Politics

Hospitality businesses that want to build or expand construction on their Baltimore County waterfront properties could soon be exempt from state waterway protection regulations, per legislation under the County Council’s consideration. An attorney with a nonprofit that’s focused on restoring the Chesapeake Bay’s health says the proposed bill flouts Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Protection law, designed to prevent additional runoff — and other pollution — from flowing into the nation’s largest estuary.

Baltimore is spending its $641 million in federal COVID-19 aid as quickly as similar cities elsewhere, officials told City Council Tuesday, responding to council member criticisms the money isn’t being spent with enough urgency nor being used to resume core services curtailed during the pandemic. Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs director Shamiah Kerney told members of City Council’s Ways and Means Committee during a quarterly update that Baltimore is keeping pace with other similarly sized cities in the disbursement of money from the American Rescue Plan Act, the sweeping federal stimulus package aimed at boosting the economic recovery from the pandemic in communities across the country.

Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick), the GOP nominee for governor, joined the chorus of Republicans who condemned the FBI’s execution of a search warrant Monday at Mar-a-Lago, former President Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., home. The reaction of the man Cox is hoping to replace, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, was more nuanced. In a series of Facebook posts late Monday and Tuesday, Cox said “this FBI raid of Trump’s home is nothing short of communist stasi police state tactics.”

Michael Huber, Mayor Brandon Scott’s chief of staff, will leave his influential role as City Hall’s top advisor in early September to lead Johns Hopkins University’s government relations team. His departure is the most significant in a first term dotted with high-profile exits, including department directors, several deputy mayors and mayor’s office staff. The attorney has served as Scott’s right hand for three years, providing a source of stability for the mayor across different political offices and the tumult of the pandemic.

After nearly three weeks of tabulating ballots from the July 19 primary, Montgomery County officials are bracing for another round of counting. With incumbent County Executive Marc Elrich ahead of Potomac businessman David Blair by only 42 votes, election officials will likely be back to work recounting ballots in this tight Democratic primary. Elrich declared victory Saturday evening after the final bulk of ballots had him leading by 42 votes — but Blair announced the next day that he planned to petition for a recount. Many saw this year’s primary as a rematch between Elrich and Blair, who also faced off in the 2018 primary, which Elrich won — also by a narrow margin, 77 votes, and also after a recount.