The balance of power is shifting on the all-Democratic Prince George’s County Council, which elevated Jolene Ivey, District 5, and Sydney Harrison, District 9, to leadership on Tuesday after a term that saw a more liberal majority pull the body further left. The council voted unanimously to install Ivey as chair in an annual exchange of power, handing her the ability to set the agenda as the council enters a term its members say will be shaped by a tight county budget and increasing needs.

In March, the Maryland Senate approved legislation to give Maryland’s state and federal judges — along with the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, prosecutors and their “immediate family members” — the right to keep their home addresses and phone numbers out of public records. It would have applied to both current and former public officials.

A bill written by the administration of County Executive Steuart Pittman to create a new affordable housing program in Anne Arundel County was narrowed Monday night by the County Council to apply only to those who live and work in the county. Eligibility requirements for affordable housing have been a major sticking point as the council has refined the essential worker housing access bill over the past two months.

The 20th Montgomery County Council began the second year of its four-year term on Tuesday by electing Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) as its president, and Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) as its vice president. Both were 10-0 votes. Councilmember Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3) was absent. Friedson has served as council vice president since December 2022 and has been on the council since December 2018. He chairs the planning, housing and parks committee and serves on the government operations and fiscal policy committee.

Yelp named a Syrian and Levantine restaurant in Baltimore as one of the best new restaurants in the country this year. Ammoora in the Ritz-Carlton Residences in the Federal Hill neighborhood made the inaugural list of 25 “trendy” and recently opened restaurants by the business review website and app. Yelp announced its latest list, which includes restaurants from coast to coast, on Tuesday.

I was saddened to hear of the loss of retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. I was a first year Afro-Filipino law student when she was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s quite a vivid memory, because so many people were talking about how the appointment of the first woman would change the Supreme Court — and change it, she did. It might seem startling now, but at that time, there were still people around who thought women should not even enter the legal profession, let alone sit on the highest court in the land.

Both Morgan State University and the unit representing nearly 400 of the institution’s employees have tentatively agreed on a contract they have been negotiating since 2020, the union confirmed Tuesday. The final contract – set to last until July of 2026 – will grant workers a flat dollar amount increase to their salaries, which will also receive a percentage increase based on years of service, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3, which oversees nearly 45,000 public service workers in Maryland including the local representing Morgan State staff.

Now there are six. Del. Mark S. Chang (D-Anne Arundel) will become the sixth state legislator to seek the 3rd District congressional seat, which U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D) is giving up at the end of next year after serving for nine terms. Chang, who will officially announce his candidacy for the May 14 Democratic primary on Tuesday, said in an interview that he’s running for Congress to become “a voice for the voiceless.”

 

Since the pandemic struck and hotel stays in downtown Baltimore took a dive, city taxpayers have been paying to prop up the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor hotel to the tune of millions of dollars annually. This week Baltimore leaders will consider spending nearly $1 million more. The city’s Board of Estimates is set to vote Wednesday on a grant of $989,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Baltimore Hotel Corp. for use at the struggling city-owned hotel adjacent to the convention center and ballpark.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on Tuesday asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to rehear a case in which a panel of three judges ruled that a law requiring handgun buyers to get a license is unconstitutional. “The Second Amendment does not prohibit states from enacting common-sense gun laws like Maryland’s handgun licensing law,” said Brown, a Democrat, in a statement.