Politics

Gov. Wes Moore announced 13 attorneys who will make up the newly minted Anne Arundel County Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission, his office announced Wednesday. The commission stems from an executive order Moore issued in March that created nominating commissions for judges at the trial and appellate levels. The committee is tasked with finding and recommending judges for Moore to appoint when vacancies appear.

Where most people see crumbling concrete, David Ginsburg sees potential. Before it became a parking lot, the area behind the Pikesville Armory in Baltimore County was an athletic field, where Gen. George S. Patton played polo in the 1930s, regularly traveling to Pikesville from the Pentagon. Now, 120 years after being built, the armory is being reactivated for a new tour of duty.

A commission of Baltimore City historic preservationists approved a request by a development team Tuesday to demolish five buildings situated at the corner of Howard and Fayette streets that are central to a decadeslong revival effort downtown. Part of the Five & Dime historic district — a five-block stretch of commercial storefronts that used to serve as the city’s retail and shopping district — the buildings date back to the mid-to-late 19th century and range in height from 3 1/2 to four stories tall.

Baltimore’s Department of Public Works on Wednesday ended its request for residents in the city and surrounding counties to voluntarily limit their water usage, nearly a month after a fire damaged a pumping station in Parkville. The July 13 fire at the Cromwell pumping station heavily damaged equipment inside the station, including two pumps, DPW previously said. Cromwell serves the northeastern portion of the city, along with Towson, Hunt Valley, Cockeysville, Timonium and Sparks, Tim Wolfe, chief of the office of engineering and construction at DPW, told The Banner last month.

About 40 people were on hand Tuesday night at Hagerstown Community College for a “listening session” led by the Maryland Department of the Environment about the state’s climate pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act put forth the twin targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2006 levels by 2031 and getting to a net-zero trajectory by 2045.

A new blue ribbon commission is scheduled to begin a series of hearings that could change how the state prioritizes and pays for transportation projects. Gov. Wes Moore (D), Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) recently named the 31-member Maryland Commission on Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs The commission is set to hold its first meeting on Aug. 24 in Annapolis.

Baltimore Comptroller Bill Henry thought long and hard about a request from a few Baltimore City power brokers, one that had been bouncing around a few tight-knit political circles: Run for mayor. But despite the closed-door coaxing and poll results that Henry believed showed a pathway to City Hall’s top office, Henry decided to run for reelection next year.