SENATE PRESIDENT BILL FERGUSON NAMES NEW KEY LEADERS: Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson announced a new leadership team ahead of the 2027 legislative session, naming Sen. Brian Feldman majority leader and promoting several Black lawmakers to senior leadership and committee posts. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
- Sen. Antonio Hayes, a two-term Democrat from Baltimore City, will become the first Black lawmaker to chair the Senate Finance Committee, one of a series of changes that will make Senate leadership younger and less Montgomery County-centric. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
WES MOORE’S FUTURE TIED TO BALTIMORE: Moore has prioritized persistent Baltimore problems, focusing on policing and gun safety laws, committing tens of millions to reducing vacant properties, and targeting the state’s lowest-income communities with a new anti-poverty program. But undelivered promises, like building the Red Line, and the state’s projected multibillion-dollar budget shortfalls could make future progress more difficult. John-John Williams IV and Emily Opilo/The Banner.
- Three years after Maryland Gov. Wes Moore promised to resurrect Baltimore’s Red Line, the project remains stuck in a planning stage with little progress. There are no trains, no construction and no firm opening date, despite Moore previously announcing construction would begin in 2026 or 2027. There is, however, a growing tab for taxpayers. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
REP. RASKIN GOES ON THE ROAD TO HELP DEMOCRATS NATIONWIDE: Texas. Ohio. Michigan. These are among the more than two dozen states U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin has traveled to in organizing for fellow Democrats in competitive races this fall. He’s on the campaign trail to help Democrats take the majority away from what he calls the Trump and MAGA-controlled House, Senate, White House and Supreme Court. Ashna Balroop/ Capital News Service/Bethesda Today
HALF OF MD SCHOOLS EARN FOUR OR FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE: Half of the slightly more than 1,300 public schools in Maryland earned four or five stars out of five on the state’s annual report card of individual school performance, an increase from last year, according to data released Thursday. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
LIERMAN SEEKS ANOTHER TERM, DUNN JUST WANTS AN EAR IN SUBDUED COMPTROLLERS RACE: Republican comptroller nominee Sonya Dunn acknowledges she’s got her work cut out for her in her bid to unseat Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), the first woman to hold the office when she was elected in 2022. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
IF HOWARD CAN’T STOP AN ICE FACILITY, MAYBE THEY CAN TAX IT: State lawmakers representing Howard County plan to introduce a bill next session aimed at raising tax rates for a proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Elkridge. Lillian Reed/The Banner.
FOLLOWING DEATH OF AA CO TEEN ON E-MOTO, ADVOCATES CALL FOR MORE STATE RULES: Cycling safety advocates are renewing their call for tighter regulations on electric motorcycles and similar devices after a 14-year-old died while riding one in Anne Arundel County last week. Cody Boteler/The Banner.
VOTERS HEAD TO THE POLLS TUESDAY. HERE’S WHAT MO CO VOTERS NEED TO KNOW: Montgomery County voters will head to the polls to choose their new top official Tuesday and a slew of other county leaders — including all 11 County Council members and two new school board members. Ginny Bixby/The Banner.
FLU RATES ARE LOW FOR NOW WHILE SOUTH AND WEST SEE SPIKES: Maryland has yet to see an influx of flu cases, even though early spikes have shown up in the south and west of the United States, according to medical experts at Johns Hopkins University. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
CARING FOR AGING PARENTS IS GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE: Costs of caregiving were second-highest in the South Atlantic region, which stretches from Maryland to Florida, at an average of $13,364 in out-of-pocket costs annually, according to the report. Anna Claire Vollers/Maryland Matters.
