MD DEMS SAY HOGAN’S WORDS ON TRUMP DON’T MATCH RECORD: Former Gov. Larry Hogan paints himself as one of a few Republicans who never backed down to ex-President Donald Trump, but the Democratic attorney general who served during Hogan’s two terms disagrees. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
NEW WATCHDOG FOR PG CO SCHOOLS: Prince George’s County Public Schools has a new office of Integrity and Compliance. But while school offices are in Upper Marlboro, the new I&C officer Frank Turner’s office is in Largo, an indication of the independence he intends to show as he digs into waste, fraud and abuse within a school system that’s been plagued by scandals and corruption. John Domen/WTOP.
POLITICAL REFORM GROUP REPORT CARD ON CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION: Seven members of Maryland’s congressional delegation received perfect scores from Common Cause, the national political reform organization, for their votes during the 118th Congress. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), took the “wrong” position, in Common Cause’s view, on all 13 House measures that the organization scored during this Congress. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
18-year-olds READY TO CAST A VOTE: Nearly two-thirds of Maryland’s roughly 78,000 18-year-old residents are registered to vote, according to data published Tuesday from the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, College Park, outpacing registration rates in battleground states and providing a potentially decisive group of new voters. Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
FROSTBURG LOST $680,000 ON ABANDONED FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM: Frostburg State University officials did not comply with procurement policies and procedures when they acquired a new financial aid system, then walked away from the system resulting in a net loss of $680,00, according to a state audit released Monday. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
NONPROFIT SECOND CHANCE HAS NEW LAWSUIT: Baltimore’s architectural salvage store Second Chance, its founder and its subcontractors have committed wage theft against dozens of workers, a new federal lawsuit alleges. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
WORKERS AND WORKPLACE PLAN IN FREDERICK: Outreach meetings for a new planning initiative that will focus on commercial and employment hubs in Frederick County are scheduled to begin this week. Earlier this year, the Livable Frederick Planning & Design Office and the Frederick County Division of Economic Opportunity started gathering information to inform the Investing in Workers and Workplaces Plan. Ceoli Jacoby/Frederick News Post.
BALTIMORE SETTLES OPIOID CASE: The city of Baltimore settled its case with Johnson & Johnson over claims that the company fraudulently and recklessly marketed opioids. The settlement comes on the day that the case was supposed to go to trial. The details of the settlement have not yet been released.Scott Maucione/WYPR.
- Baltimore settled with Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals that the city accused of aggressively marketing the drugs and pumping them into pharmacies here. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Sun.
PAYING FOR PIMLICO PROJECT STILL A CONCERN: Questions were raised anew Monday about the ability of lottery funds to cover costs for the planned renovation of Pimlico Racetrack, which will be competing for funding with several other Maryland Stadium Authority projects. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
STATE HEARING SET FOR SYKESVILLE SOLAR FARM PROPOSAL: The Maryland Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing next week on a proposal to build a solar facility on farmland in Sykesville. Spring Valley Solar 1 LLC intends to build a 2.25-megawatt solar farm on 14 acres of an 80-acre property. Sherry Greenfield/Carroll County Times.
BROWN TAPS ANOTHER MUSLIM MEMBER FOR HATE CRIME PANEL: Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) on Monday nominated Adileh Sharieff to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention, the latest chapter in the controversy over the makeup of the panel in the wake of the war in Gaza. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
LANTERNFLY HERE UNTIL FIRST FREEZE: Maryland residents are dealing with an increasing number of invasive lanternflies, which experts say will persist until the first freeze. “They get on my nerves like you can’t even believe,” said Jake Boone, a resident. Jessica Boyles, the coordinator for the Spotted Lanternfly Program at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, reports a rise in lanternfly populations. Lisa Robinson/WBAL-TV.
HARBORPLACE REDEVELOPMENT OFF THE BALLOT: Critics of a ballot question needed for a waterfront apartment project to be built at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Park were ecstatic today when a judge invalidated it, saying that the question violates the Maryland Constitution and that its wording is unclear. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
IT’S NOT TOO EARLY TO MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE SAYS MO CO OFFICIALS: With the Nov. 5 general election less than two months away, Montgomery County Board of Elections officials say it’s not too early to make a plan to vote. Voters who intend to vote by mail and request their ballots by Sept. 23 will receive ballots as part of the first batch to be sent out, elections director Boris Brajkovic said during Monday’s board meeting. Voters can request mail-in ballots until Oct. 29 and web-delivered ballots until Nov. 1. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
GRANT FUNDING TO BE USED FOR PUBLIC HOUSING, NOT PRIVATE LANDLORDS: The Annapolis City Council is considering a resolution that would take a $500,000 grant that was to go to private landlords and use it to rehabilitate some public housing instead. If passed, the resolution would give the money to the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, which has been experiencing a multiyear financial crisis due to unpaid rent. Megan Loock/The Baltimore Sun.
SYRINGES, HYGIENE PRODUCTS AMONG MEDICAL WASTE ON MD BEACHES: Public officials said Monday that medical waste and debris continued to wash ashore on the state’s beaches, though less than the amount that led authorities from Maryland, as well as Delaware and Virginia, to close beaches to swimming and wading on Sunday. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
