Had you crossed the Francis Scott Key Bridge just a few weeks ago, as millions of motorists did before a wayward container ship struck it in the early hours of March 26, you’d have passed below a familiar steel superstructure of triangulated sections about half a mile long, a sight that was part of Baltimore’s skyline for decades.

The Anne Arundel County Council has created an ad hoc committee to study and make recommendations on personnel protocols related to the legislative branch. Beside the seven County Council members, Anne Arundel’s legislative branch includes the county auditor, administrative officer, assistant administrative officer and legislative counsel among others.

Legislation to aid workers and businesses during the disruption at the Port of Baltimore and another bill allowing for a state takeover of Pimlico Racetrack beat Monday’s midnight deadline despite being introduced late in the General Assembly session. Lawmakers had already passed roughly 500 bills by the last day of the 90-day session. Even so, several important late-filed bills remained for lawmakers to act on in the closing hours as midnight approached.

I have to laugh when people act like former Governor Larry Hogan is a “moderate” who deserves a “Profile in Courage” award for saying that he won’t vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 general election or would oppose a national law banning abortion if elected to the U.S. Senate. I don’t see the courage in a candidate for statewide office in Maryland saying he’s not going to vote for a presidential candidate who lost the state in 2016 by 26 percentage points and lost in 2020 by more than 33 points.

The last bills have been considered, the last amendments have been offered and the final votes have been taken. Here’s what Maryland lawmakers did — and did not — do during their 90-day General Assembly session this year. These are among more than 1,000 measures that will be sent to Gov. Wes Moore’s office over the next few weeks for his consideration.

Maryland voters are increasingly concerned with the cost of housing, a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll finds. Nearly 1 in 5 registered voters cite affordable housing as the state’s top problem, up from 13 percent in 2019 to 19 percent in March. Roughly 3 in 4 voters say Maryland housing is “extremely expensive” or “very expensive,” including most voters in every region of the state.

Kim Lane, executive director of Pigtown Main Street, said the organization isn’t establishing a position about a proposed multi-use soccer stadium because there hasn’t been enough information shared about the project. She questions the “public process” involved in identifying Carroll Park as one of two sites the Maryland Stadium Authority and D.C. United are considering in Baltimore to build a 7,500-seat stadium.

The House and Senate gave final approval to a $63 billion budget and companion budget reconciliation bill Friday, a move that sends both measures to Gov. Wes Moore (D). The votes wrapped up a week of back and forth between the two chambers but ended with Republican opposition to hundreds of millions in tax and fee increases.

A new video shows containers being removed from the Dali, the cargo ship that crashed into the Key Bridge causing it to collapse on March 26. The Dali remains stuck in the Patapsco River. This process allows the Unified Command to prepare to clear the portion of the bridge that remains on top of the ship, and is also a crucial step in removing the ship and reopening the Fort Henry Channel.

 

The Washington County Department of Business and Economic Development is seeking input on how the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge may have impacted businesses in the community. Businesses can submit their names, contact information, details of any disruptions, damage or losses the business is experiencing as a result of the bridge collapse via email to Linda Spence, Business Specialist for the Department of Business and Economic Development at LSpence@WashCo-MD.net.