The Maryland Attorney General’s Office is seeking an even split between the state and local jurisdictions for an upcoming opioid settlement with the grocery chain Kroger, marking a change from how previous opioid settlements were divided. The office proposed a 50/50 split for the settlement, which would include $1.2 billion for state and local governments over 11 years that would be divided among 33 states where Kroger has stores.

A Burtonsville, Maryland, woman and a Montgomery County 911 call taker credit each other with lifesaving actions that led to a joyous family reunion. They both have vivid memories of the evening of May 11. “It was just like any other day,” said Henry Estrada, a 911 call taker and dispatcher at Montgomery County’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC).

Caitlin Moroney came to New Market, Md., four years ago for the historic house she found in the good school district. She has learned to appreciate the Frederick County town for much more than that. “I love the location. … When we have people coming in from out of town, people love to come here because we go to the battlefields, we see a gazillion museums, we pop into Baltimore to go to the Walters Art Museum — we’re really well located,” Moroney said.

Annie Milli never thought — not “in a million years” — she would lead a nonprofit. More than a decade ago, Milli asked to be considered for the leadership role of Live Baltimore after the executive director left. She wanted to make sure Live Baltimore, a nonprofit that promotes the benefits of city living, continued to thrive. She joined the organization as its marketing director in 2013 because she was passionate about the importance of choosing to live in the city.

 

Google said Wednesday that an alleged Iranian hacking operation aimed at US presidential campaigns is ongoing and more wide-ranging than previously known as the hackers continue to target the email accounts of current US officials and people associated with Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Politicians and government juggernauts from across the state will flock to Ocean City this week to discuss politics and policy at the annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) conference. The theme of this year’s four-day conference is “turning the tide,” featuring discussions regarding how county and municipal governments can continue working with essential services and prioritized projects in the current fiscal climate now that federal funding from the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped.

The world is still basking in the warm afterglow of a successful 2024 Paris Olympics. In addition to extraordinary feats on the track and in the pool, or beautiful photos of the Eiffel Tower adorned with the Olympic rings, this Olympiad should be remembered for the diversity of those who medaled. Five teams won gold, silver or bronze for the first time, extending a longer-term trend toward a more competitively balanced Olympics.

Summer has meant fireworks for Capital Bikeshare (CaBi), as the regional bikesharing network registered a record-breaking 589,464 rides in July. The surge in system use in July marks the third consecutive month in which CaBi has broken its all-time ridership record. Trips have increased 26.4% compared to July 2023 and ridership thus far in 2024 totals 3,173,995 trips, a 31.1% increase over last year.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport had record-breaking passenger traffic earlier this summer, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. More than 2.6 million commercial passengers flew through the airport in June, an increase of 11% compared to the same time in 2023. This fiscal year also marks a new record, with about 27 million passengers in the busiest airport in the Washington, D.C., area, according to a press release.

 

Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration. Nearly half of Americans say that “committed to democracy” and “disciplined” are attributes that better describe Harris. About 3 in 10 say these qualities better describe Trump.