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FEDS MOVE BAY BRIDGE REPLACEMENT AHEAD, IT COULD BE AS SOON AS 2032: It’s official: the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, central Maryland’s gateway to the Eastern Shore, is getting replaced by something bigger and taller. Federal highway officials have signed off on the environmental review process for replacing the aging, 4-mile structures linking Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s Counties, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority, which owns and operates the bridge and other tolled facilities across the state. Daniel Zawodny/The Banner.
- The Maryland Transportation Authority has secured final environmental approval from the federal government for a new Bay Bridge, settling on two new four-lane bridges with full shoulders that would follow the path of current bridge as the preferred route for the project. Thomas Robertson/WTOP.
LANDOWNERS PETITION U.S. SUPREME COURT IN PIEDMONT POWER LINE CASE: A group of Maryland landowners aggrieved by land surveys for a proposed 67-mile electricity transmission line across northern Maryland are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their case. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
VAN HOLLEN SETS 2028 DECISION TIMELINE AND TALKS DEMOCRATIC PARTY SHIFT: As the adrenaline rush settles following the Democratic sweep across the country in this year’s midterm elections, Maryland’s senior U.S. Senator is eyeing what comes next for himself, and the Democratic Party. MIKENZIE FROST/Fox 45 News.
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GOV PROMOTES LONG-SERVING AIDE TO CHIEF OF STAFF: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made a key leadership change days after winning reelection, appointing longtime administration official and adviser Manny Welsh as chief of staff. Brenda Wintrode/The Banner.
WILL CONGRESSIONAL MAP BE REDRAWN BEFORE 2028? MAYBE: Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved Democrats’ bid to ease redistricting guidelines for congressional districts, but lawmakers say more information and conversations need to be had before deciding if a new map will be drawn before 2028. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
STATE ALLOCATED $800 MILLION TO NONPROFITS IN 2025: The state of Maryland spent more than $800 million on nonprofit grants and loans of $50,000 or more in fiscal year 2025, according to state data. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun
VIEW UPDATED VOTE COUNTS FOR QUESTION 3: Vote counts for Maryland’s redistricting Question 3 and other state, local and federal midterm election contests are mostly in. Tallies from early voting and earlier arriving mail-in ballots were released first, followed by in-person Election Day counts. Later arriving mail-in ballots and provisional ballots remain to be counted. BALTIMORE SUN STAFF.
BA CO VOTE TO CHANGE APPOINTMENT PROCESS FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL: Baltimore County residents voted to take politics out of the position of Inspector General in Baltimore County. On Tuesday, residents voted for Question C to change how the Inspector General is appointed. Normally in the county, the county executive recommends someone for the position and county council votes on it. Raven Payne/WMAR- 2.
HO CO VOTERS POISED TO HAND LAST REPUBLICAN COUNCIL SEAT TO A DEMOCRAT: Howard County is poised to have no Republicans in county government for the first time since council districts were created in 1986, as Democrat Cat Carter led Republican Ryan O’Connor for the western County Council seat that has been the party’s last foothold. April Santana and Kiersten Hacker/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE LAWMAKERS EX-TREASURER CHARGED WITH THEFT OF $87,000 IN CAMPAIGN CASH: A Baltimore lawmaker’s former campaign treasurer has been charged with taking money from his campaign account — more than $87,000 — without his knowledge, according to court documents. Brenda Wintrode/The Banner.
RASKIN CLASHES WITH REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER OVER TRUMP, DEMOCRATIC AGENDA: U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is poised to lead the House Judiciary Committee after Democrats won control of the chamber, clashed with a Republican colleague on CNN Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s impeachments and the direction of the new Congress. Konner Metz/The Baltimore Sun.
UNDER FIRE AFTER A SERIES OF DEATHS, CORRECTIONS CHIEF CAROLYN SCRUGGS IS OUT: Carolyn Scruggs is out as secretary of Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and David Greene, the agency’s deputy secretary of operations, will replace her “at least” in the interim, a source with knowledge of the change told The Baltimore Sun on Thursday. Konner Metz/Baltimore Sun.
IN INCREASINGLY BLUE FREDERICK COUNTY, VOTERS ECHO NATIONAL ANGER, CALLS FOR CHANGE: The dethroning of a GOP stalwart in the county was one of several examples of Republican seats flipping to Democrats in Maryland — and across the country — in Tuesday’s election. Democrats in Frederick County turned over more seats than any other county in the state. Sara Ruberg and Justin Fenton/The Banner.
NEW RULES ADOPTED AFTER MISSING BALTIMORE BOY’S CASE EXPOSES GAPS: A series of sweeping new Department of Human Services rules aim to better protect children under state supervision if they run away or go missing. Maryland created a statewide youth services coordinator responsible for overseeing such cases — along with counterparts in each county — and strengthened communication with local law enforcement under a policy adopted in September. Jessica Calefati, Lee O. Sanderlin and Jessica Gallagher/The Banner.
GREEN PARTY, WORKING CLASS PARTY, LOST TUESDAY BUT SCORED A VICTORY: Maryland’s third-party candidates for governor didn’t come anywhere close to winning this year’s election. But the Green and Working Class parties won something else: enough votes to make it easier to get their candidates on the next ballot. Pamela Wood/The Banner.
OFFICIALS SAY FARM KEEPS POLLUTING DESPITE FINE AND LAWSUIT: The alleged culprit is Kilby Farms, an industrial-scale dairy operation that, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), is unleashing wave after wave of pollution. It flows into Basin Run, a tributary of the Susquehanna River that formerly abounded with aquatic life. Jeremy Cox and Emmett Gartner/Bay Journal.
‘ONCE IN A GENERATION DECISION’: MO CO COUNTY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON TRASH INCINERATOR’S FUTURE: Montgomery County on Tuesday should get an answer on the future of its long-debated trash incinerator. The County Council will vote on whether to close or renovate the aging Dickerson facility, council President Natali Fani-González announced Wednesday. She called it a “once-in-a-generation” decision. Ginny Bixby/The Banner.
