Last month, the Office of People’s Counsel issued a blistering report warning that, under its latest rate application, Baltimore Gas and Electric was headed down a path of overinvestment in natural gas distribution that would run counter to Maryland’s climate change goals. It would also, the report said, leave BGE ratepayers stuck with a long-term bill that could add up to billions in “stranded costs,” as extensive natural gas infrastructure would prove unnecessary, given how the public would be moving toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels.

The Johns Hopkins University is renaming a facility to honor Pava LaPere, a Hopkins alumnus and tech CEO who was killed in September. Fast Forward U, a hub in Remington for students interested in creating startup companies, will be named Pava Marie LePere Center for Entrepreneurship. The university unveiled the honor Saturday at a memorial service for LaPere, which was attended by Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott.

Last week, Andreae Lloyd’s family marked the second anniversary of her death. Just after midnight on Dec. 7, 2021, police say, Xavier Johnson, Lloyd’s boyfriend, knocked on the door of the Miami-area group home she managed, where she was working an overnight shift alone. A surveillance camera captured what police say happened next: Johnson beat her, dragged her into his white Honda Civic and drove away.

In the late summer and fall of 2021, Maryland Stadium Authority leadership and I had meetings with Gov. Larry Hogan (R), House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), then-House Appropriations Chair Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), and Senate Budget Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) to try and advance the concept we had developed for an evergreen stadium funding bill.

With 10 days to go before Baltimore’s Planning Commission is scheduled to take a key vote that will affect the Inner Harbor, Mayor Brandon Scott and developer P. David Bramble are holding a public forum to answer questions about Bramble’s $500 million plan to redevelop Harborplace. The two-hour event, called the “Mayor’s Public Forum on Harborplace,” will take place at the Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center, 201 Reedbird Ave., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. Scott and Bramble, a managing partner of MCB Real Estate, will lead the discussion.

 

Bethesda-based global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin presented Belgium’s first F-35A Lightning II to the Belgian government during a rollout ceremony Monday at Lockheed Martin’s F-35 production facility. This event marks a significant milestone in the Belgian Air Force’s history and strengthens the alliance between the United States and Belgium, a key NATO ally.

On the eve of tomorrow’s public work session, Baltimore County Council Chair Julian E. Jones Jr. has amended the inspector general amendments he secretly tried to get approved last week, while lamenting that he’s the victim of a “tremendous amount of misinformation and disinformation being spread and reported.”

Could Bel Air turn into the next Towson? That was a worry of some of the nearly 75 residents who crowded into the Bel Air Town Hall on Thursday evening to hear a second round of public testimony and discussion from developers on a 249-unit mixed-use apartment complex proposed for parking lots surrounding the indoor Harford Mall.

Josh Bokee, a former alderman for the city of Frederick, became the second candidate in the 2024 Frederick County Board of Education race last week. Bokee filed as a candidate Friday. “I start from the premise that every student should have the opportunity to have a great education,” he said in an interview. So far, the only other candidate in the race is Jaime Brennan, chair of the local chapter of Moms for Liberty.

Local officials have expressed concern over proposed cuts outlined by Maryland’s secretary of transportation, which could mean a hit of more than $17 million to Montgomery County’s Ride On bus service. The cuts proposed by State Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld, if adopted, would represent a “massive blow” to the county bus service, newly-elected County Council President Andrew Friedson said in a briefing with reporters Monday.