Gov. Larry Hogan signed dozens of bills passed during the Maryland General Assembly’s recently wrapped legislative session at a ceremony Thursday in the State House in Annapolis, including measures to ban the declawing of cats, designate 988 as an emergency suicide prevention telephone hotline and ban the use of the dangerous, long-lasting PFAS chemicals.
Transit advocates and residents alike have long lamented subpar public transportation options in and around Baltimore city. But a piece of legislation currently awaiting the governor’s signature would pave the way for reforms to Maryland’s transit system, potentially giving Baltimore and other jurisdictions a greater say in their own transportation projects.
Over the next two weeks, Center Maryland will be highlighting the winners from the 2022 Maryland General Assembly.
Maryland Del. Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore City), majority whip for more than a decade, withdrew his candidacy for another term in office late Friday, about two hours ahead of a deadline for candidates to file to run. Branch, who has been a member of the House of Delegates since 1995, had filed in February, declaring his intent to seek another term. But he opted Friday to withdraw. An East Baltimore resident, Branch represented the 45th District, and had served as majority whip in the House since 2007.
Shane Pendergrass knows what it’s like to have her views dismissed out of hand. As a young mother serving on a school design committee in Howard County during the 1980s, her input was summarily rejected by those in charge. “Open classrooms” were the fad at the time, she recalled during a recent interview in her Annapolis office, and as a former art teacher, she knew the trend was ill-suited to the needs of educators and students.
The Baltimore Board of Estimates unanimously approved a $3.5 million settlement Wednesday with 68 current and former business owners whose properties were damaged during the 2015 unrest following Freddie Gray’s death from injuries suffered in police custody. Approving the settlement was largely a formality after the plaintiffs’ attorney, Peter Hwang, and a city spokesperson said in March the two sides had reached an agreement. The Board of Estimates has to approve every settlement the city agrees to.
A new state law has changed the Frederick County Board of Elections' plan to cut back on polling locations this year, as the board seeks hundreds of more election judges. In 2018, the board had 63 polling sites across the county. It hoped to cut back to 37 sites this year.
Over the next two weeks, Center Maryland will be highlighting the winners from the 2022 Maryland General Assembly.
Mayor Brandon Scott on Tuesday reacted to Baltimore's 100th homicide of 2022 that occurred Monday evening in northwest Baltimore. "When you see what people are dying over, in this city," Scott said. "When you see incidents of people being killed by folks that they consider friends and, in some cases, family, we know that we have a lot of healing to do in the city." The murder happened in the Park Circle neighborhood near Druid Hill Park. The victim, a 61-year-old woman appeared to suffer from multiple signs of trauma.
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