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Politics

Baltimore approves health insurance rate increase for city employees over protests from labor unions
August 12, 2021 -

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approved an increase Wednesday in health insurance rates for city employees, citing coronavirus-related effects on health care spending, over protests from labor unions. The vote was 3-2, with Comptroller Bill Henry and City Council President Nick Mosby dissenting. As a result, employee and retiree premiums will increase 3.6% over last year’s, said Quinton Herbert, interim director for the city’s department of human resources. The premiums will go into effect at the beginning of 2022.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Maryland board approves first contract to design toll lanes for Beltway, I-270
August 12, 2021 -

The first contract for companies to design billions of dollars worth of toll lanes for Interstate 270 and part of the Capital Beltway won approval Wednesday from a Maryland board, marking the start of the state’s largest project aimed at relieving traffic congestion. The Board of Public Works — composed of the governor, comptroller and treasurer — voted 2 to 1 to approve a “predevelopment agreement” with Australian firms Transurban and Macquarie to plan the lanes at their own expense.

Read More: Washington Post
Van Hollen, Cardin Get Baltimore Red Line Provision Added to Infrastructure Bill
August 6, 2021 -

Advocates for the revival of a scuttled Baltimore-area subway line said on Wednesday they welcome efforts by Maryland’s U.S. senators to help get the project back on track. But they said their enthusiasm is tempered by the sober reality that many pieces would need to fall into place for the resurrection of the Red Line project, which was canceled by Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) in 2015, to occur.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Baltimore County breaking public-records laws, former top administrator alleges in lawsuit
August 4, 2021 -

Baltimore County is breaking state open-records laws by withholding numerous documents that should be released to the public, a former high-ranking veteran of county government alleges in a new lawsuit. Fred Homan claims in the lawsuit that the county has violated the Maryland Public Information Act by refusing to turn over thousands of emails and by charging unreasonable fees for public records. Homan is the former county administrative officer and retired in 2018 after four decades in county government.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Alsobrooks seeks ‘immediate’ state review of school board ethics report
August 4, 2021 -

Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) has asked the state’s top school officials to  “immediately” review ethics allegations that have roiled the county Board of Education. In a statement issued after a small group of parents and community leaders held a rally Monday, Alsobrooks said she lacked the ability “to force adults to set aside their differences to act in the best interest of our children.”

Read More: WTOP
Marilyn Mosby, attorney address criminal tax investigation, present theory on origins and scope of federal case
July 30, 2021 -

A federal criminal tax investigation of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and City Council President Nick Mosby has its origins in disputes with local legal and political figures rather than starting with any concern from federal authorities over potential misdeeds, Marilyn Mosby’s lawyer wrote in response to questions. Attorney A. Scott Bolden and Marilyn Mosby agreed to answer in writing a series of questions about the federal probe. The responses, written by Bolden, disclosed that Nick Mosby has hired his own lawyer and that the Mosbys have followed through on a plan to establish a legal-defense fund.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Biden nominates Erek Barron to be U.S. Attorney for Maryland, first Democrat nominated in 20 years
July 27, 2021 -

President Biden has nominated Prince George’s County Del. Erek Barron to become the next U.S. Attorney for Maryland; if confirmed, he would be the first Black person to hold the post, and the first Democrat in 20 years. Barron, 47, a defense attorney, has been a member of the House of Delegates since 2015. Before that he worked stints as a federal prosecutor and as an assistant state’s attorney in Prince George’s and Baltimore.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Steele Creates Exploratory Committee for Possible Gubernatorial Bid
July 23, 2021 -

Michael S. Steele, the former lieutenant governor and one-time chairman of the Republican National Committee, has created an exploratory committee ahead of a possible run for governor in 2022. Jim Dornan, a veteran national Republican strategist who was campaign manager for Ellen R. Sauerbrey during her 1998 run for governor in Maryland, is leading Steele’s exploratory effort. He said Steele expects to decide whether to run sometime between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Ep. 13: You’ll Be Back with Raymond Glendening
July 22, 2021 -

In episode 13 of The Lobby, Ray Glendening, Founder and CEO of Scarlet Oak Strategies joins Damian to talk about his career path, and the perspective it’s given him on political races in Maryland and elsewhere. Glendening also talks us through the road to opening his own firm, and the niche they’ve found in research and polling. Then, stick around while Damian and Ray expand on the Maryland Gubernatorial campaign, and what it’s going to take to win in 2022.

We hope to see you soon in the Lobby.

Read More: Center Maryland
With or Without Hogan as a Foe, Van Hollen Builds $3 Million War Chest
July 19, 2021 -

With his re-election campaign looming and at least the distant prospect that Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) could take him on in 2022, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has accelerated his pace of fundraising, collecting over $1 million in the past three months and more than $2 million so far this year. Van Hollen’s fundraising haul is one of many relevant nuggets of information contained in the latest campaign finance reports that candidates for Congress filed with the Federal Election Commission last week.

Read More: Maryland Matters

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