MOORE EXPECTED TO SIGN STATEWIDE BAN ON ICE PARTNERSHIPS TODAY: Gov. Wes Moore will outlaw a key tool of President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation plan on Tuesday when he signs a statewide ban on partnerships between local law enforcement and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY LÓPEZ RESIGNS ‘FOR HEALTH REASONS:’ Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López will resign from his role, effective Feb. 23, Gov. Wes Moore announced in a Monday afternoon news release. Lopez’s departure follows months of criticism surrounding how DHS handles foster care children, SNAP, and other programs within the agency. Cale Ahearn and Mikenzie Frost/WBFF-TV News.
- The agency was rocked by the death of a 16-year-old foster girl, Kanaiyah Ward, in September in the Baltimore hotel where she had been living under the watch of a worker contracted by the state. The medical examiner’s office determined the death was a suicide, and a public outcry ensued over housing youth in state custody in hotels and other unlicensed settings. López said in a statement that he is resigning for health reasons. Jean Marbella/The Baltimore Sun.
- “Secretary López built a more solid foundation for service, and together we will continue to build upon that progress,” Moore said. But lawmakers, who have increasingly been at loggerheads with the secretary in recent months, welcomed the change in leadership. Republican lawmakers in particular have been calling on Moore to fire López since October. Danielle Gaines/Maryland Matters.
BILL WOULD REFORM AUTOMATIC CHARGING FOR SOME OFFENSES: The General Assembly is once again considering legislation to remove certain offenses from the list that automatically charges children as adults. The acting secretary of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Betsy Fox Tolentino, discussed her support for the Youth Charging Reform Act and her upcoming Senate confirmation. She has been the department’s acting director since June. Katherine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
TRUMP BLAMES MOORE FOR POTOMAC SPILL; FEMA SAID TO RESPOND: Federal authorities will respond to the 300-million-plus-gallon sewage spill in the Potomac River, President Donald Trump said Monday in a Truth Social post where he blamed Gov. Wes Moore and other Democrats for the spill. Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
- It’s unclear what actions FEMA will take. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening. The spill has been largely contained in recent days. A temporary replacement line is in place — though it is susceptible to failure — and full repairs are expected to take months to complete, DC Water officials said last week. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
- The spillage, which resulted from a section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsing last month, resulted in an overflow of roughly 243 million gallons of wastewater as of Feb. 6, according to DC Water. Although public health officials have said the spillage did not impact drinking water quality, residents are still encouraged to avoid contact with the Potomac River. Max Rego/The Hill.
- The public is quite concerned about the sewage spill, including the odor and possible health issues, especially once the weather warms and more people seek to use the Potomac for recreation. Matt Gregory/WUSA-TV9.
MOORE’s AMBITIONS RUN UP AGAINST MARYLAND DEMOCRATS: Gov. Wes Moore’s national political ambitions could be stymied by Democrats in his own backyard. The governor’s power play to redraw the state’s congressional lines and snare Democrats a single House seat has earned him accolades from progressive activists and party leaders in Washington, raising his profile as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. But Moore also has been outmaneuvered at times by members of own party, particularly those in the Maryland Senate where his gerrymander blitz is facing an unceremonious death. Brakkton Booker/Politico.
COMMENTARY: WES MOORE IS AN ISLAND: When Wes Moore burst onto the scene in 2022, the national media couldn’t get enough. He was the “next big thing,” a charismatic combat veteran with a silver tongue and a resume built for the West Wing. During the primary, we repeatedly warned that Moore lacked a genuine political network in Maryland. We pointed out that while he was winning over national donors and celebrity endorsers, he was doing nothing to build the connective tissue required to govern in Annapolis. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin.
THE HOYER SHUFFLE: WHO IS RUNNING FOR WHAT SO FAR: U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer’s decision to retire at the end of his term continues to have a ripple effect in downballot races. Two state lawmakers involved in a proposed midcycle redraw of the state’s eight congressional districts are looking at new campaigns. Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) is giving up the House seat he has held for four terms and is expected to file Tuesday morning for the Senate seat held by state Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles), in anticipation of Ellis filing to run for Hoyer’s seat. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
BRIEFS: DELEGATE WON’T SEEK A THIRD TERM; HOYER SEAT LIST; MUSLIM CAUCUS: A Southern Maryland Democrat who suddenly became the face of a debate over business taxes last year is leaving the House of Delegates. Del. Brian M. Crosby (D-St. Mary’s) will not seek a third term. Add Charles County Commission President Reuben Collins II to the ever-growing list of people hoping to succeed longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th), who is stepping down after 22 terms in office. The General Assembly got another legislative caucus, its eighth, with the official announcement Monday of the launch of the Muslim Caucus, timed to coincide with Muslim Lobby Day. Bryan Sears and Willianm Ford/Maryland Matters.
‘AI SLOP’ HITS NEWS PAGES OF THE SUN: Last week, Baltimore Sun reporters were shocked to see in their publication two stories produced not by them or by some non-staff journalist or by any human being at all – but by AI. One piece was an analysis of Gov. Wes Moore’s State of the State speech. The other analyzed “the public exchange” that followed Moore’s speech, including social media posts by President Donald Trump. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
YMCA WORKERS WANTED A PAY RAISE. THEY GOT A FOOD PANTRY: For years, the YMCA of Central Maryland has fought food insecurity in the Baltimore region by providing free meals through schools and community pantries. About a year ago, during employee appreciation week, it opened another food pantry — for its own employees. Its CEO, on the other hand, is one of the highest-paid nonprofit leaders in the area, with a compensation package worth about $1 million in recent years. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.
Sec. Rafael Lopez should have never had the opportunity to “resign” for any reason, he should have been fired a while ago. It just shows Gov. Moore’s incompetence as a leader. Like bro, you’re the leader and you didn’t take action on this man for his failures in the dept. No, you let him sit there in that position until he decided to leave? Just about any leader worth his 2 salts would not have hesitated to take action here, but yet Gov. Moore did.
The most pathetic thing about the Potomac Spill is that it had barely any news coverage up until now. I found out through my GF who lives in VA when it happened. I had to search online to find it. Here we are 2 weeks later and now its being discussed. I guess better late than never, but what was with the lack of coverage for 2 weeks?
AI is ruining our existence. We are in the early years and much like the internet is going to be a wild west at first before we fix the common issues of not being able to figure out if it is real or AI. Not to mention copyright infringements. I would like to propose a simple fix. ALL AI GENERATED MATERIAL SHOULD BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO STATE THAT IT IS AI generated. This would fix quite a bit of the AI problem. If AI is used for anything, an article, picture, or movie it needs to be disclosed to help people understand what they are watching and reading. This is not hard to do.
Non-Profit groups have been completely compromised. The powers at be have figured out they can use them to their own personal advantage. Whether it is politicians or the people who run the groups themselves. How can a so called non-profit justify paying employees $1 million? You operate on donations and money from the gov’t and then want to pay your higher ups like CEOs in a profitable industry. There needs to be some control of these wages especially if you are being bankrolled by Gov’t entities.