After serving several years as Baltimore County’s transportation czar, D’Andrea Walker is set take over the county’s highest appointed office. County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. announced Tuesday that he will appoint Walker, his former director of public works and transportation, to become the next Baltimore County Administrative Officer. The administrative officer typically manages day-to-day operations in the county such as hiring of staff and implementing the budget.

A proposed bill in Maryland’s capital is stirring debate as it aims to lower the state’s sales tax from 6 percent to 5 percent while broadening its scope to tax services. Initially, the prospect of a lower sales tax rate may seem appealing to consumers, with the potential for more money to stay in their pockets. However, the other aspect of the bill, which seeks to expand the sales tax to encompass a wider array of goods and services, has brought controversy.

 

The Democratic-led House of Delegates voted along party lines Tuesday to allow people who’ve completed a sentence in a state correctional facility to register to vote as part of their release process. Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the nation’s largest Legislative Black Caucus, has said that formerly incarcerated people eligible to vote shouldn’t face barriers to registering when they’re released.

On the cusp of a new baseball season, the 524-room Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel steps from Oriole Park at Camden Yards appears to have changed hands. The 10-story property at 110 E. Eutaw St. was listed as sold via online auction last week with a price of $18.3 million — nearly $12 million less than the last time it traded. The auction took place during a two-day bidding window on TenX, the online real estate sales website.

At 20 years old, Connor White is the youngest elected member of Baltimore County’s Democratic Central Committee. He’s a Quaker and grew up attending Friends meetings where participants, he said, “were always involved in politics.” “You know, write your congressman about this thing or the other thing,” White said. So, naturally, he kept it up. He said he wants to “help make change” and to “have the central committee be the beating heart of the Democratic party” in the county where he lives.

A crowd of nearly 500 visitors gathered last week to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated East Columbia 50+ Center, which, at 29,000 square feet, is seven times larger than the previous center. First built in 1994, the center was approximately 3,800 square feet inside the East Columbia Library, according to a county spokesperson. Plans to renovate and expand the center began in 2014, with construction beginning in December 2021. It was completed shortly before the grand opening March 7.

 

Maryland lawmakers gave a preliminary nod Tuesday to legislation aimed at improving the approval process for higher education programs — a longtime source of controversy that was exacerbated last year after a decision by the state’s Higher Education Commission. The House and Senate quickly moved Senate Bill 1022 and House Bill 1244, which include many provisions based on the recommendations of a legislative work group that assessed the commission’s policies and procedures.

Six candidates vying for one of Maryland’s two seats in the U.S. Senate attended a forum hosted by the Frederick County Conservative Club at the Frederick Elks Lodge on Monday. Republicans Moe Barakat, Robin Ficker, Lorie Friend, John Myrick and Laban Seyoum participated in the forum along with Democrat Marcellus Crews. All of the candidates are seeking their respective parties’ nominations for the seat held since 2007 by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who plans to retire at the end of his current term.

 

A statewide bill that would extend more protections to Maryland households facing foreclosures and evictions due to tax sale has generated backlash from more than two dozen community groups that say the bill as written could backfire. The bill, introduced at the request of the state housing department, advanced Tuesday out of the Maryland House of Delegates and has been referred to the state Senate for review.

 

2024 is shaping up to be a big year politically — especially in Maryland. In addition to the presidential contest, voters in Maryland’s May 14 primary will be asked to weigh in on a slew of statewide and local races, including a Senate race with a crowded field of contenders and a few jam-packed House contests. Here’s everything you need to know about voting in Maryland’s primary.