TRUMP OFFICIALS REMAIN SILENT DESPITE WARNINGS OVER SHUTTERED FIRE ACADEMY: A top firefighter training program based in Frederick County remains shuttered despite firefighters’ repeated warnings to Trump officials that its shutdown leaves first responders less prepared. The National Fire Academy trains 100,000 firefighters a year, many at its 107-acre hub in rural Emmitsburg. Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE’s TRADE TRIP HASN’T YIELDED FRUIT JUST YET: Gov. Wes Moore returned to Annapolis after six days in Japan and South Korea last month with a promise: His first major international trade mission would produce results — a “tangible return on investment” that would show itself “not in years, but in months and in weeks.” Nearly three weeks later, the Democrat hasn’t unveiled any new deals beyond the seven new or renewed agreements he touted while abroad. But experts say his trip followed a long line of overseas voyages from other governors that yielded positive benefits both in the short and long term. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
DEMOLITION OF PIMLICO TO START THIS SUMMER: Next Saturday, May 17, thousands of fans will flock to the Pimlico Race Course for the 150th Preakness Stakes. It will be the last time the historic race is held there before the site undergoes a major transformation. The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a demolition permit — an official first step with a plan to rebuild the facility from the ground up. Clark Construction will handle the $14.3 million demolition, which is scheduled to start in late June or early July. Wambui Kamau/WYPR-FM.
CHURCH SEX ABUSE SURVIVORS URGE OTHER VICTIMS TO SUE NOW: Sex abuse survivors scoffed at the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s claim of “charitable immunity” in bankruptcy court and encouraged others Wednesday to sue the church before financial damages face new limits next month. “Just when you think you may be reaching the end of the Catholic Church’s road of hypocrisy, they find a way to pave another 50 miles,” survivor Frank Schindler told reporters outside the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore. Luke Parker/The Baltimore Sun.
- Heeding a request from a committee that represents survivors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle M. Harner recently issued an order that temporarily allows survivors to file lawsuits in state or federal court. Alex Mann and Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
SURVIVORS’ DATA MAY HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED: The names and information of victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore may have been compromised by a cybersecurity breach in early March, according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
SECTY FOR STATE VETERANS TO MOVE TO PRIVATE SECTOR: A search is underway for a new secretary for the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families to replace Anthony C. “Tony” Woods, who is leaving May 11 to take a job with a private sector technology startup. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
***Join Maryland Reporter at the Annual Spring Party of the Community Foundation of Howard County on Thursday, May 15, 5-8 p.m. in Columbia for food, drink, socializing and networking. Help raise critical operating funds for the foundation’s mission to connect people, places and organizations to worthy causes across Howard County and beyond. Click here for more information and tickets.***
FEDERAL CUTS PUNCH LARGE HOLE IN BALTIMORE’s BUDGET: The trickle down effects of the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce have arrived on Baltimore’s doorstep. After weeks of warnings that the city may come up short on income tax revenue as a result of layoffs to federal employees, city budget officials announced Wednesday that Baltimore now expects to receive $5.9 million less in income tax for the coming fiscal year. Further reductions, officials said, could be coming. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
ARUNDEL SCHOOLS WON’T SEE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF BLUEPRINT REFORM: Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman Bob Mosier says his district is spared the effects of Gov. Wes. Moore’s original Blueprint reform bill. While the bill signed Tuesday delayed the funding increases, it left it up to area school boards to decide whether to increase collaborative time for fiscal year 2026. Arundel schools won’t cut teacher collaborative time or community schools, which are set to grow instead. Benjamin Rothstein/The Baltimore Sun.
ANNAPOLIS PLAN FOR ELECTRIC FERRY HITS TROUBLED WATERS: The future of an electric ferry that Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley has been championing since his reelection in 2021 is uncertain as the City of Annapolis awaits the outcome of a multimillion-dollar federal grant review. Megan Loock/The Baltimore Sun.
