DOJ PRESSES CASE AGAINST EDUCATION AID FOR STATE’s UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS: The Department of Justice is asking a federal judge in Maryland for summary judgment in its lawsuit challenging a 2011 state law that provides in-state tuition and other education-related assistance to undocumented immigrants living in the state. Maryland is one of 21 states where federal attorneys have filed similar lawsuits. Last month, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General asked that the federal government’s case be dismissed, a motion the Justice Department pushed back on. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
‘TRICK’ SENDS SOME MARYLAND IMMIGRANTS TO DC FOR VIRTUAL HEARING: Some Maryland immigrants are discovering a surprising twist in their immigration cases: They’re being ordered to report to Washington, D.C. — often on short notice — to attend a virtual hearing with a judge back in Baltimore. The Washington location isn’t associated with any known immigration court. One attorney said she thought the address was a mistake when a potential client brought the notice to her office. Daniel Zawodny and Shayla Colon/The Baltimore Banner.
TRIBES WITHDRAW FROM BAY TALKS AMID LACK OF REPRESENTATION: A collective of Indigenous tribes seeking a voice in the Chesapeake Bay restoration movement said Monday that, after their campaign for inclusion was recently rebuffed, they’ve had enough. Governors and federal officials from across the bay watershed pledged less than a year ago to study the inclusion of seven federally recognized tribes in the four-decade-old bay cleanup effort. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
- The Virginia-based tribes began their quest last January, hoping to be added as a single signatory — the status awarded to each of the state governments surrounding the bay. Their effort fell short, but the state governors in the bay region commissioned a Chesapeake Bay Program committee to study the idea, approving a document that called Indigenous knowledge “vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.” But discussions reached an impasse earlier this month. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
OPPO POLL: MORE MARYLANDERS OPPOSE REDISTRICTING THAN SUPPORT IT: Maryland Democrats’ efforts to make it easier to gerrymander congressional districts have more opposition than support, according to a statewide poll released Tuesday by a group opposing redistricting. The poll found that 41% of Marylanders are opposed to a constitutional amendment on redistricting that will appear as Question 3 on general election ballots. Just 28% of those polled supported the redistricting question, while 31% remain undecided. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: IF MARYLAND CAN SET HOSPITAL RATES, IT CAN MAKE THEM TRANSPARENT: In June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services named 519 hospitals nationwide that have failed to follow federal pricing transparency rules, a rarity for a government agency. Four of those hospitals are in Maryland. This should embarrass Maryland more than most states. Maryland is the only state in the country where a government commission already sets hospital rates, although this is set to change in 2028 with the imposition of the federal Achieving Healthcare Efficiency through Accountable Design Model. Peter J. Pitts/Maryland Reporter.
JAWANDO RETURNS TO IN-PERSON DUTIES THIS MORNING: Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando, who is also running for county executive, is scheduled to return to his in-person duties this morning after suffering a heart attack on Sept. 5. This afternoon, the council will also host a celebration commemorating Montgomery County’s 250th anniversary. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
FOOD TRUCK OWNERS PACK ARUNDEL COUNCIL TO PROTEST ZONING CHANGE: Food truck owners packed an Anne Arundel County Council meeting Monday night to push back against proposed zoning changes they say could hurt their businesses. The proposal includes restrictions on when and where food trucks can operate. According to the legislation, food trucks would be limited to operating up to three days a week and between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Ja Nai Wright/WMAR-TV News.
HOSPITAL’s 4-YEAR-OLD NURSES UNION FINALLY RATIFIES CONTRACT: Nearly four years after unionizing, nurses at Baltimore’s St. Agnes Ascension hospital finally came to an agreement with management and were able to ratify a contract last weekend. The contract will give the more than 600 nurses at St. Agnes Ascension a 5 to 6 percent pay increase over three years, protection against mass layoffs and an end to the practice of forcing nurses to cover units outside of their expertise. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
B’MORE RESIDENTS SUE TO STOP HARBORPLACE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN: A group of Baltimore residents accused top city officials of violating city and state laws and regulations by approving a $900 million Harborplace redevelopment plan, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Plaintiffs, mostly residents who live downtown near the Inner Harbor, said in the complaint that Mayor Brandon Scott and the City Council disregarded procedures to push ahead with MCB Real Estate’s vision of replacing waterfront pavilions with apartment and office towers. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW TIMELINE FOR DEMOLITION OF HARBORPLACE: There’s one thing clear about the demolition of Harborplace: No one seems to know when it will happen. MCB Real Estate applied for construction permits this summer that listed a proposed start date of Oct. 15, even as the Baltimore-based developer had yet to secure the hundreds of millions of dollars in financing needed for its redevelopment plans. But vendors at the waterfront pavilions in downtown Baltimore said they’ve heard different timelines — or nothing at all.Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.
RAPE CASE AGAINST CITY OFFICIAL’s SON REFERRED TO BA COUNTY: The case of a 20-year-old son of a senior Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office official who is accused of sexually assaulting two 13-year-old girls, including one in which DNA testing determined he fathered a child born to one of the girls, has been referred to Baltimore County prosecutors because of the potential conflict of interest. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
GEMMA HOSKINS, WHO INVESTIGATED MURDER OF LOCAL NUN, DIES AT 73: Gemma Hoskins, a former Maryland Teacher of the Year known for investigating the local murder of a nun in the 2017 Netflix documentary series “The Keepers,” died Sunday. Hoskins, 73, was a student of Sister Cathy Cesnik at Archbishop Keough High School and spent years investigating Cesnik’s 1969 murder even before being featured as an advocate in the Netflix series. Cayla Harris/The Baltimore Banner.
- Hoskins and fellow investigator Abbie Schaub were students at Archbishop Keough, an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore, when Cesnik taught them English. Cesnik, a 26-year-old nun whom Hoskins credited with inspiring her to become a teacher, disappeared in November 1969. Her body was found two months later in a wooded dumping area in Baltimore County. Her killing has never been solved. Jonathan Pitts/The Baltimore Sun.
