Editors Note: Maryland Reporter wishes everyone a wonderful and safe holiday. We’ll be back on Friday, Monday and Tuesday, but take New Year’s Day off.
TRUMP TARIFFS LOOM OVER PORT OF BALTIMORE’s MEXICO CAR IMPORTS: President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on foreign countries, including an immediate 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada and an extra 10% on China, are the stuff of economists’ nightmares and would have far-reaching effects on the American economy — and on the Port of Baltimore and the regional economy. Baltimore is home to the busiest car port in the world’s top car-importing nation. And no country sends more cars to Baltimore than Mexico. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Banner.
WORK ON NEW KEY BRIDGE TO START IN JANUARY: Crews will start surveying the Patapsco River and the land near the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge in January to collect data for designing a new bridge, Maryland officials confirmed Monday. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
- Preconstruction activities will kick off the rebuilding effort that’s expected to take nearly four years and cost about $2 billion. President Joe Biden had requested congressional approval for the federal government to foot the bill entirely, funding that was put in question during congressional negotiations to pass a spending bill and avert a government shutdown. Tim Prudente/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND TO GAIN D.C. AIR NATIONAL GUARD SQUADRON: Maryland is poised to gain control of a D.C. Air National Guard squadron, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson has confirmed, putting back into place the third major component of a multilayered deal around the District’s control of the RFK Stadium site that was briefly derailed during Congress’s negotiations over the federal spending bill. Erin Cox, Steve Thompson, Meagan Flynn and Cate Cadell/The Washington Post.
MARYLAND MUST TURN OVER BALTIMORE JAIL RECORDS: A federal judge on Friday dealt the state of Maryland two setbacks in its efforts to extricate itself from a decades-long federal lawsuit over health care and mental health services in Baltimore’s jails. Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner.
NEW MARYLAND LAWS COMING IN NEW YEAR: After a hefty legislative season with hundreds of laws hitting the books in Maryland in 2024, the start of the new year brings more than a dozen new pieces of legislation. From changes in health insurance coverage and election protocols to traffic safety precautions, here are some of the laws that go into effect in January. Clara Longo de Freitas/The Baltimore Banner.
O’MALLEY CALLED TO TESTIFY BEFORE HOUSE OVERSIGHT ON REMOTE WORK OK AT SSA: Former Maryland governor and commissioner of the Social Security Administration Martin O’Malley has been called to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month about an agreement he signed to allow some Social Security employees to work remotely through 2029. O’Malley signed the agreement in late November, two days before leaving his Social Security Administration position. Raquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
IN ‘RETIREMENT,’ REP. TRONE TO CONCENTRATE ON CHARITIES: Rep. David Trone (D-6th) is ready to turn the page. Again. After a successful career in business, another six years in Congress and more than $60 million of his fortune invested in a failed bid this year for U.S. Senate, Trone said he does not intend to return to the helm of Total Wine & More and he doesn’t have “any immediate interest” in the political arena. He wants to spend more time now working with charities. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: WES MOORE CLAPS BACK: Voters voted – intentionally or not — against diversity in a state that still values it when the rejected Circuit Court Judge Ginina A. Jackson-Stevenson. She was the first Black judge defeated by a white challenger in Maryland since 2004. Now, the governor has doubled down on his pick. Gov. Wes Moore appointed her again. This time, he named her to fill one of two recent Circuit Court vacancies at the Annapolis courthouse. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
CROWDED BALLOT FOR PRINCE GEORGE’S SPECIAL PRIMARIES: Prince George’s County voters will have plenty of people to choose from in a pair of March 4 special primary elections. Twelve people had filed paperwork by Friday’s deadline to seek the county executive position and seven signed up for the vacant County Council District 5 seat. The winners of those races will face off in a special general election on June 3. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
BROCHIN INTERVIEW FOR BA CO EXEC FALLS FLAT WITH DEPORTATION STANCE: Former state State Sen. Jim Brochin, who made the cut to the final five candidates for Baltimore County Executive, surprised his interview panel and audience by sounding more like Donald Trump than a Democratic candidate in a county where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2 to 1. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: GENERAL ASSEMBLY MUST FIX HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: While Maryland’s expansion of Medicaid has significantly reduced the rate of the uninsured, critical gaps remain. Too many Marylanders are still without insurance, and those living in or near poverty are almost three times as likely to be uninsured. … It’s time for the Maryland General Assembly to act. The people of this state are tired of a broken, corrupt healthcare system. Jared Schablein/MarylandReporter.com.
AMTRAK CONTRACTOR REMOVES RUINS OF HISTORIC 1866 RAIL BRIDGE: A contractor for Amtrak removed the final ruins of an 1866 rail bridge from the Susquehanna River last month, despite opposition bolstered by a startup that argued the 10 remnant piers should have stayed due to their historical proximity to the Underground Railroad. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
JOHN WILKES BOOTH CHILDHOOD HOME DESIGNATED HISTORIC: The childhood home of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and his family of well-known Shakespearean actors has been designated a Harford County Historic Landmark for its architectural and historical significance. Matt Hubbard/The Aegis.
SALARY OF $63,582 NEEDED TO AFFORD 1-BEDROOM APT IN CARROLL: It takes a salary of $30.42 per hour, or an annual income of $63,582, to comfortably afford a one-bedroom apartment in Carroll County, according to the findings of a new housing study. The monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the county averages $1,582, and the average wage for a renter in Carroll County is $25.40 an hour. Sherry Greenfield/The Carroll County Times.
