Politics

A singular effort to protect Maryland’s local and state governments from increasingly common cyberattacks will soon click into higher gear after Gov. Larry Hogan signed a trio of cybersecurity preparedness bills into law Thursday. The bills, among several dozen the governor put his signature on during one of the final bill-signing ceremonies of the 2022 legislative session, follow a string of costly high-profile ransomware and other cyberattacks that temporarily crippled Maryland governmental bodies .

Carroll County parent Sarah Lau held back tears as she watched dozens of protesters line up outside the Board of Education meeting on Wednesday in Westminster. The protestors were there to support the display of rainbow pride flags inside public school buildings. “It’s beautiful,” said Lau, who recalled being bullied as a gay student in the school system. “I was doing this 20 years ago because I hoped this generation would not have to do this; it’s heartbreaking to me, but I’m glad to see the support.”

Like many GOP battles around the country this year, the gubernatorial primary in Maryland features a Trump backed candidate, Del. Daniel Cox (R), squaring off against someone from what used to be called the establishment wing of the party, former Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz. What’s different in Maryland is that Schulz is backed by outgoing Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), a frequent Trump critic who has increasingly broadened his criticisms of the former president and encouraged his party to go in a different direction.

To the chagrin of Comptroller Peter V. R. Franchot (D), the Maryland Board of Public Works voted Wednesday to lease one of the state’s three publicly run psychiatric hospital campuses to the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The cost: $1. Although the university has no specific plans at the moment, UMBC wants to use the hospital grounds to eventually expand its campus. But the lack of an official plan — and the low, low price — vexed Franchot.

A plan by the city of Frederick to add more surveillance cameras in parks and other public areas has the city’s aldermen concerned about how the cameras would be monitored. The discussion of how the cameras would be used and who would monitor them arose during a discussion among the mayor and aldermen as the aldermen prepare to vote next week on Mayor Michael O’Connor’s proposed fiscal 2023 budget.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday called on federal law enforcement to “provide sustained resources” to secure the homes of Supreme Court Justices, where demonstrators are protesting a leaked draft opinion suggesting the court is poised to overturn Roe V. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. Dozens of people also gathered over the weekend outside the homes of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. More than 100 people gathered Monday night outside Justice Samuel Alito’s home in Virginia, lighting candles and chanting, “Abort the court!”

In a result that resonates across the border in his old state — and may radiate across the country — U.S. Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-W.Va.), a former Maryland state senator, rode the support of President Trump to defeat another Republican congressman in a rare member vs. member GOP primary contest Tuesday. With an estimated 99% of the primary vote counted Tuesday night, Mooney had 54% to 36% for U.S. Rep. David McKinley (R), with the rest of the ballots split among lesser-known candidates. The two members of the House of Representatives were thrust into the same district because the Mountaineer State lost population over the last decade — and lost a seat in the latest round of congressional reapportionment as a result.