STATE SCIENTISTS ARE STUDYING WHY SALTWATER OVERTAKING WOODLANDS: “Ghost forests” are among the most tangible indications of a changing climate in the Chesapeake Bay region. In just a four-county swath of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, state surveys show that more than 400,000 forested acres have been newly impacted by saltwater over the past decade. Those trees, scientists say, are doomed, soon to be replaced by marsh. Jeremy Cox of the Bay Journal/Maryland Reporter.
AS TEMPS RISE, NEW HEAT SAFETY STANDARDS WILL BE TESTED: Maryland’s heat safety standards for workers are being put to the test as temperatures and heat indexes approach 100 degrees across the state. The standards, which took effect last fall under Maryland‘s Occupational Safety and Health, require specific rest periods and access to water for workers exposed to extreme heat. Jeff Morgan/WMAR-TV News.
MARYLAND HASN’T JOINED CALIFORNIA EV SUIT AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN: Attorney General Anthony Brown has filed or signed onto two dozen lawsuits by states challenging Trump administration actions. But not this one. When California filed suit last week to defend its ability to set tougher vehicle emission standards — standards aimed at speeding adoption of electric vehicles — 10 states that had adopted the standards quickly joined the suit. Even though Maryland has adopted the California rules, it did not join. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
DESPITE ROADBLOCKS, NEIGHBORS CONTINUE TO FIGHT DR. CARSON’s SOLAR FARM: Ever since his northern Baltimore County neighbors learned that Dr. Ben Carson was planning to turn his $2.4 million home into a solar farm, the opposition has been ready to fight it. Time after time, their efforts have been stymied. And this year, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law this year that essentially puts the state in charge of solar facilities. Farmers pushed back and tried to convince the governor not to sign it, but he did. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
HARFORD SHERIFF CONFIDENT ICE WON’T CONDUCT LARGE SCALE OPS THERE: Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler does not believe large-scale Immigration Customs and Enforcement operations will occur in Harford County due to a longstanding agreement the county has with the federal agency that operates out of the county’s detention center. “For ICE to focus their resources here, to me, doesn’t make sense because we are a cooperating partner,” Gahler said. Matt Hubbard/The Aegis.
EX-CITY MAYOR, NOW A COUNTY RESIDENT, WEIGHS IN ON REDISTRICTING: Former Baltimore City Mayor Jack”Young is joining opponents of a plan to divvy up Baltimore County into nine council districts, saying it is gerrymandered. Young is weighing in because he now lives in the county and he doesn’t like what the proposed plan would do to his neighborhood. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
- Redrawing the political lines in Baltimore County can be a rough and tumble affair. Costly too. One of the challenges that the council faces as it tries to approve nine districts is that the ghost of redistricting past is lurking. Matt Bush and John Lee/WYPR-FM.
UMMS SUES MEDICAID INSURER FOR DENYING CLAIMS: The University of Maryland Medical System is filing suit against a Medicaid managed care organization for $15 million in denied claims. The lawsuit alleges that Maryland Physicians Care MCO “engaged in longstanding, ongoing, deliberate, and systematic practices of denying timely and complete payment for covered medical services provided to MPC Members by UMMS.” Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
- The complaint alleges that Maryland Physicians Care MCO broke legal and contractual obligations by denying payment not as “a reasonable disagreement over medical judgment” but in a “broad, bad-faith refusal to acknowledge the realities of patient care, driven by a pursuit of enhanced profitability.” Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
JACKSON PONDERS SEEKING PG STATE’S ATTORNEY’s SEAT: A day before she’s to be sworn in as interim Prince George’s County state’s attorney, Tara H. Jackson summarized her philosophy Tuesday. “My philosophy is simple. I will always try to do the right thing, to seek truth, to uphold the law and to pursue justice,” Jackson said during a briefing Tuesday. Jackson immediately said she was not interested in running for the permanent county executive job. But state’s attorney, which she calls a return “to my roots,” is different. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MTA REVEALS NEW BUS SERVICE FOR BALTIMORE AND ITS PRICE TAG: The CityLink Red between Lutherville and downtown Baltimore via Towson arriving every 8 minutes; three new express bus routes; more frequent overnight and weekend service for people who don’t work typical 9–5 schedules. All that and more is possible, according to a new Maryland Transit Administration vision plan. The agency just needs a little more than $1.1 billion to do it all. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
NAVAL ACADEMY SEEKS DISMISSAL OF RACE BIAS LAWSUIT: The U.S. Naval Academy said this week that because it stopped considering race in admissions earlier this year, as ordered by the Trump administration, a lawsuit seeking to cut race from consideration at the military academy is no longer needed. James Matheson/The Baltimore Sun.
JUDGE VACATES MARYLAND MAN’s JAN. 6 GUN CONVICTION: Five months had passed since President Donald Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people charged with crimes relating to the 2021 Capitol attacks, but a small group had remained entangled in additional criminal matters. Among them was Elias Nick Costianes, imprisoned since February after agents found firearms and drugs during a post-Jan. 6 raid of his Baltimore County home. Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.
