Politics

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who recently completed his first 100 days on the job, has an approval rating of 53%, according to a new poll. Among 800 people surveyed by Goucher College Poll in partnership with The Baltimore Banner, 36% said they approved of Moore’s job performance and another 17% gave strong approval.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has ousted two top officials in his executive team, according to a City Hall official with knowledge of the matter. Chief of Staff Chezia Cager and spokesman Cirilo Manego have been asked to leave their positions, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the departures had not yet been announced.

A blind trust overseeing Gov. Wes Moore’s investment holdings will have to divest a large portion of the Democrat’s holdings in the state’s growing cannabis industry. The acknowledgement of what is called a rebalancing comes as Moore announced the creation of the blind trust — what is believed to be the first by any Maryland governor since Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Baltimore prosecutors on Monday dropped the criminal charge against state Del. Caylin Young that had stemmed from something that happened at a public event in November. An attendee of the event, Vann Millhouse, applied for a criminal charge because they said Young twice put his hands on Millhouse and “physically removed” them from the event at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Young was charged with second-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

Baltimore County Public Schools is restarting the process to fill the open seat on its board, even though the governor’s office has still not explained why it didn’t pick a candidate the first time. The first of three virtual public input sessions will be held Monday to inform the public of the process. The meetings start at 7 p.m. on May 1, May 4 and May 9. The public can watch on Zoom or call in.

Montgomery County Public Schools reached a tentative agreement with the Montgomery County Education Association on Friday that would increase teachers’ salaries over the next two years. According to an MCPS news release, teachers in the union would start with an annual salary increase of $5,602 for ten-month employees and $6,583 for twelve-month employees in the 2023-2024 school year.

After months of hedging, Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk finally stripped certain users of their blue verification checks last week. Before he purchased the social media platform, the blue check system served to verify that accounts claiming to belong to notable individuals and organizations were actually being run by those individuals and organizations. Now, Musk is charging $8 a month for check marks through Twitter Blue.