Politics

Baltimore leaders hit pause on a vote for a program that would sell city-owned vacant properties for $1. The decision follows mounting pressure from a city council at odds over the policy. The Board of Estimates plans to put the program on the March 20 agenda. The decision would set a pricing breakdown for city-owned vacant homes on the “Buy into Bmore” website.

Maryland lawmakers are homing in on plans to raise some toll rates for the first time in a decade and to place a new fee on electric vehicles to start solving a roughly $3.3 billion transportation budget deficit in the coming years. Details of both plans — including who would be affected by the toll hikes and the amount of the vehicle fee — are up in the air as the General Assembly enters the final month of its annual 90-day session.

Joel Rubin, who was mayor of Chevy Chase from 2017 to 2023, announced Wednesday he no longer is running for the congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-6) “[A]fter much consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress,” he said. In the same announcement, Rubin wrote he is “proud to announce my endorsement of April McClain Delaney.”

Building an audience on TikTok has been a way for Cam Barrett to reclaim part of her identity after spending much of her childhood as an unwitting social media influencer.\ As early as she can remember, her adoptive mom posted about her on platforms like Facebook and MySpace. From intimate details about her adoption to her first period, the private information made public without her permission has had a lasting impact on the now 25-year-old.

Housing costs are soaring. Maryland Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day says low supply drives up both rents and home prices. We ask about Governor Moore’s legislative proposals to boost new construction, spur affordable development, and increase protections for renters.

A Maryland Senate committee reviewed proposed legislation Wednesday that would require local school boards to provide more transparency about their budgets. Senate Bill 1026, sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County), would require the State Board of Education to adopt a process for the uniform and timely reporting of local school board budget information to county officials and would set guidelines for how budget information is organized on public websites.

Maryland leaders are taking steps to fill two Republican vacancies on the state elections board — one because a board member resigned after being charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. Gov. Wes Moore has nominated Diane Butler to the Maryland State Board of Elections, sending her name to the state Senate on Wednesday for its review and confirmation.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force Co-Chairs Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) introduced a trio of bills to reauthorize federal conservation programs yesterday. The three-bill House package would extend three federal programs from fiscal year 2025 through 2030 with the following funding increases: Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program – $100 million annually, up from $92 million annually