MARYLAND PRISONS MOST DEADLY IN THE COUNTRY: Prisoners are more likely to be killed in Maryland than in nearly any other state, with a homicide rate last year that was nearly four times the national average, based on available data gathered by The Banner. Since 2023, 32 incarcerated people in state-run correctional facilities have been killed. That’s more than all of Maryland’s neighboring states combined. Justin Fenton, Ben Conarck and Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
UNION, STATE CLASH OVER PRISON STAFFING: Union leaders representing Maryland correctional officers met with state leaders Tuesday to address what they say is a staffing crisis that puts the lives of inmates and officers at risk, but said they left it far apart from state officials. The meeting comes amid heightened tensions between the state’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3. Will Hammann/Maryland Matters.
MOORE ISSUES EO FOR ASSEMBLY TO RETURN; REPUBLICANS MAY BOYCOTT: Gov. Wes Moore (D) has issued an executive order calling the Maryland General Assembly back to Annapolis next month. House and Senate leaders had already agreed on an Aug. 3-5 special session to pass legislation that will set legal standards for how the state’s eight congressional districts are drawn. Moore’s July 17 executive order represents a necessary legal formality. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- When the Maryland General Assembly goes into a special session Aug. 3, there may be dozens of empty seats because members of the Republican Party may boycott. Jane Bellmyer/The Cecil Whig.
OPINION: WHO IS BUILDING MARYLAND’s SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: Sustainability is no longer an academic buzzword. It is part of my title as a leader in the Design, Construction and Energy Division at the Maryland Department of General Services. Our team oversees 24 million square feet of state facilities, manages nearly 500 active construction projects and helps lead Maryland’s transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. But if the past two decades have shown how quickly ideas can become practice, they have also exposed another challenge that has not progressed nearly fast enough: Who is building our sustainable future? Hannah Debelius/The Baltimore Sun.
HARRIS PROVISION COULD OPEN OYSTER PROJECTS TO COMMERCIAL HARVESTS: Environmentalists are decrying language that U.S. Rep. Andy Harris added to a U.S. House spending bill that would open future federally supported oyster restoration projects around the Chesapeake Bay to commercial harvesting. Harris, Maryland’s lone Republican member of Congress, inserted the provision into a bill funding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The House Appropriations Committee passed the bill on a 32-28 vote in May. It is expected to come up for a vote by the full House in the coming weeks. Jeremy Cox/The Bay Journal.
HARRIS SKEPTICAL ON KEY BRIDGE TIMELINE: Maryland’s lone Republican in Congress said on Tuesday that he is skeptical the Francis Scott Key Bridge can be rebuilt by late 2030 and wants clearer answers about the project’s cost as the federal government is being asked to provide additional funding. Rep. Andy Harris declined Gov. Wes Moore’s invitation to tour the construction site Monday. Mennatalla Ibrahim and Maggie Trovato/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE AUDIT FINDS FAILURES IN MONITORING SNAP BENEFITS: A new legislative audit laid out more problems for Maryland’s Department of Human Services, this time regarding the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Most eye-popping among the findings was the state’s failure to terminate SNAP benefits for a person who won a $2 million lottery prize in July 2023. The computer systems of the state gaming commission and the Department of Human Services are supposed to cross-reference lottery winners and those receiving federal benefits, according to the audit. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE UNVEILS DEVELOPMENT TEAM FOR BOWIE MARC STATION DEVELOPMENT: State and local officials touted a transit-oriented development project for the MARC station at Bowie State University that would bring hundreds of affordable housing units to Prince George’s County, but could take several years to come to fruition. The Bowie State project is slated to include more than 400 housing units, retail and commercial businesses and office space. Part of the project will also include creation of pedestrian and bicycle access between the station and the campus. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
- Under the master vision, out are the station’s big surface parking lots and some of the nearby wooded area; in are multifamily, single-family and senior housing units, as well as new retail and commercial spaces, with a focus on walkability and connectivity to the train station. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE VOTERS FACE CHARTER BILLS TO ALTER GOVT FINANCES, STRUCTURE: Baltimore voters will have the final say this fall on sweeping changes to the city’s finances, government structure and infrastructure plans after the City Council approved — and Mayor Brandon Scott signed — eight charter amendments and ordinances headed to the Nov. 3 ballot. Chevall Pryce/The Baltimore Sun.
INCOMING BA CO STATE’S ATTY SHAPED BY A CLOSE FRIENDSHIP:The friendship between incoming Baltimore County State’s Attorney Sarah David and former NBC producer Brooke Nevils has withstood decades, distance, marriages and four kids between them. It has endured through what Nevils describes as the most traumatic time in her life — the night she said Lauer raped her at the 2014 Sochi Olympics — and the aftermath. Both women say that Nevils’ experience has shaped the way they understand the dynamics between sexual assault and power. Céilí Doyle and Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
BA CO COUNCILMEMBERS QUESTION OLSZEWSKI’s ROLE IN CONTROVERSIAL IG MEETING: Some Baltimore County Council members are questioning why former County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s role in arranging a controversial private meeting between his chief of staff and the county’s inspector general at a cafe was not disclosed until years after the encounter triggered litigation, outside investigations and more than $125,000 in taxpayer costs. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
No wonder our legislature doesn’t want to enforce laws anymore, they don’t even want to fund or run prisons properly. Afterall they have no money. But they can spend $4.4 billion to preserve or create 10,000 housing units which come to $440,000 per unit. Do these politicians have any sense on what things cost? Whose hands are getting greased by this ridiculous Dem Party of MD. Why do the Dem constituents put up with this BS?