DEL. WILKINS NOW SUPPORTS BILL TO ALLOW SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES: Legislation to move toward a system of special elections that would allow voters – rather than the county committees of the two major political parties – to fill mid-term vacancies in the Maryland General Assembly will soon be reintroduced in Annapolis, in advance of the 2025 legislative session. In previous attempts to pass the bill, it died when it reached the House Ways and Means Elections Subcommittee where it ran into resistance from the subcommittee chair, Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, who has now said she supports the measure. Louis Peck/MoCo 360.
STATE NEEDS MANY MORE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKERS: Maryland needs to increase the number of behavior health care workers by about 50% to meet current demands, a “significant problem” that only gets worse in coming years unless the state finds ways to boost the workforce. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
B’MORE MAYOR SCOTT SAYS HE WON’T BEND TO TRUMP THREATS OVER POLICE USE: Mayor Brandon Scott says he won’t allow Baltimore’s law enforcement priorities to be influenced by President-elect Donald Trump’s advisers’ threats to cut federal funds to states or cities not cooperating with a mass deportation plan. Tom Homan, Trump’s pick for “Border Czar,” said Sunday that funds could be slashed to states whose police officers or other officials refuse requests to assist federal authorities in what Trump aides say will be the largest deportation program in American history. Jeff Barker and Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
INCOMING CONGRESS WILL HAVE RECORD NUMBER OF BLACK MEMBERS: The 119th Congress that will be sworn in next year will have a record number of Black lawmakers, including Angela Alsobrooks, the first Black woman to be elected a U.S. senator from Maryland. There will also be an unprecedented number of Democrats in the Congressional Black Caucus — 62 in total. In addition, there will also be five Black Republican lawmakers. Mitchell Miller/WTOP-FM.
FRUSTRATION BOILS UP FOR CIVILIAN B’MORE POLICE REVIEWERS: For a year and a half, a small group of Baltimore residents has been reviewing and recommending charges in police misconduct cases. But over the last several months, a longstanding frustration has been getting worse. Two members of the five-person administrative charging committee say it has been getting documents from the Baltimore Police Department just as the misconduct cases are set to expire. Of the roughly 1,000 cases the committee has reviewed, nearly half were received within 15 days of their expiration, according to city data. Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner.
MO CO PLANS TO CONTINUE USING GARBAGE INCINERATOR: Despite years of pleas from nearby residents to shut it down, Montgomery County plans to continue to use an incinerator in its western area to burn about 550,000 tons of county garbage every year until, likely, 2031, a county official said. Dana Munro/The Washington Post.
PG INVESTMENT FIRM FINED $17.2M IN PONZI-TYPE SCHEME: The owners of a Prince George’s County investment firm have been fined $17.2 million and banned from offering investment or security services in the state after running the operation in a manner that court documents said was similar to a Ponzi scheme. Staff/Maryland Matters.
FORMER HARFORD COUNCILMAN SUES COUNCIL PRES: Former Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie filed a lawsuit against Council President Patrick Vincenti last week, seeking a return to the council and an injunction restraining Vincenti from what Guthrie sees as interfering with his performance of official duties. Matt Hubbard/The Aegis.
B’MORE POLICE PROBE CITY VEHICLE ARSON: Police are investigating a Thursday night fire that destroyed a city-owned vehicle outside Baltimore City Hall as arson, a spokesperson for Baltimore Police said. The fire occurred around 9:41 p.m. in the 400 block of East Fayette Street, according to police. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
MARY PAT CLARKE REMEMBERED FOR TIRELESS COMMUNITY SERVICE: The memories of residents, prominent and otherwise, across Baltimore are emblazoned with experiences of Mary Pat Clarke, who had spent a total of 32 years on the Baltimore City Council and died in November at 83. Clarke was the first woman to occupy the powerful council president post, and an active lawmaker who championed noteworthy efforts like the city’s first fair wage act. But she will likely be best remembered for her tireless brand of community service. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
CAPITAL GAZETTE REPORTER PAT FURGURSON DIES AT 70: Ernest Baker “Pat” Furgurson III, 70, died on Nov. 25. He was the sort of journalist who is increasingly rare, someone who came to the profession late in life, yet managed to have a profound impact on his colleagues, his community and journalism itself. Pat covered a tragedy that swept up him, the newspaper we worked for, Annapolis, and for a moment, the nation. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
- Born in San Diego, Calif., he was the son of Mary Louise Stallings Furgurson, a library worker, and Ernest B. “Pat” Furgurson Jr., a former Baltimore Sun foreign correspondent. Newspapers were a family trade. Mr. Furgurson’s grandfather worked as a newspaper printer, and as a child, Mr. Furgurson lived in Moscow – when it was in the Soviet Union — for almost three years with his family while his father worked as a correspondent. Natalie Jones and Bridget Byrne/The Baltimore Sun.
