MOORE, BROWN EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE LAWSUIT OVER DALI CRASH: Gov. Wes Moore and Attorney General Anthony Brown are planning “a major announcement” today related to the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending it toppling into the Patapsco River nearly six months ago. Neither official offered details on their announcement. But it comes just before a deadline to file claims in an ongoing legal case surrounding the M/V Dali ship. State officials laid the groundwork for the litigation months ago. Pamela Wood and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
ALSOBROOKS TELLS D.C., PRINCE GEORGE’S SHE’LL PAY BACK TAXES: Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks (D) has notified officials in D.C. and Prince George’s County that she will pay back taxes she owes both jurisdictions after improperly claiming homestead and senior property tax credits on homes she owns. Alsobrooks — the Prince George’s County executive who is in a tight race for Maryland’s open Senate seat against former governor Larry Hogan (R) that could determine which party holds the majority in that chamber — was not aware of the errors, a campaign spokesman said Sunday. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
- Alsobrooks’ attorney has written letters to both jurisdictions pledging to pay back any taxes that should have been collected. Her lawyer deemed the matter an “inadvertent error” that she aims to rectify. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- “The reality is, I would never take a tax credit I wasn’t entitled to,” Alsobrooks told reporters Monday night. This is hardly the first time that a high-profile political candidate with more than one property has been dinged by reports that they sought to claim tax breaks they were not entitled to. The question is whether it has a long-lasting or detrimental impact for Alsobrooks in her race for Senate against former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
ALSOBROOKS CAMPAIGN EMPHASIZES THE ’51st VOTE:’ Senate Democratic hopeful Angela Alsobrooks is on what her campaign calls the “Defend Our Majority Tour” around the state of Maryland. “What we know is that this election, so that we are level-setting, is not about whether or not we like my opponent, whether he’s a nice guy, whether he should have been elected as governor, but the question we are answering in this election is who should have the 51st vote?” she said to the applause of a crowd in South Baltimore. Rachel Baye/WYPR-FM.
OPINION: DOES HOGAN HAVE A SHOT IN DEEP BLUE MARYLAND? “I don’t think I’m going to be the 51st vote.” As political pitches go, Larry Hogan’s chief argument for being Maryland’s next U.S. senator is pretty far from “hope and change”-style uplift. Talking with reporters after a recent campaign event, Hogan, a former governor and a moderate Republican, was presenting himself essentially as an agent of damage control, a bulwark against partisan dysfunction and his own party’s MAGA excesses. As he tells it, the GOP this year will win a 51-vote Senate majority — or larger! — with or without him, so traditionally blue Maryland has nothing to lose. Michelle Cottle/The New York Times.
JUDGE WON’T STAY ORDER STRIKING B’MORE BALLOT QUESTION: An Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge will not stay her order that struck down a Baltimore City ballot question, pending an appeal of her order to the state’s highest court. The Maryland State Board of Elections sought the stay last week after appealing Judge Cathleen Vitale’s order invalidating Question F, which was included on already-printed city ballots. Attorneys for the state elections board also filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Maryland. Vitale on Monday, citing the appeal and a similar motion before the state Supreme court, decided not to act on the motion to stay her ruling. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
SOME SAY HARFORD SUPER SHOULD RESIGN AFTER STUDENT’s KILLING: Several members of the Harford County Board of Education say Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson should step down after the Sept. 6 shooting death of a student inside Joppatowne High School. During a school board meeting on Monday, Board Vice President Melissa Hahn said Bulson knew about the security shortfalls at the school and did nothing until a student was killed. Staff/WBAL-News Radio.
- The president of the Board of Education said Bulson was not to blame for the shooting. He called for an independent review of the shooting that will be made available to the public. Jessica Albert/WJZ-TV News.
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COLUMN: THE FIGHT FOR WATER ACCESS CONTINUES IN ARUNDEL: Ten years after I first met two advocates working to open access to Anne Arundel County’s waterways, they are angry. They say Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman has slowed the momentum they helped build. The county government has, they said, gotten bogged down in feasibility studies and caters to neighbors who want to keep the public away. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
TRIAL WEEK NO. 2: NAVAL ACADEMY DIVERSITY EFFORTS IN COURT: How to maintain and grow diversity at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis is at issue in a trial that is entering its second week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The Naval Academy has been sued by an anti-affirmative action group, Students for Fair Admissions, over its use of race and ethnicity as a factor in admissions. The same group successfully sued Harvard and the University of North Carolina, leading to the Supreme Court striking down those schools’ race-conscious admissions policies. Jean Marbella/The Baltimore Sun.
MIDDLE SCHOOL STAFFERS ARRESTED FOR FAILING TO REPORT RAPE: The former principal of Aberdeen Middle School, a paraeducator and at least one other school staff member were arrested in July after investigators said they delayed reporting information regarding an alleged “rape incident” to authorities, as required by law, Aberdeen Police said Monday. Matt Hubbard/The Aegis.
