Politics

A former top Maryland official who skipped his trial on corruption charges and died last month as a fugitive in an armed confrontation with federal agents after a three-week manhunt had made no plans to travel for his trial in Baltimore, according to a newly-unsealed FBI affidavit. Roy McGrath, a one-time chief of staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, missed the first day of trial in federal court on March 13, triggering a manhunt that ended when McGrath was wounded in a shooting April 3 near Knoxville, Tennessee. He died at a hospital.

A bill being considered by the Anne Arundel County Council that would ban many retail establishments from providing customers with plastic bags received positive feedback Monday for the second consecutive hearing. Representatives from the Anne Arundel County chapter of the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Conservancy, Arundel Rivers Federation and other environmental advocates submitted oral and written testimony arguing that prohibiting plastic bags is an important step in protecting the county’s delicate waterways.

Maryland’s Democrats in Congress have joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court opposing lower court rulings that would prohibit or restrict the sale of the abortion pill mifepristone. Senate Democrats and independents and House Democrats argued that the “FDA’s determination that mifepristone is safe and effective is based on a thorough and comprehensive review process prescribed and overseen by the legislative branch.”

When Ashoke and Vinita Rampuria’s son returned home after taking a year off from college, to complete his course work, he didn’t seem like himself. “He was unable to complete tasks. He was lying on the sofa,” said Ashoke Rampuria, a resident of Acton, Massachusetts. “He took some jobs, but could not hold them.”

Maryland’s senior senator has been recommended to temporarily replace California’s senator on the Judiciary Committee, but Republicans aren’t having it. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, has been recommended to temporarily replace U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cardin tweeted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, recommended the Maryland senator as a temporary replacement on the committee.

Two of Maryland’s largest — and most politically active unions — have voted to become one. AFSCME Council 67, which represents nearly 15,000 city and county government employees, is joining forces with AFSCME Council 3, which represents nearly 30,000 state government workers and university employees. The combined union, which will carry the Council 3 name, will represent nearly 45,000 public employees across the state.

More than halfway into his first term, Mayor Brandon Scott pitched Baltimoreans a renaissance of expanded city services, including longer recreation center hours and the return of weekly curbside recycling at Monday night’s State of the City address. The annual speech, usually delivered in the winter and this year delayed several times, also allowed the 39-year-old progressive Democrat — who faces a potentially tough bid for reelection next year — an opportunity to promote continued political stability to execute his agenda as he offered a glimpse into future programs.

Baltimore’s mayor put the blame for youth violence squarely on the shoulders of parents, but he placed the solution on everyone. Mayor Brandon Scott on Monday morning held a roundtable on youth violence that included Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa and clergy and community leaders to discuss summer strategies and seek help to keep young people safe and engaged.