After a two-year pause when the original contractor backed out, work is resuming on building the 16.2 mile long Purple Line light-rail project. With a new contractor in place, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said his agency is putting the pressure on new builders, Maryland Transit Solutions, to complete the line. However, he said he doesn’t “have a lot of faith” that an October 2026 completion is possible.
The Affordable Care Act, which became law in 2010, was a landmark moment in the quest to ensure access to health care for all Americans, expanding health coverage to more than 400,000 Marylanders, which reduced our uninsured rate from 12% to 6%. But the work did not end with ACA passage, and Maryland has subsequently taken a series of important steps to strengthen our health care system.
As Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) embarks on a new chapter with the appointment of a new superintendent, we believe this is a turning point — an opportunity to transform into a world class education system. We, the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association (PGCEA), the Association of Supervisory and Administrative School Personnel (ASASP), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2250 (ACE-AFSCME Local 2250), and the Service Employees International Union 400 (SEIU 400), stand together with a focus on positive change and solutions.
The Maryland Meals for Achievement In-Classroom Breakfast Program secured $4.5 million in additional funding on May 16 as Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed SB559, bringing the annual program funding to $12 million. MMA provides breakfast to students after the bell in schools where 40% or more of students qualify for free and reduced price meals.
Frederick’s mayor and aldermen will consider changes to how they do their jobs, as they reevaluate the city’s legislative process. The changes could include the process for how legislation is introduced and creating a timeline for how it would move toward passage. Mayor Michael O’Connor said at a workshop meeting Wednesday that he thinks it would be good to have the city’s process better defined.
As jurisdictions across the country grapple with how to address accountability in policing, a new proposed bill in the Montgomery County Council would restructure how the county oversees police reform and public safety. Expedited Bill 27-23, co-sponsored by councilmembers Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) and Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), seeks to repeal the county’s existing Policing Advisory Commission (PAC) to clarify the work of police accountability in the county.
In a parking lot off the Jones Falls Expressway, my eyes started to water from staring into the sun. I could hear it better than I could see it. At five-minute intervals, a low hum sounded and a small Cessna airplane, roughly a mile from the ground, passed overhead. Throughout April, I’d heard from several Baltimore Banner readers that a surveillance plane was flying over West Baltimore.
Baltimore officials doubled down Wednesday on their commitment to restart the city’s weekly recycling collection in early 2024, but warned that the move will be possible only if the city receives 30 new garbage trucks that are currently in production. The promise, first outlined by Mayor Brandon Scott in his State of the City address in April, was reiterated by Department of Public Works employees Wednesday during a budget hearing held by the Baltimore City Council.
Citing “financial challenges … faced in recent times,” the owners of Pimlico Race Course notified employees Saturday that they are shutting down the track’s off-track betting (OTB) facility by June 30 — the same date a key agreement for racing operations in Maryland is due to expire. In an e-mail to employees of the Maryland Jockey Club — subsidiary owner of the Pimlico and Laurel Park tracks — Mike Rogers, the company’s’ acting president, wrote that “this decision was not made lightly.”
Telling executives to “strive harder,” hundreds of corporate Amazon workers protested what they decried as the company’s lack of progress on climate goals and an inequitable return-to-office mandate during a lunchtime demonstration at its Seattle headquarters Wednesday. The protest came a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect returning workers to the office three days per week.