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Politics

Federal judge’s DACA ruling disappoints Maryland immigration advocates
July 19, 2021 -

A federal court ruling against the “dreamers” program for young people who are undocumented immigrants reverberated across the country, including in Maryland where thousands of people are enrolled in the program. “It’s certainly disappointing,” said Catalina Rodriguez Lima, director of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs in Baltimore.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Maryland reveals $1.23 billion in proposed road, transit cuts unless toll lanes plan is restored
July 16, 2021 -

Maryland will need to cut five road and transit projects worth a total of $1.23 billion unless regional officials approve the state’s plan to widen the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270 with toll lanes, state officials said this week. The region’s Transportation Planning Board is scheduled to vote Wednesday, at Maryland officials’ request, on whether to restore the toll lanes proposal to the region’s long-term transportation plan — a move required for the project’s federal environmental approval.

Read More: Washington Post
Some council members hope for final vote on Thrive Montgomery by year’s end
July 15, 2021 -

Members of a County Council committee on Wednesday said they hope the full council votes on whether to approve Thrive Montgomery 2050 by the end of 2021. Thrive Montgomery 2050 is the county’s proposed update to the Wedges and Corridors Plan, which originated in the 1960s and was last updated in 1993. The Wedges and Corridors plan included how growth should occur along major road corridors in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Now, with how much the region has grown, Thrive Montgomery focuses on just Montgomery County.

Read More: Bethesda Beat
County Council amends bill that could allow 5G cell antennas, rejects further delay
July 15, 2021 -

The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday made changes to a bill to allow 5G cell service, including where antennas may be built and the height of new poles. The council is deliberating a zoning text amendment that would provide guidelines for the placement of antennas countywide. 5G networks require smaller equipment that can be placed closer together. That creates a more robust, faster network, versus 4G towers, which often stretch hundreds of feet into the air and are more spaced out.

Read More: Bethesda Beat
Why Baltimore-area inspectors general are making so much news
July 14, 2021 -

The public officials making some of the biggest headlines in the last few weeks aren’t the politicos at the top of the chain of command in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Instead, it’s the officials tasked with keeping government honest in both those jurisdictions — Inspectors General Isabel Mercedes Cumming and Kelly Madigan. The work of an inspector general isn’t always attention grabbing. The position is responsible for reviewing complaints about potential waste, fraud and abuse in government — investigations that can be quite labor intensive and detail oriented.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Maryland’s congressional delegation meets with Baltimore mayor, police commissioner to discuss ways to quell violence
July 13, 2021 -

Members of the Maryland congressional delegation doubled-down in promising their support for reducing Baltimore’s violence at a Monday meeting with city leaders. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said he called for the delegation to meet with Mayor Brandon Scott and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison at City Hall in response to the “unacceptable” level of violence in the city.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Annapolis City Council to consider emergency bill to extend recovery zones until November
July 13, 2021 -

The Annapolis City Council will introduce an emergency ordinance Monday to extend until November the use of recovery zones throughout the city for outdoor dining and shopping. Businesses that have been utilizing sidewalks, parklets and parking lots to do business during the COVID-19 pandemic will be allowed to continue doing so until Nov. 1 under the bill.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Annapolis City Council meeting brings back the public in person; short-term rental bill postponed
July 13, 2021 -

Seats were spread apart — and every single one was filled — as comments from the public started at Monday’s first in-person, public Annapolis City Council meeting since the pandemic. While the city had originally planned to require proof of vaccination to enter the chambers, Mayor Gavin Buckley’s announcement ending its state of emergency July 31, did away with that plan.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Governors’ races see flood of pro-Trump candidates
July 13, 2021 -

Republicans say they are aware that Maryland will be an uphill battle for them as Gov. Larry Hogan, a noted critic of Trump within the GOP, leaves office. Cox, a pro-Trump firebrand, gained attention for speaking out against the pandemic shutdowns and organized a bus to bring protesters to Washington on Jan. 6 but later said the group was not in the Capitol and did not take part in any violence.

Read More: The Hill
Decision on unemployment lawsuit expected Tuesday, but federal benefits will continue until at least mid-August
July 13, 2021 -

A Baltimore City judge will decide by Tuesday morning whether to extend a court order forcing Gov. Larry Hogan and the state government to continue paying enhanced federal unemployment benefits to tens of thousands of jobless Marylanders despite the governor’s efforts to cut off benefits. But the expanded federal pandemic unemployment programs will continue for at least another month after the Biden administration notified Maryland Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson that the state would need to provide 30 days advance notice before opting out of the programs — even if Baltimore City Circuit Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill rules Hogan can end them.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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