Members of Congress receive thousands of threats a year, though just a fraction of the people who call, mail or email will ever be prosecuted — a situation that’s of great concern to the police who guard members. Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, the U.S. Capitol Police confirmed to States Newsroom on Tuesday. It’s a statistic the chief of police has said needs to change. “Recognizing that threat cases are difficult to prosecute, it is disheartening to me that our prosecution rate remains low,” USCP Chief Thomas Manger said during a recent congressional hearing while talking about the 2021 numbers.
As Gov. Wes Moore (D) delivered his first State of the State address on Wednesday, he highlighted six Marylanders for their service to their communities and the state. Judy Roopnaraine has worked the last eight years for the state’s Department of General Services doing maintenance work mostly inside the State House. Wednesday marked the first time she watched the State of the State address in person, seated next to first lady Dawn Moore and the governor’s family. “Tens of thousands of government workers through our state serve our people,” Moore said before Roopnaraine blew a kiss toward him from her perch in the House of Delegates gallery. “They do so despite the fact the pay could be better, the incoming complaints could be fewer, the challenges could be easier. They do it because, like you and I, they love our state.”
Gov. Wes Moore delivered his first State of the State speech Wednesday, laying out his plans for the state based on the concept of service. Here are three key moments, ideas and promises from the speech, as prepared for delivery.
Baltimore City and Baltimore County officials are taking the first step toward revamping the region’s troubled system that provides drinking water and treats wastewater for millions of residents in the region. Mayor Brandon M. Scott and County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. announced a plan Tuesday to create a task force to study the water and sewer system and come up with recommendations for how the system should be owned, run and managed. They’re working with state lawmakers and Gov. Wes Moore’s administration on legislation in the General Assembly that would create the task force and require recommendations by next January.
The Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday heard comments for and against two pieces of legislation. The first is about drag racing and other types of dangerous driving that local Maryland governments and their police forces say are becoming bigger problems. The bill, sponsored by Anne Arundel County Democrat state Sen. Pam Beidle, would increase the fines and even allow police to arrest drivers engaged in both street racing and what’s defined as “exhibition driving.” Cars could also be impounded. The law is modeled after one crafted for Ocean City after an event organized on social media called H2Oi started showing and causing problems there.
Alonzo Washington’s exit from the House of Delegates for the Maryland Senate has prompted yet another series of changes on State House scorecards. Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery) will replace Washington as vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) announced Tuesday. Wilkins, the recently elected chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, had been the House parliamentarian, but Stephanie M. Smith (D-Baltimore City) now steps up to that position, Jones said. Smith, who chairs the Baltimore City House delegation, is chair of the Appropriations Committee’s Education and Economic Development Subcommittee.
The price of a flood prevention project in Ellicott City which saw two major flooding events in 2016 and 2018, has skyrocketed by nearly $50 million. According to Howard County officials, building the “extended north tunnel” is now expected to cost $130 million, compared to the $82 million price tag that was initially announced along with the project in 2019. County Executive Calvin Ball (D) put much of the blame on inflation. “While we understood the sizable investment required when we began this project in 2019, we could not foresee the present inflationary pressures,” Ball said. According to Ball, construction and building costs in Maryland over the past year have increased by nearly 15% and more than 21%, respectively.
Maryland has joined the U.S. Climate Alliance and is supporting efforts to address climate change, including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, land preservation, and other actions, Gov. Wes Moore announced last week. Moore’s $63.1 billion budget proposal, released Jan. 20, includes $422 million for environmental protection in Maryland. The investment would be made through programs funded by the transfer tax supporting land preservation, operations, and capital projects for state parks. It would accompany $129 million in general funds for the Great Maryland Outdoors Act’s revision of the transfer tax repayment provision.
The Baltimore County Public Schools community shouldn’t expect new board members until after the budget season that wraps up by the end of February, according to the governor’s office. The county board of education has four appointed members whose terms have already expired but are staying on until the governor appoints their replacements. “To avoid making decisions that could disrupt that time-sensitive [budget] process, the Appointments Office and the Board’s Nominating Commission have agreed to hold on new board appointments until after that time,” said Carter Elliott, press secretary for Gov. Wes Moore, in an email on Tuesday.
As a nurse practitioner, Marian Grant recalled how she cared for a man with serious health issues in the hospital who was incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Institution – Jessup. The man, she said, was 74 and suffering from kidney failure. He was unable to walk or care for himself. And he was so confused that he could not answer her questions. Grant said his medical charts indicated that he’d been back and forth in the last few weeks between the prison infirmary and the hospital. He was shackled to the bed, while a corrections officer sat in the room looking at his cellphone.
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