STATE PUSHES AI, RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT JOB LOSS, BUT MUM ON SOLUTIONS: Gov. Wes Moore says Maryland workers have reason to be concerned about artificial intelligence. But as his administration pushes to make the state a leader in the technology, it has yet to spell out what it would do if AI begins eliminating Maryland jobs. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
HEALTH OFFICIALS, LAWMAKERS AT ODDS OVER MEDICAID PAYMENTS TO INMATES: Lawmakers were left frustrated and confused Wednesday after a 2.5-hour discussion with state auditors and health officials turned into a debate over whether millions in Medicaid payments made on behalf of incarcerated individuals were proper. Health Department officials said 75% of the $6.4 million in payments identified in a May audit report were actually allowable for inmates who had been hospitalized – a detail that was not made clear to auditors until after their report was finished. They stood by the audit, which repeated some problems found in previous audits of the department. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
20,000 MARYLAND RESIDENTS FROM EL SALVADOR FACE POSSIBLE END OF TPS: More than 20,000 Maryland residents are facing an uncertain future as the Trump administration weighs ending a longstanding legal protection for immigrants from El Salvador. For decades, Temporary Protected Status has allowed people from designated countries to remain in the U.S. while their home countries recover from extraordinary circumstances, like a natural disaster or armed conflict. It’s initially granted for 18 months, but federal officials have extended the protection for Salvadorans continuously since 2001 as gang violence there worsened. Daniel Zawodny, Brenda Wintrode and Antonio Planas/The Baltimore Banner.
- Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said at least 10,000 county residents from El Salvador are believed to be eligible for temporary protected status. “These folks have been in this county for decades. They’ve built homes, paid taxes, raised their children and they’ve had their lives here for a long period of time. And now, it’s all being uprooted,” Elrich said. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
OP-ED: AFTER FIGHT OVER REDISTRICTING, VOTERS WIN: As a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, I had a front-row seat to the fight over congressional redistricting. I saw the difficult conversations, the setbacks and the moments when it would have been easier to walk away. But Gov. Wes Moore and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk never did. Now, after the Supreme Court of Maryland’s decision, the people of our state will have the opportunity to decide the future of congressional redistricting at the ballot box this November. That is a major victory for Marylanders, and it did not happen by accident. Rep. Joe Vogel/The Baltimore Sun.
AMTRAK TUNNEL WORK FORCES BGE TO RETHINK UNDERGROUND LINES: Amtrak’s $6 billion plan to build a new passenger rail tunnel through Baltimore is forcing BGE to relocate an underground transmission line that serves more than 46,000 customers — a piece of utility work that has sparked a fight over whether the new wires should be above ground. Chevall Pryce/The Baltimore Sun.
HIGH COURT REJECTS PG EXEC CANDIDATE’s BALLOT APPEAL: Maryland’s highest court ruled Wednesday that a long-shot candidate for Prince George’s County executive does not qualify for the November ballot, affirming a lower court’s ruling. The Supreme Court of Maryland heard arguments in the case Wednesday morning, and issued its ruling a few hours later. John Domen/WTOP-FM.
BCCC PRES DEFENDS SCHOOL AFTER CRITICAL AUDIT: The president of Baltimore City Community College defended the school against a recent state audit that found management problems and the potential payment of financial aid to nonexistent “ghost students,” but said Wednesday that improvements remain a work in progress. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
TWO EARTHQUAKES SHAKE CECIL COUNTY: Two earthquakes — measuring magnitudes 2.1 and 1.7 — struck Cecil County on Wednesday morning, according to the Maryland Geological Survey. The quakes were recorded at 12:41 a.m. and 5:54 a.m. near Rising Sun. Rising Sun Town Administrator Calvin A. Bonenberger Jr. said that officials checked surrounding infrastructure and found no damage. Christopher Scarglato/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE EMPLOYEE TRIED TO STOP IG FROM ACCESSING EMAILS, DOCUMENTs: A Baltimore City senior employee sought to cut the Inspector General’s access to their emails and documents while under investigation last year, prompting the watchdog to conclude the move violated city technology policy and could represent an abuse of the employee’s power and position. The finding comes as Inspector General Isabel Cumming and Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration are locked in a broader legal fight over the watchdog’s access to city records. Maggie Trovato/The Baltimore Sun.
- The investigation was rebutted forcefully by Scott’s office, which said the IG’s office was retaliating against the employee. The employee is not named in Cumming’s report. But they have been the subject of several IG reports, multiple sources confirmed, including one earlier this year that said the employee made threatening comments on a city messaging platform that fostered a hostile work environment. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
