Politics

When Sen. Chris Van Hollen felt a sharp pain in his neck, then felt light-headed, two minutes into a speech at the Rocky Gap Resort last month, he had to make a quick decision. Should he tell his audience, which had gathered for the Western Maryland Democratic Summit, that he wasn’t feeling well, and sit down? Or should he ignore his symptoms and “muscle through”? He decided to continue speaking, propping his arm on the lectern for balance. “It was a pretty good speech, after all,” he recalled with a chuckle.

Child care, community partnerships and removal of carcinogenic firefighting equipment were the big-ticket budget items added to the Annapolis city budget Monday during a 12-hour meeting to discuss more than 40 proposed amendments. All amendments were additions (or in a handful of cases, subtractions) to the $170 million budget proposed by Mayor Gavin Buckley in April. Some were technical corrections, and a few others adjusted fees and fines.

The Harford County Council passed a resolution to establish a search committee to help find a new county health officer at its meeting on Tuesday. The council appointed nine members to the committee: council president Patrick Vincenti; council member Andre Johnson; council vice president Robert Wagner; the county executive or a designee; previous county health officer Dr. Russell Moy; Bari Klein, executive director of Healthy Harford; Katherine Feldman, chief public health strategist for the Maryland Department of Health; Mary Nasuta, Harford County Public Schools’ supervisor of health services; and Vicki Jones, president of the Harford County NAACP.

The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill Wednesday in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds. The legislation passed by a mostly party-line vote of 223-204. It has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks.

Rushern L. Baker III is determined that his current gubernatorial campaign not be a replica of his 2018 run. Not just the losing part — but the way he lost. The former Prince George’s county executive looks back at his unsuccessful run four years ago and sees a campaign that was too scripted, too focused on “not offending anybody.” “I made a mistake,” he said in an interview. “I made a mistake by not being authentic in 2018, and worrying about whether I’d offend the Senate president or the speaker of the House, or anyone else — rather than just telling the truth.”

Frustrated Baltimore County Council blocks routine school district budget item to signal displeasure and get answers on parental concerns over late buses and other issues. “Parents can’t go to work every day and not know if their children are going to be picked up,” said Councilwoman Cathy Bevins. In a show of frustration, the council voted 5-2 to turn down the county schools’ request for a funding transfer. Such shifts within the budget are usually a routine matter, but council members used the opportunity to express disappointment in how school system leaders have responded to problems.

As part of County Executive Steuart Pittman’s budget proposal for fiscal 2023, he announced in April he’d request the county council raise the rainy-day cap to 7% of the estimated General Fund, which will result in savings of about $133 million, he said. Six council members voted in favor of the increase. Allison Pickard, a Glen Burnie Democrat, was absent. Nathan Volke, a Pasadena Republican, said he was pleased to see the cap on an upward trajectory following a hike to 6% last year but said he’d like to see it increase even higher to 10%.