Politics

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott made his nomination of Richard Worley to be the city’s next police commissioner official Monday, submitting the selection to the Baltimore City Council and kicking off a confirmation process. The council, which met Monday night, received the nomination without discussion. Worley’s appointment was assigned to the council’s Rules and Legislative Oversight committee, which will hold a hearing Aug. 15.

The Baltimore City Council is expected to call for a hearing on Monday to investigate why several pools in the city have not opened for the summer. In southeast Baltimore, the water is green, and the gates are padlocked at the Patterson Park Public Pool. For 13- year-old Naveah Distance, it’s a been a bummer summer without taking a swim.

A Baltimore City councilman is calling on the state body that oversees Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. to reject a proposed plan that would significantly increase gas costs for customers over the next three years and his City Council colleagues have also signaled their disapproval. Zeke Cohen, who represents Southeast Baltimore’s 1st District, introduced — and council approved — a nonbinding resolution Monday opposing the rate increase.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and first lady Dawn Moore have sold their North Baltimore home, closing on the $2,525,000 sale six months after the family moved to Annapolis following the inauguration, according to online listings. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion overlooking Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore’s Guilford neighborhood had been on the market for almost five months and was originally listed at $2,750,000.

The first round of fundraising numbers are in for the candidates who hope to become Maryland’s next U.S. senator. Of the declared Democrats, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks raised the most money in donations — $1.73 million — since the May 1 announcement that longtime U.S. Senator Ben Cardin would not run again.

After starting the year with a large surplus, Maryland is projected to have a nine-figure structural deficit entering the next fiscal year. A former budget secretary said the state government’s projected budget shortfall “will very likely” be higher than what initial estimates show. Lawmakers entered the last legislative session with a multibillion-dollar surplus, but Maryland is now projected to have a $418 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2024, according to the Department of Legislative Services.

Gov. Wes Moore named Terry V. Jackson of Harford County and Michael Bellis of St. Mary’s County as new members of the board of directors at the Maryland Legal Services Corp. (MLSC). In addition, Debra A. Thomas Esq. of Baltimore was elected board chair and Allison Banks of Baltimore was elected treasurer. Jackson is an accounting and finance professional with many years of experience helping organizations with financial analysis, reporting, auditing, and strategic planning.

After several years of discussion and debate, Frederick County’s newest library will be built on the site of a park on the west side of the city of Frederick. The new library will be built at Hillcrest Park, at the corner of McCain Drive and Butterfly Lane in Frederick’s Hillcrest neighborhood, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater and Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor announced at a joint press conference Monday.