Politics

Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Harris and Democratic challenger Heather Mizeur agreed to a debate in their 1st Congressional District race but planning stalled when Harris suggested he wouldn’t participate unless the Libertarian Party candidate was invited. Harris, a conservative seeking a seventh term, has not said directly that he will withdraw from the Oct. 26 debate if Libertarian Daniel Thibeault is not included. But Harris’ campaign had agreed to the debate before a staffer contacted an organizer and insisted that Thibeault be invited, said Doug Donley, executive director of Cecil Public Media, also known as Cecil TV, which is overseeing the event.

The Clean Water Act of 1972 pushed for nationwide change to pollutants discharged into America’s waters, cleaning up various watersheds and tightening other environmental regulations. On Monday, federal, state and local officials and representatives with the Environmental Protection Agency visited Sandy Point State Park in Anne Arundel County to highlight the law’s positive effect on the Chesapeake Bay, and to cheer the estuary as one of the nation’s best natural resources for fishing and recreational activities. “What we’ve learned is that we can’t do this alone. We need people who are going to be passionate about the bay. The bay is a national treasure,” said Kandis Boyd, who started her job as EPA director of the Chesapeake Bay program in June.

Baltimore County school superintendent Darryl Williams is asking county officials to earmark $372 million for raises and expanded services over the next five years, according to an updated spending plan the school system sent to the county last week, even after County Executive Johnny Olszewski said he opposes the county paying those costs. To fulfill the teachers union contract, the system would need to scrounge up millions for its $1.7 billion operating budget to sustain the higher pay over the next five years. The county school board voted last month to ask Olszewski to use $50 million in surplus funds to raise pay for teachers and other school staff. The money would cover raises for just one year.

The Baltimore City Council has scheduled a series of hearings to discuss the city’s response to a Labor Day weekend E. coli outbreak in a portion of the city’s drinking water system. The hearings, which will begin Thursday at 1 p.m. and continue for the following two Thursdays, were called by the council’s Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee at the request of Councilman Eric Costello. Costello said the administration’s “unclear and inconsistent” communication of information with the public led to widespread confusion.

The group of U.S. House Democrats asking the chamber’s leaders not to include environmental permitting changes in a stopgap spending deal this month comprises 77 members, including senior leaders of budget and spending committees and factions across the caucus’ ideological spectrum. The 77 signers on a letter sent late last week and updated Monday make up a third of the House Democratic caucus, which currently stands at 219.