Politics

The Baltimore City Council on Monday night adopted a resolution calling on Mayor Brandon Scott and the council to create a public fund supporting local reproductive health organizations. City Councilmembers Zeke Cohen (District 1) and Phylicia Porter (District 10) introduced the legislation. Following the publication of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision declaring abortion rights are protected under the 14th Amendment, the city can “be a national leader in the fight to preserve the right to an abortion,” the lawmakers said in a joint release on Monday morning.

The Financial Advisory Commission is expected to deliver a letter to Mayor Gavin Buckley and the Annapolis City Council this week outlining concerns about next year’s proposed budget and the future health of the city’s finances. During its most recent meeting on Thursday, members of the commission expressed doubts about the city’s ability to pay its bills in two years, when the federal aid package it received during the COVID-19 pandemic runs out.

In response to a motion filed by a group of Baltimore news organizations, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has agreed that one sealed record in her federal criminal case should be opened to the public, but still wants to keep another record shielded. Mosby on Thursday argued that one filing should remain sealed because “certain submissions related to pretrial administrative matters (like those discussed in the document in question) are expressly required to remain under seal as a matter of law.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen is expected to remain for a few more days at the George Washington University Hospital, where he was admitted after suffering a minor stroke while delivering a weekend speech to Western Maryland Democrats. The 63-year-old Maryland Democrat stayed at the hospital Monday for observation out of “an abundance of caution,” according to his staff.

Maryland state Sen. Michael Hough said that as county executive, he wants to lower taxes, slow government spending and alleviate traffic on major highways through the county. Hough, who has represented Frederick and Carroll counties in the state Senate since 2015, said he would return surplus revenue to taxpayers through tax rebates or by lowering taxes, one of a number of changes he would bring to the office.

Gov. Larry Hogan and first lady Yumi Hogan received their second COVID-19 booster and are asking eligible Maryland residents to follow in their footsteps. Gov. Hogan said these booster shots, given by vaccinators with the University of Maryland Medical Center, are the reason why the state has been successful in fighting the pandemic. “If you are now eligible for a second booster, we encourage you to go out and get one at your local pharmacy or any of our hundreds of providers across the state,” Gov. Hogan said in a news release.

Six members of the Baltimore City Council have asked City Council President Nick Mosby to comply with an  order of the city ethics board. On Thursday, the city’s Board of Ethics ruled that Mosby violated the ethics ordinance by indirectly soliciting for a trust fund that took donations from a least two city contractors. The board found more than $14,000 from the fund was used to pay the legal bills for Mosby and his wife Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who faces a federal perjury trial in September.