WORKGROUP RECOMMENDS JETTISONING CONTESTED RACES FOR CIRCUIT JUDGES: After years of study, a judicial workgroup is recommending that Maryland do away with contested elections for its 175 circuit court judges, saying the process presents ethical problems and poses a risk to judges’ safety in the current political atmosphere. Instead of standing for reelection every 15 years in a campaign in which they could face challengers, the workgroup said that circuit judges should face voters every 10 years in a retention election, where voters get a simple yes-or-no choice of whether to keep the judge on the bench. Louis Peck/Maryland Matters.
IS ABORTION REALLY ON THE MARYLAND BALLOT IF THE WORD ISN’T USED? Maryland voters will have the chance to weigh in this fall on Question 1, a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to enshrine “reproductive freedom,” a change supporters say will protect access to abortion, among other procedures. Even though the constitutional amendment is billed by advocates to protect one’s right to an abortion, the word “abortion” doesn’t appear on the ballot. Opponents call that a legal loophole “you can drive a Mack Truck … through,” and have put forth any number of far-reaching possible scenarios the amendment could allow. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
GROWING NUMBER OF CATHOLICS VEER FROM DOCTRINE ON ABORTION: The doctrine of the Catholic Church on abortion could hardly be more clear: Life begins at conception and continues through natural death, and that places most abortions in the canonical category of grave, if potentially forgivable, sin. A growing number of Catholics, however, cite church teachings that say one’s conscience should take precedence over doctrine when it comes to making complex moral decisions, opening the door for abortion rights within the faith. A referendum on which Marylanders will vote next month has laid bare this clash within Catholicism, and in an unusual development, both sides are speaking out. Jonathan Pitts/The Baltimore Sun.
SEN. KAGAN VISITED EVERY 911 CENTER IN MARYLAND AND LEARNED A LOT: State Sen. Cheryl Kagan has spent the past decade working to update 911 centers across Maryland. Kagan, who represents the Gaithersburg and Rockville area, said she was driven to improve emergency response after learning that three people in her district died from 911 call response failures. This past week Kagan finished up a years-long tour of every 911 call center in the state. Following her tour, she said the biggest misconception is that no one thinks about 911 until they need it. Penelope Blackwell/The Baltimore Banner.
MONEY PEOPLE BEHIND MEDIA BLITZ ON HARBORPLACE BALLOT ISSUE A MYSTERY: The persons and groups behind the social media campaign urging voters to approve Question F, which would allow apartment buildings at Baltimore’s Harborplace and Inner Harbor Park, remain unclear despite a state-mandated disclosure report. So how did it manage to buy ads in the Baltimore Banner and Baltimore Sun as well as campaign through robotexts and on Facebook and other social media? Mark Reutter/The Baltimore Brew.
CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGE PIER PROTECTION HAS DETERIORATED: The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March launched national probes into reinforcing the country’s infrastructure, but one need not look far to find an essential span recently in need of pier protection improvements. In multiple locations on the eastbound span of the iconic Chesapeake Bay Bridge — the original of the structure’s two spans, which opened in 1952 — the “pier protection is deteriorated, detached, and missing,” according to the most recent official inspection of the bridge. Hayes Gardner and Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
SCIENTISTS PETITION TO PUT DIAMONDBACK TURTLE ON ENDANGERED LIST: Maryland’s state reptile deserves a place on the federal endangered species list, a group of concerned scientists is urging. The Diamondback terrapin, so-called for the geometric pattern atop its shell and best known as the beloved mascot of the University of Maryland, has lost enough of its population in the past several decades to warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. The center filed a petition last month for the terrapin with NOAA Fisheries, which administers such protections for marine species. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
OPINION: ALSOBROOKS’s COMMENT SHEDS LIGHT ON HOGAN’s FAILURE TO BACK HARRIS: You know when someone says something that’s both obvious and profound and it crystallizes something you’ve long felt but couldn’t articulate? That’s what Senate hopeful Angela Alsobrooks did during a debate last with rival Larry Hogan. Sarah Longwell, a Maryland resident and founder of Republicans Against Trump, explains why her fandom of the former Republican governor has been tarnished by his inability to support Vice President Kamala Harris for president even though he too is a never Trumper. And she has Alsobrooks to thank for turning on the light. Jonathan Last and Sarah Longwell/The Bulwark’s Secret podcast.
MORE DEVELOPMENTS, NEW ETHICS LAW POSSIBLE IN LIGHT OF HOGAN STORY: There could be further developments related to a revealing story published by Time Magazine, claiming that decisions made by former Gov. Larry Hogan while he was in office improperly benefited clients of his Annapolis real estate brokerage firm. “I think Hogan was legitimately quite surprised to have had this drop right at the minute that it did,” said Ian Anson, a political science professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Nick Iannelli/WTOP-FM.
- While he was governor, Hogan voted five times in favor of state aid for affordable housing projects undertaken by developers that were listed, at one point, on a website for the Hogan Cos. as partners the firm had worked with, Time magazine reported on Thursday. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- Maryland Democrats aiming to keep Republican Larry Hogan from winning Maryland’s heated U.S. Senate race said Friday that both more investigations and more robust state ethics laws are needed in light of new reporting indicating the former governor did not recuse himself on votes that financially benefited companies he was associated with. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- The proposal, announced Friday and already with critical support from House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), would set into state law how future leaders must shield their business interests from their public life. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
TRONE TAKES A BOW IN GARRETT COUNTY: Retiring U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-6), expressed his gratitude to local Democrats as he arrived at an appreciation picnic at Swallows Falls State Park on Sept. 29. Before the picnic, Trone made a visit to pick up a gift and give his thanks to members of the Garrett County Board of Commissioners. Staff/The Garrett Republican.
NEW MO CO EXEC TERM LIMIT ON THE BALLOT: Montgomery County voters casting ballots for the Nov. 5 presidential election are asked to decide whether the county executive should be limited to serving a total of two consecutive terms. The current term limit is three consecutive four-year terms, or 12 years. If the referendum passes, the county charter would be amended to reflect the term-limit change. Here are five things to know about the referendum on voters’ ballots. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
85% OF STRs IN MO CO ARE UNREGISTERED, REPORT SAYS: More than three-quarters of short-term residential rentals being offered in Montgomery County are unregistered, according to a report from the county’s Office of the Inspector General. The findings in the latest report from Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi show that more than 85% of the more than 1,400 short-term residential rentals operating in Montgomery County are not licensed. Kate Ryan/WTOP-FM.
LABOR UNIONS AID EFFORTS TO DEFEAT B’MORE COUNCIL REDUCTION PUSH: If Mayor Brandon Scott and the Baltimore City Council are able to defeat Baltimore County media executive David Smith’s effort to reduce the council’s size at the ballot box this November, they will have labor unions to thank for it. The mayor’s “Stop Sinclair” ballot committee has raked in $158,000 since Aug. 21, with $150,000 coming in from unions, according to the most recent campaign finance disclosures filed Thursday. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
