Politics

Marylanders can now submit their own proposals for redistricting to the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, state officials announced Thursday. The Maryland Department of Planning’s new submission portal allows users to map their proposals for congressional and state legislative districts, and includes instructions on how to draw districts. Members of the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission will review maps that are received by noon on Sept. 24, according to the planning department. More submissions will be accepted when that panel begins its third round of hearings in October.

Carroll County Commissioner Eric Bouchat proposed several amendments to the county’s budget preparation process and the commissioner’s organizational structure, one which would replace the county administrator position with two chief of staff positions. At Thursday’s meeting, Bouchat, a Republican representing District 4, said as a commissioner it’s easy to get “kind of cushiony” with the county administrators doing so much for them.

Several people were reportedly killed Monday at Kabul airport, where thousands of panicked Afghans and foreign nationals have gathered in hope of leaving Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. At least five people were killed amid the chaos of people fearful for their lives trying to force their way onto planes, Reuters reported, citing multiple witnesses. Desperate Afghans crowded around at least one U.S. Air Force plane as it struggled to take off and there were reports of people falling from aircraft to their death.

The U.S. Senate this week passed a massive bipartisan infrastructure bill and an even larger budget blueprint that would pave the way for historic changes in U.S. health, education, climate and tax policies. The two measures are roped to each other, reflecting Democrats’ strategy to pass what could be bipartisan with Republicans—and to go it alone on the rest. The Senate votes represented important steps for that approach—and the Biden administration’s priorities.

Baltimore City leaders knew they were coming. And yet, the newest population numbers from the U.S. Census, delivered Thursday on the hottest day of the year, hit them like a torrent of cold water in the face. Baltimore’s dramatic 5.7% population loss over the past 10 years means the city is sure to face a corresponding loss of political clout in the decade ahead — no matter how many allies it has in the highest echelons of power in Annapolis.

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approved an increase Wednesday in health insurance rates for city employees, citing coronavirus-related effects on health care spending, over protests from labor unions. The vote was 3-2, with Comptroller Bill Henry and City Council President Nick Mosby dissenting. As a result, employee and retiree premiums will increase 3.6% over last year’s, said Quinton Herbert, interim director for the city’s department of human resources. The premiums will go into effect at the beginning of 2022.