Politics

The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday awarded over $1.5 million to five community organizations, including a Baltimore nonprofit, “to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment against underserved and marginalized women workers.” The department’s Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon said these Fostering Access, Rights and Equity, or FARE, grants are part of the department’s work towards meeting the goals set out in President Joe Biden’s national action plan for addressing and preventing gender-based violence.

The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to ban “right turns on red” at some intersections as part of an overhaul of the county’s traffic safety laws. The “Safe Streets Act of 2023” prohibits drivers from making right turns on a red traffic light at busy intersections in downtown and town center areas of the county. These designated intersections would be marked with “No Right Turn on Red” signs. The bill also lengthens walk times for pedestrians at crosswalks.

A bill critical to a project to renovate a long-abandoned building that used to house a historic general store in Galesville passed the Anne Arundel County Council unanimously Monday night. The legislation to reclassify the half-acre parcel in the south county town along the West River from a limited development area to an intensely developed area will enable the new owners, the resident-run nonprofit Galesville Community Properties Inc., to renovate and subdivide the property.

The question of whether Baltimore is a leading data city underscores a coalition of public agencies coming together with a nonprofit to build a platform that could assist youth educational attainment and economic mobility. The group comprises the Baltimore City Health Department, the Mayor’s Office, Baltimore City Public Schools and Baltimore’s Promise (BP). The four entities are using a grant from Modernized Anti-Racist Data Ecosystems (MADE) for Health Justice to support the implementation of the Baltimore City Youth Data Hub.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks received more support Monday in her run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. According to the Alsobrooks campaign, U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) represents the county executive’s 100th endorsement. “I’m really excited for her to have the chance to do this, and it couldn’t come at a more important time,” Ivey said at Alsobrooks’ campaign headquarters in Largo.

Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen will introduce a resolution on Monday to call for an investigative hearing on the increase of car thefts in the city. Data that was provided by the Baltimore Police Department showed 6,225 car thefts as of Aug. 19 for the calendar year. That number represented a 225% increase compared to last year.

After facing a federal case over acquiring machine guns for a local business, Frederick County, Maryland, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is discussing about why he is returning to duty after a self-imposed leave of absence. “It didn’t shock anybody, more than to shock me,” Jenkins told the Frederick Report podcast about a grand jury indictment from April.

Stating that it was important to ensure that those in law enforcement who run afoul of their sworn duties are held accountable, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates on Monday released an updated list of 60 police officers his office will not call to testify because of concerns that they are untrustworthy. Bates removed the previous “Do Not Call” list in the spring to look at the names, examine the conduct that had been alleged and review the criteria that the office used to put police officers onto the registry.