The Maryland Department of the Environment has a plan — a plan to achieve the state’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals. But the plan isn’t quite ready for prime time yet — though it should be by year’s end. Which made the timing of Friday’s virtual hearing by the House Environment and Transportation Committee on how the state plans to implement the groundbreaking Climate Solutions Now Act a little inopportune. Lawmakers’ attempts to drill down on details of the Moore administration’s plans for meeting the provisions in the bill were politely swatted away more than a few times by Maryland Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain and her top lieutenants.

Produce business owner Abigail Diehl and Severna Park nurse Kristin Lyman Nabors have filed as candidates for the seat held by Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes representing the 3rd Congressional District. Sarbanes announced in October that he would not seek reelection after 17 years in office. The Anne Arundel residents, both Democrats, enter an already crowded candidate field that includes several seasoned liberal legislators from across the region.

United Therapeutics plans to expand once again in downtown Silver Spring, with a newly proposed deal worth over $100 million with the county. The expansion will include a new parking garage, retail space, and land for affordable housing, increasing UT’s downtown Silver Spring footprint by 40 percent. According to a press release, Montgomery County and UT have reached an agreement for the construction of a new public parking garage at 8615 Georgia Avenue.

In spite of a reported decline in youth crime and Baltimore’s slowed murder rate, Maryland’s juvenile justice policy has left some residents fearful and angry with their representatives in Annapolis, and confused about what their state laws actually do — especially in the face of a spate of car thefts. “The facts matter, but so does the perception,” Senate President Bill Ferguson, a South Baltimore Democrat, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun last week.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich joins Center Maryland’s The Lobby at the Winter Maryland Association of Counties Conference to discuss what’s happening in Montgomery County!

Maryland has lowered its projected revenue for next fiscal year as decreased consumer demand drives down sales tax revenue, Comptroller Brooke Lierman said Thursday. With less projected revenue and added costs from a rapidly growing state-funded child care assistance program that closed last fiscal year with tens of millions of dollars in unpaid bills, the state’s expected structural deficit has grown in recent months.

In October 2023, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) made history as one of the first statewide associations of public school boards to declare climate action an essential component of adequate and equitable school facilities. As a parent leader for climate action in Prince George’s County and the state of Maryland, I could not be prouder of MABE’s commitment.

Frederick County’s data center work group on Wednesday heard that powering Quantum Loophole’s campus might affect providing power to other areas and affect ratepayers’ transmission charges. The work group, created by Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater, will prepare a report with recommendations for the County Council regarding regulation of the critical digital infrastructure industry. Quantum Loophole purchased the former site of the Alcoa Eastalco aluminum smelting plant near Adamstown in 2021 to build a campus of data centers.

The Maryland Health Care Commission Thursday voted to approve Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center’s (LHDCMC) request to add obstetrics services as part of its comprehensive women’s health program on its Lanham campus, paving the way for a new $300 million patient care pavilion. Prince George’s County has the second highest birth rate in Maryland, yet there are very few options for women to deliver their babies in the county.

The Maryland Transit Administration indefinitely suspended light rail services early this month, affecting commuters from Hunt Valley through downtown Baltimore and points south. Here’s what we know about the shutdown. The Dec. 7 announcement came as the MTA is undergoing a $160 million overhaul of its light rail service, which, compared with other rail modes, operates smaller vehicles that can operate in mixed traffic on city streets at lower speeds.