LAUNCH OF PAID LEAVE A RELIEF FOR FAMILIES, A WORRY FOR BUSINESSES: State officials announced the launch Tuesday of the long-awaited family leave policy that will let Marylanders take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to nurture a newborn baby, take care of loved ones or manage their own significant medical challenges. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
MOORE’s VIEWS ON DATA CENTERS NOW LEANS TOWARD LOCAL CONTROL: Gov. Wes Moore is striking an evolving tone on the state’s data center boom just two years after his administration helped clear regulatory hurdles for the industry and months after he tried to block a state study examining its potential consequences. “Data centers do not get to write the rules,” Moore said during a recent appearance on “The Root” podcast. “They do not get to override local opinion. We have to make sure that the power belongs to the people.” Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
BA CO COUNCIL WANTS TO EXTEND DATA CENTER MORATORIUM: Baltimore County lawmakers want to extend the county’s moratorium on data centers for another year, even as the Planning Board has yet to finalize the report that was supposed to help determine how the facilities should be regulated. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
AUDIT: MTA FAILED TO COLLECT $818M IN TOLLS AND FEES: The agency that oversees the state’s toll roads and bridges has failed to collect more than $818 million in tolls and fees it was owed, according to a new audit. The audit finds the Maryland Transportation Authority also did not take steps to have other states help collect from out-of-state motorists. The amount owed to the agency is nearly equal to the agency’s fiscal 2025 operating expenses, which total more than $885 million. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
STATE TO PRIORITIZE ROADS PROJECTS ALREADY IN THE PIPELINE: Maryland will spend marginally fewer dollars on roads and transit projects in the coming six years, when funds will be directed at existing projects as well as those in the pipeline prioritized for safety, maintenance and economic development. A proposed $21.9 billion six-year transportation plan is $200 million less than the version of the plan released this time last year. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- Officials say this year’s plan keeps all major ongoing projects around the state moving, including rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, finalizing the Purple Line light rail in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and upgrading Interstates 695 and 81. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
MUDDY RUNOFF STILL FLOWS INTO GUNPOWDER FROM JOPPA DEVELOPMENT: The plume of muddy water in the Gunpowder River, once so vast it could be seen from space, has receded somewhat. But Foster Branch, the creek that flows into that Chesapeake Bay tributary, still looks like it’s brimming with creamed coffee. Muddy runoff from Ridgely’s Reserve, a large housing development in Joppa continues to foul Foster Branch and the Gunpowder River months after the developers agreed to pay a record $4.1 million in penalties and compensation to settle a four-year run of alleged pollution violations. Timothy Wheeler/The Bay Journal.
EXELON UTILITIES WON’T REFUND $32M TO CUSTOMERS, CITING STATE LAW: Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and Delmarva Power customers are jointly owed more than $32 million, according to the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel. But the potential refund is stalled because of a disagreement over how to interpret state laws. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.
REP. HARRIS BLASTS CANADA, SAYS ALBERTA SHOULD BECOME 51st STATE: Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said on Monday that Canada eventually will have to make concessions and reach a trade deal with President Donald Trump because Ottawa needs access to the American economy far more than Washington needs Canadian trade. Nicole Weatherholtz/Newsmax.
- Harris also suggested the United States should make Alberta its “51st state” if the oil-rich province breaks away from Canada, jumping on President Donald Trump’s repeated tease of the nation’s northern neighbor. David Gilmour/Mediaite.
BA CO COUNCIL SUPPORTS ALLOWING IG’s OFFICE TO CONTINUE ISSUING REPORTS: A majority of the Baltimore County Council is backing legislation that would explicitly allow the county’s inspector general’s office to continue issuing public reports without a permanent inspector general, setting up a debate over who should be responsible for the watchdog’s work in the absence of its top official. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
MAYOR SCOTT SEEKS JURY TRIAL IN DISPUTE WITH IG: Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration is demanding a jury trial to resolve its legal battle with the city’s inspector general, arguing that members of the office have made sweeping demands for city records that extend far beyond legitimate investigations. Brian Carlton/The Baltimore Sun.
SIXTH CASE OF RABIES FOUND IN ARUNDEL: Two animals – a bat and a raccoon — tested positive for rabies Monday in Anne Arundel, the county health department announced Tuesday. The infections mark the fifth and sixth confirmed rabies cases of an animal this year in Anne Arundel County. Last year, the county found three animals that tested positive for rabies. Katherine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
HOWARD POLICE PROBE SWASTIKAS PAINTED AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Howard County Police are investigating after two swastikas, each 12 to 18 inches wide, were found spray-painted outside Phelps Luck Elementary School in Columbia — just days into the new school year and about a year after a federal investigation found the school system mishandled complaints of antisemitic harassment. April Santana/The Baltimore Sun.
That is a bold move by the Mayor to seek a Jury Trial. Typically, us citizens by a wide majority want the IG’s office to be able to investigate. Why does he constantly try to hinder the efforts of this office. It is not a good look on him, no matter what BS reason he gives as to why he is fighting. There is only one reason to fight the IG and that is if you are afraid something will come back on you or a connected ally, plain and simple.