parents outside a Baltimore school, an incident that unfolded in front of children and has rattled the community. Ellie Wolfe and Maya Lora/The Baltimore Banner.
MONTGOMERY STUDENT JOURNALISTS PROTEST NEW MONITORING RULE: More than 150 Montgomery County Public Schools students have signed an open letter to district leaders citing concerns over censorship after a March memo from the district directed administrators to review student publications before distribution. Students from all 25 high schools and the leaders of 20 student newspapers in the district signed the letter, which raises concerns about the freedoms of student journalists in Maryland. Ashlynn Campbell/Bethesda Today.
SCHMOKE TO RETIRE FROM UB PRESIDENCY AFTER 12 YEARS: Kurt Schmoke, the president of the University of Baltimore, will retire next year. The former mayor of Baltimore, Schmoke has led the university for 12 years. He informed the University System of Maryland Board of Regents on Friday that he would step down. Schmoke didn’t provide a statement about his retirement, which was announced via a news release from the university. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLANDER AMONG TRICK MOTORCYCLISTS WHO PERFORMED AT WHITE HOUSE: Maryland native Travis Pastrana and five of the world’s most famous motorcycle riders performed tricks on the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday afternoon. Bill Wagner/The Capital Gazette.
