Politics

Baltimore’s Little Italy and Harbor East neighborhoods as well as the city’s sports stadiums would move to new council districts under a redistricting plan unveiled Monday by Mayor Brandon Scott. The proposal, which still must be approved by the City Council, makes the heaviest alterations to Districts 1 and 11, currently represented by Councilmen Zeke Cohen and Eric Costello, respectively.

The Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office is working to publicly share data about sentences and plea offers in the cases it prosecutes. Frederick County and other Maryland jurisdictions will eventually have public “data dashboards” with information such as how case outcomes break down by race and ethnicity or number of new cases with defendants with prior criminal records.

Members of the Baltimore City Council voted Monday to advance a bill that would give the city’s law department the authority to take action against businesses that violate consumer protections. The ordinance — which covers unfair, abusive or deceptive trade practices involving goods, realty and services purchased and sold in the city — also enables the law department to impose and collect fines for civil penalties, according to a draft of the legislation.

Gov. Wes Moore’s signature plan to create a year-of-service program for recent high school graduates is scheduled to begin next month after state officials received hundreds of applications. The Democratic governor pitched the idea — first on the campaign trail and then during his inaugural legislative session earlier this year — as a way to connect young adults with jobs and inspire long-term dedication to public service.

As the fog lifted from the Middletown Valley on a stunningly beautiful day on Sept. 8, the Frederick County Farm Bureau, in partnership with the Frederick and Catoctin Soil Conservation Districts, hosted the third annual Soil Smart Farm Tour for federal, state and local government officials. Attendees enjoyed a bus tour of four agricultural operations in western and southern Frederick County, to learn about each farm operation, explore the unique challenges each farm faces, and view their natural resources conservation practices.

The Baltimore County Council will vote Monday on legislation that, if passed, would curb residential construction near White Marsh Mall and halt hundreds of housing units from being built. Due to concerns about overcrowding of schools and roads, Baltimore County Councilman David Marks proposed a bill last month to remove regulations allowing certain kinds of residential construction in the manufacturing light zone.

A federal appeals court has tentatively scheduled oral arguments in a case over an Anne Arundel County law requiring gun sellers to distribute pamphlets on safe gun storage and suicide prevention at the time of sale. Between Dec. 5 and 8, arguments are set to take place in Richmond, Virginia, in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, according to a court order released Wednesday. Attorneys have until Wednesday to file motions that would affect the scheduling, the order states.

As the United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers entered a second day, the parties returned to the bargaining table Saturday. The UAW said it had “reasonably productive conversations with Ford today.” The union is also meeting with General Motors on Saturday. Stellantis said it will meet with the UAW Monday.