The Baltimore County Council passed amendments to a ban on the sale of plastic bags that is slated to go into effect in two weeks. County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said he will veto the three carveouts. In February, the council voted to ban retailers from offering free plastic bags at the point of sale and to require a minimum-5-cent charge for provided reusable and paper bags under the Bring Your Own Bag Act, which will go into effect November 1.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced Monday a new median beautification program led by the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation. The program aims to revitalize medians throughout the county by planting trees, shrubs, flowers and ornamental grasses. The Woodlawn neighborhood is one of 10 designated areas in the county with eight others also in the works.

Maryland Democrat and U.S. Rep. David Trone has already spent nearly $10 million — mostly from money he lent his campaign — in the contest to succeed U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who is not seeking reelection next year. The congressman’s principal opponents, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Montgomery County Councilman Will Jawando, spent $1.2 million and $429,190, respectively, during the first three quarters of the year, according to their Federal Election Commission reports. Third-quarter FEC filings were due Sunday.

The Maryland Department of Health plans to ask the Board of Public Works next week to convert 144 contractual positions to regular ones — a move the department said won’t cost the state additional money if it also eliminates some contractual positions. The Board of Public Works, the body tasked with approving how the state government spends tax dollars, is authorized to create additional positions under the Fiscal Year 2024 budget bill so long as it abolishes 1.25 full-time contractual positions per new regular position, state health department spokesman Chase Cook wrote in an email.

With a look back at past corruption in Baltimore County, County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. on Monday announced plans to strengthen the county’s inspector general’s office and ensure employees comply with investigations. After invoking the names of Spiro Agnew and Dale Anderson — two former county executives who ended up with federal convictions — Olszewski said that he recognizes “that Baltimore County has to continue to do better.”

City Council President Nick Mosby put forward Monday a counter proposal for rewriting Baltimore’s district lines and a timeline where City Council would vote on the proposal this week — drawing objection from Mayor Brandon Scott. In some key areas, Mosby’s map resembles the one introduced by Scott nearly a month ago, but aims to resolve complaints raised in recent weeks by numerous community groups about plans to divide their neighborhoods between different districts.

There were “glimmers of hope” in the White’s Ferry talks in the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environmental Committee meeting Monday, MoCo Council President Evan Glass (D-At-Large) said. “From here, I’m hopeful that we can make meaningful progress,” Glass said in a Monday press conference. He declined to give a more specific timeline. White’s Ferry, which transported commuters across the Potomac River between Poolesville in Montgomery County and Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, has been closed since December 2020. White’s Ferry has operated since about 1786.

 

Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby introduced an alternative map for the city’s redistricting effort Monday and set an aggressive timeline for a vote later this week that Mayor Brandon Scott’s office has said it will oppose. The new map, seen by some members of the council and administration for the first time during a committee meeting Monday, would make adjustments to the majority of the city’s 14 council districts, including several in areas where residents have voiced concerns.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, members of the Washington area Jewish community and elected officials on Friday joined to show support for Israel at a rally in the city’s Freedom Plaza. “I’m here to say very clearly, we are here to stand with the state of Israel, to recognize the right of Israel to exist, to recognize the right for Israel to defend itself, to recognize the right of Israelis to live without fear,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told the crowd.

In an open field on a hilltop overlooking industrialized South Baltimore, city officials plan to build a glossy, $14-million-dollar recreation center. The proposed, 20,000-square-foot complex — which could include a gymnasium, fitness center, patio and gathering rooms — would replace the modest brick structure down the hill, Curtis Bay’s longtime rec center. Erected in 1950, the old building’s yellow paint is chipping away in places and the “A” in “RECREATION” hangs slightly askew.