Politics

Mayor Brandon Scott signed a bill into law Friday directing the city government to reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2045. Under the law, government operations will have to cut emissions by 30% of 2007 levels in the next three years. and another 30% by 2030. “Our 30-60-100 goal will lay out a path for the city to reach carbon neutrality, meet the challenge of reducing emissions head-on and avoiding some of the worst impacts of climate change,” said Scott. “This science-based target is a little bit more ambitious than the current State of Maryland goal and could ensure that residents see the co-benefits, like saving on energy bills, sooner.”

Montgomery County this week passed legislation requiring more buildings to make climate friendly capital upgrades, helping the county progress toward meeting its environmental goals, but also raising concerns about costs. Bill 16-21, which the County Council adopted unanimously, authorizes the county executive to set more stringent Building Energy Performance Standards — BEPS, for short — for a broader array of buildings than county law previously covered. The standards aim at reducing buildings’ energy footprint, measured in annual energy use per square foot.

Gov. Larry Hogan signed more than 100 pieces of legislation into law Thursday, including raising the legal age to marry in Maryland. The new law raising Maryland’s minimum marriage age from 15 to 17, and gives underage brides and grooms extra hoops to jump through before they can tie the knot. Seventeen-year-olds will only be allowed to marry if they have the permission of each living parent, guardian or legal custodian. Without the permission, the minor can petition the court with evidence that they are self-sufficient, but he or she would also have to participate in a hearing to determine whether they are entering the marriage voluntarily.

Mayor Brandon Scott announced on Saturday that he would be restarting of the Key’s Pointe development project in O’Donnell Heights, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, Maryland State Delegate Brooke Lierman, Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen, Housing Authority of Baltimore City President & CEO Janet Abrahams, and some community leaders joined Scott for the announcement. Last month, Scott committed $2.9 million from the American Rescue Plan Act funding to restart the stalled community development.

This month marks five years since the Justice Department started monitoring the Baltimore police department after the uprising following Freddie Gray’s death. Thursday, all the parties involved met in person with the judge to give a status update on the progress the police department has made. After the uprisings following Freddie Gray’s death, a scathing federal report showed that officers routinely violated citizens’ rights – and in some cases, they did it while investigators were observing their actions.

After multiple filing deadline extensions, the ballots for the upcoming primaries are more crowded than The Aegis’ former candidate roundup, which only included Harford County Council candidates. We’ve also included the candidates running for county executive, state’s attorney, register of wills, sheriff and clerk of circuit court. There are 11 additional County Council candidates who joined races during the filing extension, including Harford County Board of Education President Rachel Gauthier. Gauthier, who’s served on the school board since 2015, filed her council candidacy paperwork last Thursday, a day before the April 15 filing deadline.