BGE’s LATEST RATE HIKE REQUEST FACES MORE OPPOSITION: Consumer advocates, environmental groups and workers’ unions are pushing back against the latest rate hike proposal from Baltimore Gas & Electric, arguing that it is unjustified, particularly after the Exelon utility earned a record-setting $578 million in profits last year. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
HOWARD SENDS $260,000 TO AID SUICIDE CALL CENTER AFTER FEDERAL FUND CUT: Howard County is sending $260,000 in emergency funding to keep a nonprofit that answers calls, chats and texts to the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline afloat after the organization lost federal funding. For the past four years, Grassroots Crisis Intervention has served as a national backup call center for the 988 suicide and crisis hotline, answering communications from people across the U.S. and its territories whose calls or messages cannot be answered locally in a timely manner. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Banner.
EAT MORE BLUE CATFISH, STATE SAYS! The blue catfish is wreaking havoc on the Chesapeake Bay’s food chain, devouring native species — including the beloved blue crab — as it spreads through Maryland waterways. “We really need to eat our way out of that problem,” said Matthew Scales, seafood marketing director for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Katherine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
ICE ACTIONS AT SCHOOLS STRETCH LIMITS OF STATE, LOCAL LAWS: On June 11, ICE agents trailed a car into the parking lot of Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. For the family in that car, an everyday school drop off quickly devolved into chaos. Since President Donald Trump began his second term with a vow to crack down on illegal immigration, more than a dozen states have enacted laws designed to keep ICE away from schools. But the incident in Baltimore was a stark illustration of the limits of state and local authority when it comes to immigration enforcement. Shalina Chatlani/Maryland Matters.
DRUG-RESISTANT FUNGUS HITS 3,437 NATIONWIDE, 79 IN MARYLAND: A drug-resistant fungus is spreading across the country, with 3,437 clinical cases documented so far this year, including 79 cases in Maryland, reported by the CDC. Maryland reported 62 cases last year and has already surpassed that figure this year, according to CDC data. Candida auris, called a “superbug” due to its resistance to treatment, was first discovered in the early 2000s. Karl Hille and Stephen Underwood/The Baltimore Sun.
COMMENTARY: WHO KNOWS WHERE MARYLAND’s DRUG PRICE SAVINGS GO? Congress created the 340B Drug Pricing Program in 1992 to help safety-net providers care for low-income patients by allowing qualified hospitals, clinics and other health-care organizations to purchase medicines at discounted prices, with the savings supporting patient care. These providers often serve communities facing the greatest barriers to care, including communities with high proportions of Black patients. The question before Maryland is whether that promise is being fulfilled. Dr. Sharon D. Allison, Rev. Kimberly L. Williams and Shari Beagelman/Maryland Reporter.
CITY, COUNTY & STATE OFFICIALS HEAD TO OCEAN CITY: The corridors of City Hall will feel lonely today as top officials flee the city and converge on Ocean City to attend the Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference, the most popular gathering of politicos and government vendors outside of the Maryland Party held annually in Las Vegas. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
HOWARD RESIDENTS VOW TO FIGHT ELKRIDGE ICE OFFICE BUILDING: Howard County residents vowed to fight a federal immigration facility planned for an Elkridge office building, one day after a federal judge ordered the county could no longer block work on the project. “The residents of Howard County have made it clear that we do not want this facility in our community,” Liz Kato with IndivisibleHoCoMD said Tuesday. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
FREDERICK COUNTY COUNCIL CANDIDATES SHARE VIEWS AT FORUM: Frederick County County Council candidates shared their views at a forum on Monday on topics such as data centers, affordable housing and taxes. All seven council seats are up for election on Nov. 3. Early voting runs from Oct. 22 through 29. For each of the council’s five district seats, one Democrat and one Republican are competing. Two Democrats and two Republicans are competing for the council’s two at-large seats. Erik Anderson/The Frederick News Post.
CARROLL KIDS RANK 3rd IN MATH PROFICIENCY BUT MANY STILL LAG: Carroll County had the third-highest math proficiency rate in Maryland this year — and still, fewer than half of its assessed students met the state’s proficiency bar, according to newly released test scores the county’s Board of Education will discuss Wednesday. Gabriella Fine/The Carroll County Times.
THREE NEW SOLAR PROJECTS PROPOSED ON HARFORD FARMLAND: Three new solar projects have been proposed on Harford County farmland in the past month alone, adding to a growing list of proposals that have already drawn unanimous opposition letters from the County Council and sparked pushback from rural residents worried about losing agricultural land. Matt Hubbard/The Aegis.
