Politics

Nine members of Gov. Wes Moore’s cabinet received final approval Monday to lead state agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Labor and Health under the new administration. The secretaries, unanimously approved by the state Senate, had been serving in acting roles since Moore’s inauguration nearly four weeks ago. Another nine acting secretaries, out of 21 that Moore has named, were considered in a Senate committee and are scheduled for their full confirmation votes later this week.

Baltimore’s Afro news organization will house and showcase its extensive archives in a restored Upton Mansion in West Baltimore with more than $2 million in federal funding. Maryland Democrats U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume worked together to secure $2.2 million for the project. The money will go toward restoring the building and digitizing the Afro’s archives, which is made up of more than 100 years of news articles, photographs, letters and audio recordings.  “The Afro archives is one of the strongest reserves of information about the African American community in our country, and it’s right here in Baltimore,” Cardin said.

Among the many duties Ma’ryah Baynard has as a community activist, curriculum developer and peer mediator, one of her top goals is mental health support at her high school in Baltimore City. The 18-year-old senior at Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women wants Maryland’s top brass – Gov. Wes Moore (D), House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) – to support and fund mental health services for her peers as part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.

A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge upheld two out of three findings in a city administrative ruling that City Council President Nick Mosby violated Baltimore’s ethics code for elected officials, throwing out the most notable finding that the Democrat himself took money from controlled donors. At a virtual hearing Monday afternoon, Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill agreed with the Baltimore City Board of Ethics that the Democrat solicited donations from controlled donors — that is, people who are seeking to do business with the city — to a legal

Among the many duties Ma’ryah Baynard has as a community activist, curriculum developer and peer mediator, one of her top goals is mental health support at her high school in Baltimore City. The 18-year-old senior at Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women wants Maryland’s top brass – Gov. Wes Moore (D), House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) – to support and fund mental health services for her peers as part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.

The Maryland Senate Executive Nominations Committee quietly held off approving two of Gov. Wes Moore agency heads Monday evening, including the at-times controversial, yet nationally recognized appointee named to head the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. The committee voted unanimously to hold the appointment of Acting Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi at the request of the Senate Republican leader, mostly owing to reservations that members of the GOP Caucus has raised about past comments and policy actions.

Last November, Democratic state Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk said she’d never seen a candidate as dedicated to engaging Latino voters as her party’s gubernatorial nominee, Wes Moore. As the Moore administration takes shape, her enthusiasm over the inclusion of Latino voices is evident. “The cabinet is very diverse and you can see he has been very intentional about it, which is really wonderful and a great example for many other people to follow,” Peña-Melnyk said. “I know that this transition team has emphasized bringing our community to the table, every community to the table.”

Indecent exposure is often predatory behavior, particularly when the target is a child, and a crime that warrants increased punishment when a juvenile is the one to witness the act, say backers of a bill to up the penalties for indecent exposure to a minor. The bill, HB 0212, has bipartisan support, making sponsors Del. Brian Crosby, D-St. Mary’s, and Del. Jesse Pippy, R-Frederick, optimistic that it will pass this time around, after it failed in the Senate last year. The bill, titled Indecent Exposure Within the Sight of a Minor, was cross-filed in the Senate as SB 0208, where it is sponsored by Sen. Jack Bailey, R- St. Mary’s and Calvert.