Politics

Offshore wind energy is getting most of the attention. The sector is rapid growing nationally, and Gov. Wes Moore (D) traveled to an industrial development in Baltimore County Friday to sign a bill that could expand the industry in Maryland. But beyond that legislation, Maryland lawmakers passed several bills in the recent General Assembly session designed to help the state respond to climate change.

President Joe Biden announced his campaign re-election bid Tuesday; the same day Vice President Kamala Harris visited NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. “This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election,” Biden said in a video announcing his 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, Harris toured the facility at Goddard, and delivered remarks.

Before her election, Brooke Lierman had not even been inside the treasury building in Annapolis. Now, Maryland’s first woman to hold the office of comptroller is focused on making tax season easier for citizens, updating her department’s aging infrastructure and her next 100 days in office. A former member of the House of Delegates, Lierman was busy most of her first 100 days in office with the 2023 legislative session, which ended April 10. She said she sought to use her new role to collaborate with her former colleagues.

Those who have been vocal about their concerns regarding noisy helicopters flying over residential areas in Northern Virginia are getting some renewed attention from the Federal Aviation Administration. According to the FAA, helicopter pilots are being ordered to make changes as a direct result of “helicopter complaints” filed by residents over the past year.

Turning one of his hallmark campaign promises into reality, Gov. Wes Moore signed into law the creation of a program that will allow recent high school graduates to participate in a year of paid public service before entering the workforce or continuing their education. The program was among more than 100 bills the Democratic governor put his signature on Monday afternoon — including a $63.1 billion state budget, fixes to the troubled 529 college savings program, election process reforms and the creation of new government entities to manage racetracks and study Baltimore’s water system.

A plethora of pens, handshakes, signatures, official snapshots and selfies proceeded on Monday as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore enacted more than 100 pieces of legislation during his third bill signing of his time in office. A team of two rotated each bill’s numbers on signage, and a civil servant carried the placards back and forth while lawmakers, advocates and ordinary citizens came behind the state’s presiding officers for picture after picture, after picture.

Fisheries scientist Allison Colden has been named the new Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, effective immediately. An Annapolis resident, Colden will succeed the foundation’s previous director, Josh Kurtz, whom Gov. Wes Moore appointed to be the secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in January. “It’s my pleasure to announce Allison Colden as the new leader of CBF’s Maryland team,” said Alison Prost, CBF’s Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration, in a statement.