Dominoes are falling around Maryland. Of the ten lawmakers that Marylanders sent to Congress, four are leaving their seats. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin announced his retirement, as did Reps. John Sarbanes and Dutch Ruppersberger. Rep. David Trone isn’t running for reelection because he’s running for Cardin’s Senate seat. Just as Cardin’s retirement is creating another vacuum as Trone runs for the Senate seat, Ruppersberger’s retirement could create a follow-on vacancy as others attempt to climb the political ladder.

 

 

American Airlines has raised the price to check a bag for the first time in more than five years and said it would limit which travel agency bookings are eligible to earn frequent flyer miles. Passengers will pay $35 to check a first bag for domestic flights if the service is booked online in advance, or $40 if they purchase the option at the airport, the carrier said Tuesday.

The Frederick County Planning Commission on Wednesday will review a preliminary plan to build a combined agricultural and equestrian park near Thurmont that has piqued the interest of horse riding enthusiasts but drawn a rebuke from farmers in the area. In 2017, the 183-acre site was donated to the county by Richard W. Kanode, after whom the proposed park would be named. At that time, Kanode, who died in 2020, also contributed $1 million to the Community Foundation of Frederick County to establish an endowment fund for the proposed park.

 

Nearly two years after state environmental regulators intervened in operations of Baltimore’s troubled Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, city officials plan to outsource core parts of the facility’s operation to a private contractor. The $50 million agreement with the Colorado-based Operations Management International, Inc., was authorized by Department of Public Works officials on an emergency basis in September but wasn’t scheduled to go before the city’s spending board until Wednesday.

A new bill that would create a commission to determine how funds raised through cannabis taxes would be distributed to communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition is under consideration by the Montgomery County Council. In November 2022, Maryland voters overwhelmingly supported legalization of cannabis—more than 67% of voters were in favor.

Jewish members of the Maryland House of Delegates are seeking to pass legislation to remove the representative of a Muslim advocacy organization from the attorney general’s hate crimes commission following her suspension for online comments about the Israel-Hamas war. “A group that espouses vitriol and hatred for the Jewish community does not belong on a commission that has been established to respond to and prevent hate,” Deborah Miller, a representative of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said during a tense hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Sometimes people forget Deep Creek Lake was built to produce electricity, Dustin Droege said. He’s director of operations at Brookfield Renewable US, which owns and runs the lake’s dam that helps power the region. The hydroelectric generation station was built nearly 100 years ago and is permitted to operate by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made a pitch to lawmakers Tuesday address the state’s “true housing crises” by passing bills that would allow developers to build more housing units in key areas, as well as grant more protections to renters. The state has both a shortage of available units — either to rent or to buy — and housing costs are too high for many Marylanders, the Democratic governor said. He estimated the state has a shortage of about 96,000 housing units.

Marylanders are facing an alarming transportation funding gap that hits Baltimore’s regional transit hard. In December, state residents learned of $3.3 billion in proposed cuts to the state’s multi-year transportation budget, including more than a half-billion dollars for the Maryland Transit Administration alone. While Gov. Wes Moore has proposed a $150 million overall restoration of transportation funds for just the coming fiscal year, only a portion would go to MTA, and only a portion of that to MTA Baltimore-area core transit operations.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament hosted in Baltimore is quickly approaching and it brings much more than just college athletics. For those who have driven anywhere around downtown Baltimore, they have seen all the banners and billboards promoting various CIAA tourney events. While the women’s and men’s basketball tournaments are the major attractions, the week is also filled with community-focused events.