MARYLAND’s AGING POPULATION GROWS A BIT FASTER THAN NATION’s: America is aging, but Maryland is aging faster. Those are the findings of new Census numbers that show the number of Marylanders age 65 and older grew by 3.35% from 2023 to 2024, while the number of those under age 18 fell by 0.06%. Nationally, the increase of older adults was 3.1% while those under 18 shrank by 0.10%. Sam Gauntt/Maryland Matters.
LOBBYISTS’ POLITICAL DONATIONS SKYROCKET BEFORE 2026 ELECTION: Lobbyists seeking to influence Maryland officials donated about $2.6 million to the campaigns of those officials since the last statewide election in 2022 — a nearly 75% increase compared to the same period during the previous four-year term, according to an analysis. The spike in donations has helped pad the campaign war chests of Gov. Wes Moore, top leaders in the General Assembly and hundreds of other rank-and-file lawmakers or local officials before another important election next year in 2026. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
A YEAR AFTER MOORE’s WEED PARDONS, IMPACT LIMITED: Last June, Gov. Wes Moore (D) issued a blanket pardon to 100,000 people in Maryland, forgiving decades of low-level marijuana possession charges in one of the nation’s most far-reaching acts of clemency. A year after the pardons — which Moore has called record-setting “both in impact and scope” — their practical impact has been limited. Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.
IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES WORRY COURT ACTION COULD SPUR CHILD SEPARATIONS: The Baltimore City Circuit Court’s administrative judge last month ordered that some types of hearings about the custody of children seeking permanent legal status take place in person, rather than virtually. Some advocates worry that the change could make the children and the adults in their lives easier targets for detention and deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Alex Mann and Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
ANALYSIS: WHAT MARYLAND CAN LEARN FROM MAMDANI’s NYC WIN: Until recently, Maryland’s political landscape has been dominated by senior Democrats, whose centrist, establishment politics continue to hold sway in the State House and in many local governments. Young, aspiring politicians are frequently told to wait their turn before seeking higher office. Even in a state legislature with Democratic supermajorities, progressive initiatives are often held at bay. So the pulses of young progressives in Maryland quickened considerably last week when a 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist, Zohran Mamdani, emerged as the unlikely victor in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City and is now the frontrunner in the November general election. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
HARRIS, HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS FOLD AGAIN: It took almost all night and well into the morning, but the House Freedom Caucus, which is lead by Marylander Andy Harris, eventually folded under pressure Wednesday morning to allow President Donald Trump’s massive policy agenda to advance. Again. Paul Kane/The Washington Post.
- Rep. Andy Harris voted to approve the measure he said will save more than a trillion dollars for the country’s bottom line and deliver Trump’s tax policy. Maryland Democrats in Congress have blasted the Republican-led bill, saying it will hurt American families. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
- Harris was again in the holdout camp on Wednesday. But a day and a night of conversations with the White House and Republican leadership resulted in a compromise: The White House committed to cuts to federal programs through executive actions — cuts that could reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars. In exchange, Harris and the holdouts would vote for the bill. Ben Mause/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND’s CONGRESS MEMBERS GOT FREE TRIPS: TO WHERE AND WHO PAID? Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation or their staffs got thousands of dollars worth of international or domestic travel paid for by nonprofit groups, some of which have strong policy agendas, according to congressional ethics disclosures. The destinations included Bellagio on Italy’s Lake Como; Dublin; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Orlando, Fla. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
FROSTBURG STATE SEEKS TO EXPAND CHINA COLLEGE PROGRAMS: Despite rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, Frostburg State is working to expand by growing its existing program and looking to collaborate with a second Chinese college. College officials laud the international push as moneymaking, which could help the regional university recover from declining enrollment and state cuts that have led to a multimillion-dollar deficit and recent layoffs. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
GUN DEATHS PLUMMET IN BALTIMORE CITY: In 2021, shortly after starting his first term, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) rolled out a comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence in a city that had long been troubled by one of the deadliest homicide rates in the nation. The strategy was to approach gun violence as a public health threat instead of simply a crime issue. Now four years in, Scott said, the plan is working. As of July 1, 68 people in Baltimore had died by homicide this year, the fewest during the first six months of the year in more than five decades. Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.
ARRESTS IN ‘FTC’ SCAM THAT COST PG RESIDENT $85,000: A 59-year-old Prince George’s woman first got a text alert in late April saying that her Apple ID had been compromised and used to make unauthorized purchases, authorities said. She called the phone number listed in the message and was transferred to someone posing as an agent for the Federal Trade Commission. She eventually was scammed out of the $85,000, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson said at a news conference Thursday announcing an indictment in the case. Jasmine Hilton/The Washington Post.
SAVING FORT GARRISON FORT: On a Baltimore County cul-de-sac a few turns off Interstate 695, a 20-by-40 stone structure with 2-foot-thick walls stands amid ranch-style homes. The three-century-old structure — one of the oldest in the state — is Fort Garrison Fort. While next-door neighbors have been part of its preservation for two centuries, if you don’t live next door there are few opportunities to learn about the fort’s history. Nori Leybengrub/The Baltimore Banner.
JEFFERSON LETTER SELLS TO ANNAPOLIS COLLECTOR: A significant letter written by founding father Thomas Jefferson sold Friday for the asking price of $90,000 and will return to Maryland, the state where it was penned 242 years ago. The letter, featuring Jefferson’s large and even right-handed slant “went to a private collector in the greater Annapolis area,” according to a text message from Nathan Raab, president of the Raab Collection, a dealer of historical documents based in Pennsylvania. Mary Carole McCauley/The Baltimore Sun.
SAVING FORT GARRISON FORT — Thanks for this article. Interesting such an ancien5 structure is still standing intact.