THOUSANDS OPPOSING PROPOSED 3-COUNTY TRANSMISSION LINE: Thousands of farmers, homeowners and environmental advocates have packed into fire halls and senior centers this month to oppose a plan they only recently learned about: a proposed $424 million, 70-mile energy transmission line that would run through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. Rona Kobell and Penelope Blackwell/The Baltimore Banner.
BROTHER OF MURDERED MOM RACHEL MORIN SPEAKS AT RNC: The brother of murdered Maryland mom Rachel Morin spoke Tuesday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Morin, a mother of five, was found raped and murdered along Harford County’s Ma & Pa Trail in August 2023. Her suspected killer, Victor Martinez Hernandez, who police say was in the country illegally, was arrested in Oklahoma and was extradited to Maryland. Adam Thompson/WJZ-TV News.
- “Open borders are often portrayed as compassionate and virtuous,” said Michael Morin, 40, of Churchville. ”But there is nothing compassionate about allowing violent criminals into our country and robbing children of their mother. My sister’s death was preventable.” Caley Fox Shannon of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
- A 23-year-old undocumented immigrant from El Salvador was arrested last month in the killing, sparking national interest and Republicans’ highlighting of the case to hammer Democratic President Joe Biden on his approach to the southern border. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
BOSSIE A STAR AT GOP CONVENTION: There is only one celebrity in the Maryland delegation to the Republican National Convention, and it isn’t an elected official, party donor or business titan. David Bossie is a central figure in former President Donald Trump’s orbit — and in the broader conservative political movement. He’s the head of Citizens United, the provocative national conservative organization that has literally changed the way campaigns are waged in America. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
HOGAN THE ELEPHANT NOT IN THE ROOM: As the country’s premier Republican Party event was nearing its first-night high on Monday, the party’s most successful candidate in modern Maryland politics — one whose next chapter is on the line in just a few months — was the elephant not in the room. Larry Hogan, the two-time former governor and nominee for U.S. Senate this year, was 800 miles away, making him the only major Republican candidate in a competitive Senate race not in Milwaukee. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
HARFORD SCHOOLS TO ALLOW AP AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES AFTER ALL: The Harford County school board reversed its June decision and decided to allow an Advanced Placement African American studies course they’d previously called “divisive” to be taught in high schools. Liz Bowie/The Baltimore Banner.
- The vote followed at least 2 1/2 hours of public comment from about 60 speakers, most of whom urged the board to let the course continue. The approval came with minor revisions, the biggest of which is the inclusion of various projects that students will have to do, such as studying a current or historical figure or an issue, in addition to the final exam that can earn students college credit. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
NUMBER OF B’MORE TEENS SHOT DROPS: Fewer teens have been shot in Baltimore during the first half of this year than in any in the last decade, a Banner analysis of police data has found. The number of high school-aged teens shot in Baltimore has fallen by more than two-thirds compared to last year’s 10-year-high watermark. This downward trend follows an overall decrease in homicides in Baltimore. Ela Jalil, Ryan Little and Fernando Becerra/The Baltimore Banner.
HOGAN EDGES PAST ALSOBROOKS IN LATEST FUNDING REPORTS: Maryland’s Republican senate candidate Larry Hogan edged out his Democratic opponent, Angela Alsobrooks, in fundraising during this year’s second quarter, even as a super PAC has assembled millions more that could be put toward installing him in the Senate. The financial muscle behind Hogan could boost the former governor as he vies to flip a seat that has been blue for decades. Katie Shepherd, Steve Thompson and Clara Ence Morse/The Washington Post.
TRONE FAILS TO EARN NO. 1 SPOT FOR SELF-FINANCED SENATE CAMPAIGNS: U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Potomac) fell short in his effort this year to become the state’s next U.S. senator–but he came close to setting a national record of sorts while trying. Trone—multimillionaire co-owner of Total Wine & More, a nationwide chain of alcohol beverage retail outlets–reported funneling nearly $62.5 million of his personal fortune into a year-long unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination. The record for a self-funded Senate race is held by Republican Rick Scott of Florida, who invested $63.57 million of his own money in winning a Senate seat in 2018. Louis Peck/MoCo 360.
MO CO TERM LIMITS ADVOCACY GROUP SUBMITS 20,000 SIGNATURES: A citizen’s group seeking term limits for the county executive in Montgomery County has submitted to the county Board of Elections more than 20,000 petition signatures — more than twice as many as needed to place the question on the November ballot. Dick Uliano/WTOP-FM.
PETITION CALLS ON UM OFFICIALS TO ‘UNHIRE’ FORMER MO CO SUPER: Days after the University of Maryland hired a former Montgomery County superintendent, a new online petition is calling for university officials to “reverse course” on the decision. The Change.org petition claims that the hiring of former Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Monifa McKnight to a leadership position at the University of Maryland is “unacceptable and immoral.” Valerie Bonk/WTOP-FM.
