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Politics

How Prince George’s County’s top leader battled inequity during a global crisis
May 6, 2021 -

As Angela Alsobrooks navigates through the orange cones and caution tape guiding her county’s residents toward a COVID-19 vaccine, her shoulders visibly relax. The masked Prince George’s County Executive stops to chat with vaccination volunteers and shot recipients alike, offering elbow bumps as a token of her thanks. After 13 months of sickness, death and charting unknown territory, she’s seeing a path out of the dark.

Read More: WUSA
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to discuss city crime
May 6, 2021 -

Gov. Larry Hogan and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott have agreed to a meeting to discuss violence in the city. Scott said Wednesday that he and the governor agreed upon the tête-à-tête, which was arranged following a tense exchange Tuesday night on social media. The pair have sparred over the causes of a recent spate of gun violence in Baltimore and the distribution of coronavirus vaccines in the city.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Anne Arundel has less say in how state-provided education money is spent after Maryland reduces unrestricted funding
May 6, 2021 -

Anne Arundel County could pay more to educate public school students while having less say on how state money is spent if this year’s state funding levels serve as a model for the years to come. Every year, the state provides the county with a pot of money divided into two funds, one county leaders must put toward certain state-mandated uses, and another they can use freely to pay for the year’s education needs and priorities. Typically, increases in year-over-year funding give the county more unrestricted grants than restricted, allowing county lawmakers and the Board of Education more discretion in what schools, programs and positions will get a boost in the budget.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Democrats on BPW criticize state’s handling of emergency contracts
May 6, 2021 -

The state’s head of procurement has some explaining to do. Robert Gleason, Maryland’s chief procurement officer, is expected to appear before the Board of Public Works to explain why one in four emergency contracts related to the COVID-19 pandemic have missed a statutory deadline for review by the panel.

Read More: The Daily Record
In nod to statehood bid, Bowser admitted to Democratic Governors Association
May 6, 2021 -

The Democratic Governors Association on Tuesday welcomed D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser into its ranks, marking the latest effort by Democratic leaders to support making the District the nation’s 51st state. Announcing the move on CNN, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who chairs the association, acknowledged that Bowser is not a governor. But citing the mayor’s role in advocating for D.C. residents and combating the coronavirus pandemic in the city, Lujan Grisham asserted that Bowser is already “an executive leader in the District working on all of the things Democratic governors are responsible .”

Read More: Washington Post
Van Hollen, Sasse revive bill to protect U.S. intellectual property from foreign theft
May 6, 2021 -

United States Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) have introduced a bill that would impose harsh penalties on companies and individuals found guilty of stealing American intellectual property. Their bipartisan Protecting American Intellectual Property Act requires sanctions for people and firms that “engage in, benefit from, or enable the significant and serial theft of U.S. intellectual property.” The measure singles out China for its “routine” theft of U.S. trade secrets.

Read More: Frederick News-Post
Franchot, Kopp Slam State Agencies Over Their Late-Filed Contracts
May 6, 2021 -

How long does it take to fax a three-page report from one agency to another during a pandemic? That question produced friction among members of the state’s influential Board of Public Works on Wednesday, as the panel’s Democrats — Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp — vented anew about the Hogan administration’s unwillingness to forward contracts for approval in accordance with state law. Under Maryland procurement regulations, contracts — even “emergency” contracts — must be submitted to the BPW within 45 days of the date they are signed.

Read More: Maryland Matters
A police car
War Of Words: Baltimore Mayor, Maryland Governor Disagree On How To Deter City Violence
May 5, 2021 -
A war of words was brewing between Governor Larry Hogan and Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott Tuesday over how to deal with the city’s crime and violence. It comes on the heels of a disturbing attack on two Korean women in their West Baltimore store. Hogan said he’s outraged over the brutal attack and has a loose connection with the two victims. “It’s just another example of this violent outburst and attacks on Asians all across the country,” said Hogan.
Read More: WJZ-TV
Maryland, Virginia Senators Urge Biden to Resume Plans for New FBI Headquarters
May 5, 2021 -

Maryland and Virginia senators have joined together to urge President Joe Biden to resume plans to build a new Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters, which could be built in either state. The bureau’s current headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. – the J. Edgar Hoover Building – “has crumbling facades, aging infrastructure, and security limitations that are severely impeding the FBI’s ability to meet its critical law enforcement and national security missions,” wrote Maryland’s U.S. Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Virginia’s Sens.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Maryland Gov. Hogan orders nursing homes to report staff, resident COVID vaccinations weekly
May 5, 2021 -

In an ongoing push to improve vaccination rates, the state will now post data weekly on how many residents and staff at each nursing home in Maryland have received shots to protect against the coronavirus. Through Tuesday, about 77% of residents and 63% of employees at the state’s 227 skilled nursing facilities were vaccinated, according to the new dashboard managed by the Department of Aging. However, the rates vary widely from facility to facility and county to county.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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