The state’s attorneys from two of Maryland’s largest jurisdictions proposed a raft of changes to criminal laws, including recent juvenile reforms, they say will help them hold offenders accountable and enhance public safety. Democrats Ivan Bates of Baltimore and Prince George’s County prosecutor Aisha Braveboy made the announcement in Annapolis weeks ahead of a legislative session where revisiting juvenile justice requirements will be a top issue.

Customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. will see their rates for delivery of both gas and electricity increase over the next three years by an average of more than 3% a year under a plan approved late Thursday by state regulators. The rate increase authorized by a unanimous decision by the Maryland Public Service Commission will boost the average customers monthly bill by about $21.83 after three years.

Kennedy Holland, a trans woman, spent about five years in Maryland-run jails and prisons. Despite having begun her gender transition at 13 years old, Holland was housed in male facilities or isolated. The experience terrified Holland. She recounted a time when an incarcerated man pulled her into a prison cell and told her he and his cellmate could rape her if they wanted to. “I could go nowhere. I could do nothing,” Holland said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun.

 

As justices consider whether a Baltimore zoning board was correct in deciding a crematory could be built at a York Road funeral home, lawyers were asked Wednesday to determine when they can argue before Maryland’s intermediate appellate court. The notice stating that oral arguments were slated for March came ahead of a Wednesday evening update from state environmental regulators, who have been waiting over the past three years to review whether to issue a construction permit to Vaughn Greene Funeral Services for the planned crematory.

He worked his way up from casual custodian to plant manager at the Dulles plant, only recently considering retiring. “I happen to love my job and the things that we do,” he said. Payne certainly isn’t the only long-timer at the Dulles plant. Benita Sprow has been with USPS for 33 years, saying she keeps coming back because of the family-like friends she formed when she first started.

 

State officials and the Orioles have tentatively agreed to extend the ballclub’s lease at Camden Yards while also moving forward on a 30-year deal to keep the team at its Baltimore home. On Thursday night, the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Board of Public Works, both of which would need to approve the deal, scheduled special meetings for Monday. The lengthy and exhausting lease saga, which has twice before appeared headed for its denouement — during a September announcement that turned out to be nonbinding and last week, when a deal stalled at the eleventh hour — could finally reach a resolution.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is tapping a veteran of the city’s health department to head the massive agency that has been without a permanent leader for more than seven months. Dr. Ihuoma Emenuga will take over as city health commissioner Jan. 22, if confirmed by the Board of Estimates. She will replace Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, who became deputy mayor for health, equity and human services.

Washington’s NBA and NHL teams, which have called Maryland or the District of Columbia home for decades, may be moving to northern Virginia. The Washington Wizards, the NBA franchise that once played in Baltimore as the Bullets, and professional hockey’s Capitals appear poised to relocate to a proposed new arena in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital.

Imposing a personal property tax on planned data centers in Frederick County could generate up to $112.1 million in additional revenue per year, according to a new analysis presented to the county’s data centers work group on Wednesday. The consulting firm MuniCap was hired to perform the tax revenue analysis, which will help the 12-member work group convened by County Executive Jessica Fitzwater develop a report that will inform the county’s regulation of the nascent industry.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Wednesday narrowly approved a mega-rezoning that stands to bring nearly 30 million square feet of new data centers to the Gainesville area. Despite the county planning commission’s recommendation that it reject the so-called Digital Gateway project and over objections from dozens of citizens at a marathon hearing that stretched for 27 hours, the Board of Supervisors approved the proposal by a 4-3 vote, with one supervisor abstaining.