Politics

For the second time in a week, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore visited a state legislative committee to make the case for one of his administration’s priorities. Moore testified before the Maryland House Appropriations Committee about his bill SERVE or Serving Every Region Through Vocational Exploration Act. Under the program, “The service year option established by this bill would provide young people of every background, and in every jurisdiction all throughout the state, the opportunity to serve our state while also gaining real-world perspectives, skills and experiences,” Moore said. “The program will also be a financial bridge for students to find their footing as they’re entering the world of work and advanced education.”

Vincent Schiraldi, the former head of New York City’s corrections department and former director of juvenile corrections in the District, was confirmed Tuesday by the Maryland Senate to run the state’s Department of Juvenile Services. The Senate voted 33-13, along party lines, with Republican senators using the vote to convey their criticism of the state’s juvenile justice reforms, Schiraldi’s work in the field, and his robust support for restorative justice practices and rehabilitation programs for youths. Schiraldi, a national leader on criminal justice and juvenile justice reform, became the most controversial appointee of Gov. Wes Moore (D) and the only nominee without a unanimous Senate vote.

The neighbors are at it again. Maryland and Virginia continue to pitch the pros of their respective jurisdictions while they try to win the competition to become the next home of the FBI. A week after the General Services Administration contacted delegations from Virginia and Maryland to say that its decision on where to locate the FBI would come after additional “consultations” with representatives from both jurisdictions, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore weighed in. During a visit to North Bethesda on Friday, Moore told reporters he was intent on “making sure that the FBI ends up in the state of Maryland.” Moore called landing the FBI headquarters one of his highest priorities and urged the GSA and the FBI to stick to the criteria previously laid out in the selection process, including a focus on equity.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) is rejecting a Republican Party nominee for the Maryland State Board of Elections, calling him “not an appropriate selection for this important position of public trust.” William Newton, a frequent candidate for the General Assembly and Congress, was nominated by the Republican State Central Committee to fill a vacancy on the elections board. Moore, in a letter to state Republican Party officials, said Newton “does not meet our internal vetting standards.” “I am of the opinion that Mr. Newton is not an appropriate selection for this important position of public trust,” Moore wrote in a Feb. 16 letter to Nicole Beus Harris, chair of the Maryland Republican Party.

Last April, four Baltimore County Police detectives from the department’s Criminal Apprehension Support Team fired at a motorist in Dundalk, seriously injuring the 19-year-old driver. In January, one of those same four detectives shot and critically injured a 37-year-old man in White Marsh during an attempted arrest, after police said the driver tried to escape and hit an unmarked department vehicle. Neither shooting was recorded by officers’ body-worn cameras, because members of the Criminal Apprehension Support Team have yet to receive them from the department.

Del. Lesley Lopez became a victim Thursday night of exactly the kind of harassment that she’s trying to put a stop to – getting unwanted sexual images through online platforms. Lopez (D-Montgomery) is the chief sponsor of House Bill 600, which would create a task force to determine the best way to prevent and respond to “nonconsensual sexual imagery” sent online. Lopez had finished the Judiciary Committee hearing on her bill when she was confronted with a direct message through Twitter of a man exposing himself to her. She reported the message to House Sergeant-at-Arms Robert Parham, who is also a trooper with the Maryland State Police.

A bipartisan group of Maryland senators came together Friday to share their vision for a more robust system of mental health care in the state. “We know this has been a policy issue for decades, and frankly long before any of us got here, and in some cases before any of us were born,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said. “But today we are here saying that in this post-pandemic period, we are going to do what it takes in Maryland to create a world-class mental health care system.”