Maryland roadways grew more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists in 2023, threatening to undo the state’s progress before the pandemic. Car crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists rose 9% in Maryland last year, the largest year-over-year increase post-pandemic, according to a Banner analysis of preliminary Maryland State Police crash data. By the end of 2023, there were just over 3,600 of these crashes, resulting in 152 deaths and over 3,000 injuries. State police say the data set is subject to change as crash reports are updated.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott outraised his chief rival Sheila Dixon by about $150,000 last year, campaign finance reports filed Wednesday showed, expanding the incumbent mayor’s war chest as the campaign begins to heat up. However, Dixon’s campaign will have the benefit of an additional $200,000 contributed to a super PAC dedicated to supporting her candidacy. The annual filings, which were due late Wednesday, showed Scott, a Democrat in his first term as mayor, raised $682,134 last year in his effort to maintain his seat.

The new public park at the Baltimore Peninsula, the South Baltimore waterfront redevelopment project, has been renamed Elijah’s Park in honor of the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings on his birthday. Cummings represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District from 1996 until he died in 2019. A Baltimore native, Cummings was also a well-known civil rights leader. In a 2019 Baltimore Sun article about his life, his constituents regarded him as a civil rights icon, ranking him with the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

 

City officials discussed a proposal to help more residents understand the inner workings of their local government. Cumberland Administrator Jeff Silka at a mayor and City Council work session Tuesday proposed development of a Citizen’s Local Government Academy. The six-session learning program would expose participants to the city’s various departments, and could be up and running by fall.

In the MoCo360 “Local Views” council member (Dist.6) Natali Fani-Gonzalez opines how she sees her proposed ZTA23-09 as “a big win for the rural economy and the Agricultural Reserve.” I do not share that view, and neither do the Montgomery Agricultural Producers or the Montgomery County Farm Bureau, nor do the local civic associations in the Ag Reserve (Montgomery Countryside Alliance and Sugarloaf Citizens Association). www.mocoalliance.org/news.

Democratic state lawmakers want gun manufacturers to help foot the bill for trauma injuries, including gunshot wounds, following an example set by California last year. A bill from Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel) and Del. Bernice D. Mireku-North (D-Montgomery) would levy an 11 percent excise tax on gun and ammunition manufacturers to feed the Maryland Trauma Physician Services Fund.

The Anne Arundel County Council amended three bills Tuesday night, two of which expand benefits for county first responders, setting up further debate and a potential final vote next month. In its hour-long meeting, the council held public hearings on five bills. Three of the bills were amended and will be up for further amendments or a final vote at the council’s next meeting on Feb. 5. Two bills were defeated.

Visit Frederick is expanding funding for its Tourism Reinvestment in Promotion and Products grant program by 67% for Fiscal Year 2025, the nonprofit tourism organization said Wednesday. There is now $500,000 available through the grant program, known as TRIPP, for Frederick County nonprofits and government agencies to apply for, a news release from Visit Frederick said. The funds are intended to help grantees promote attractions and tourism development in Frederick County.

 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore proposed a $63.1 billion spending plan that will pay for the salaries of thousands of state workers who run programs ranging from unemployment benefits to mental health hospitals, as well as send aid to local governments for police and schools. The spending plan sets up the state to deal with a shortfall both in the budget year beginning July 1 and for the increasing budget gaps expected in future years.

 

Maryland Association of Counties Executive Director Michael Sanderson joined Center Maryland’s The Lobby at their Winter Conference last month to talk about transportation and other issues facing Maryland’s counties.