For the past decade, the Maryland General Assembly has authorized $1 million annually for the African American Heritage Preservation Grant Fund, which provides grants for projects that restore and preserve African American history in the state. But last year the state quintupled its contribution, upping funding to $5 million to be spent on buildings, communities and sites that are integral to Maryland’s African American experience.

Staring down a laundry list of ambitious goals and a growing state budget deficit that could restrict some progress on his plans, Gov. Wes Moore is setting his sights on passing more than a dozen new laws that he says will improve public safety, affordability, the economy and public service work. Incentivizing the construction of affordable housing, offering new grants for community revitalization and protecting election workers are among the aims of the Democratic governor’s 16 bills in the annual 90-day session of the Maryland General Assembly that runs through April 8.

Ford Motor is rethinking its electric vehicle strategies, including “reassessing” the need for vertical integration of batteries, CEO Jim Farley said Tuesday. The Detroit automaker previously confirmed plans to delay or cut $12 billion in spending on all-electric vehicles, but the comments made Tuesday are the most detailed about Ford’s changing plans for EVs, sales of which are growing at a slower-than-expected rate.

Chase Bank announced Tuesday that it plans to open an additional 50 branches across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia as part of a major national expansion. The banking giant said that by 2027 it expects to have 190 branches open in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region, including one new branch in Baltimore and an additional 10 in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

The Maryland Department of Human Services will fully reimburse stolen food assistance, reversing course on a policy that limited how much, and how often, theft victims could be refunded. The policy change was announced Tuesday in an internal policy memo to department staff, effectively ending many of the restrictions on how stolen food assistance can be replaced.

University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), Tuesday took the next steps in transforming health care delivery in Harford County with the openings of UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen and the Patient Bed Tower at UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air.

Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) is trying a second time to introduce legislation to limit some police searches in an effort to curb racial disparities. Maryland’s attorney general had determined that his previous effort, the STEP Act, conflicted with state law. Jawando on Tuesday introduced the Freedom to Leave Act, which would prohibit consent searches of a motor vehicle or person by a police officer.

The Anne Arundel County Council passed a resolution Monday night stripping power and autonomy from administrative council staff and the council chair. The resolution, 4-24, makes all seven council members supervisors over council staff and allows members to raise administrative matters for a vote if they disagree with each other on a decision. In the past, administrative decisions, such as when and how to draft amendments, were made by council staff, and personnel decisions, like granting leave, were made by the chair.

 

A batch of recycling trucks newly arrived in Baltimore and 20 additional pickup crews will allow City Hall to resume weekly recycling services the week of March 4, Scott administration officials confirmed Tuesday, marking the end of reduced curbside pickups that first became unreliable at the pandemic’s outset in 2020. The city received nine 2024 Peterbilt Model 220s last week — the order was placed in 2021 — and hired dozens of new drivers and crew members to reduce the vacancy rate on the Department of Public Works’ solid waste team to 8.5%, the lowest since before the coronavirus pandemic.

The University of Maryland surgeons who conducted the world’s first pig-to-human heart transplants say they will be ready to perform a third operation as soon as a suitable patient is found. The two path-breaking surgeries, known as xenotransplantations, took place in 2022 and 2023 at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The two path-breaking surgeries, known as xenotransplantations, took place in 2022 and 2023 at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.