Politics

Programs that assist Baltimore City’s homeless population are running out of financial resources. Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money were set aside to help house the homeless in Baltimore City. Local advocate, Minister Christina Flowers, questioned the city’s ability to tap into that federal funding. “We are looking at a repeated issue of mismanagement of homeless money,” Flowers said. “In 2015, we had to deal with $9.8 million and gave $3.7 million back.

The contentious, months-long political fight ended in applause as Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) signed into law a bill limiting rent increases, surrounded by cheering officials and housing activists. It was a hard-fought victory for renter protections that tenant rights advocates had sought for years, including Elrich, who twice tried and failed to force the issue as a county council member.

Mayor Brandon Scott announced Wednesday morning that he has tapped James Wallace to lead the Baltimore City Fire Department, after eight months of a series of rotating interim leaders. The 33-year veteran of the department will begin serving as acting chief effective immediately. Wallace has served as the director of the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management, an office within the fire department tasked with everything from pandemic response to creating and implementing citywide plans during hazardous weather, since 2020.

Three Maryland lawmakers want to posthumously recognize Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cancer cells have been used for decades in research and paved the way for immense medical breakthroughs and disease treatments. Maryland’s U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D) and Ben Cardin (D) and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th) have filed legislation to award Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal for her contributions to medicine, as her endlessly dividing cancer cells have led to breakthroughs in a multitude of medical discoveries in the treatment of many cancers, blood disorders, other diseases and HIV.

In his bid for the U.S. Senate, Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando (D-At Large) openly acknowledges his fellow Democratic opponents have more money. But he argues that will not matter. He went into the home turf of one of those opponents, Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D), on Wednesday to unveil his first wave of endorsements from four local officials in her jurisdiction. At the same time, he declared himself the most progressive candidate in the wide-open race to succeed retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in 2024.

Annapolis elections held a year early? Or a year late? Residents from all political affiliations casting ballots in primaries? Voters as young as 16 heading to the polls? These and other questions about the municipal election system are part of a new questionnaire launched this week by the city’s Task Force to Study the City Municipal Elections Laws, an all-volunteer body appointed in February by Mayor Gavin Buckley.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is still not completely ruling out a potential run for political office, but it’s not his “focus” at the moment. “I made the decision not to seek the Republican nomination,” Hogan said while on The C4 and Bryan Nehman Show on Wednesday. “I didn’t close the door to that. It’s not something I’m focused on.” Since leaving office, Hogan has said he did not want to run for presidency but may be working on possibly running as a third party.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) vowed to fight attempts to end the racial equity and inclusion policies used by private corporations. “Let me be clear: diversity is not a threat — it’s an asset,” Brown said in response to a threat of legal action by 13 Republican attorneys general. “Diversity initiatives address longstanding disparities that continue to persist in our society, while also enriching business, sparking innovation, and fostering greater understanding among individuals from various backgrounds and experiences. Embracing and supporting diversity is a moral imperative and smart business.”