Politics

As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have forcefully warned Americans multiple times on Wednesday about what the president is calling “the storm of the century.” “To the people of Florida and all affected states, we’ve got your back,” Biden said in remarks from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. “We’ve got your back, and Kamala and I will be there for as long as it takes to rescue, recover and rebuild.”

An attorney for voters trying to block a Baltimore referendum on redevelopment of the Inner Harbor faced stiff questioning Wednesday from several Maryland Supreme Court justices, who are trying to determine if the issue should go forward. But the justices did not rule after the hourlong hearing, which came less than four weeks before Election Day and as thousands of mailed-out ballots with the question on them have already been returned by city voters.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday said she thinks former President Donald Trump has no empathy for others as he continues to spread misinformation about the federal response in the wake of Hurricane Helene. “It’s profound, and it is the height of irresponsibility and frankly callousness. … Lives are literally at stake right now,” Harris said during an interview on ABC’s “The View.”

The Anne Arundel County Council passed a bill Monday that will require developers to allocate a portion of new units for moderate-income residents and create more diverse housing types in certain areas, in spite of environmental concerns raised by community members. Known as the Housing Attainability Act, the bill would require new housing developments with 20 or more units to designate 10% of for-sale units and 15% of rental units to be affordable.

Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican Larry Hogan will meet Thursday in the only scheduled debate in a U.S. Senate contest competitive enough to attract attention and heavyweight donors from both national parties. In a state in which registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-1, Alsobrooks enters the debate at Maryland Public Television in Owings Mills leading Hogan by 48% to 39%, according to a UMBC poll released Wednesday that surveyed likely Maryland voters late last month.

For months, Jared Littman was the lone candidate for mayor of Annapolis, announcing his candidacy for the Democratic primary in January. No Republicans have entered the race either. Things took an unexpected turn last week when Ward 3 Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell-Charles launched her mayoral bid at an event at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church.

The Baltimore County Council voted 4-3 against changing the maps that accompany a ballot question on whether to expand the council, finding Monday evening that such a bill undermined the spirit of compromise that led to the most significant effort to reform the legislative body since it was formed in 1956. Democrat Mike Ertel of Towson joined his Republican colleagues — David Marks of Upper Falls, Todd Crandell of Dundalk and Wade Kach of northern Baltimore County — to vote against the proposal.

Prince George’s County officials on Monday began considering legislation that would tie the county’s minimum to fluctuations in the cost of living. The county’s current minimum wage is $15 per hour — an amount set in 2017 under a 2013 law that implemented incremental increases to what the lowest-paid workers in the Maryland county have a right to earn.