Politics

The owner of the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, collapsing the bridge and killing six workers, has hired a firm to lobby in Washington regarding proposed changes to liability law, according to federal lobbying records. Grace Ocean Private Ltd., the Singapore-based owner of the cargo vessel Dali, retained the services of Blank Rome Government Relations on May 2, according to the disclosure form.

Vice President Kamala Harris is headed to Prince George’s County on Friday to campaign alongside Angela Alsobrooks, the county executive and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Harris and Alsobrooks are expected to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day and discuss public safety at the event.

The Prince George’s County Council passed a bill that will allow commercial areas to become curfew zones for minors. The bill gives commercial property owners the ability to request the police chief designate areas as juvenile curfew zones. Applicants will need to have a letter of support from the council member who represents the area where the curfew will be active. Applicants can request that a curfew be put in place within the hours of 5 p.m. and 5 a.m.

City Council President Nick Mosby wants voters to decide if the mayor’s grip on Baltimore’s powerful spending board should be reduced. The Democrat introduced a charter amendment to remove two mayoral appointees to the Board of Estimates, which would give the mayor, City Council president and comptroller — three citywide elected positions — equal control.

Lost commerce and delays going through Baltimore’s harbor tunnels lend “an urgency” to Congress approving legislation — introduced nearly two months ago — to ensure the federal government pays the full cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin told the federal highway administrator Wednesday.

The Board of Public Works unanimously approved a $724 million contract for pretrial detention medical and mental health services Wednesday over the objections of a troubled incumbent. The vote by the three-member board approves the contract with Centurion of Maryland despite an ongoing set of appeals filed by private equity backed YesCare, which is currently providing services to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Inside his Delaware headquarters, President Joe Biden’s campaign is signaling it will incorporate Donald Trump’s recent felony conviction as a core element of the Democratic incumbent’s reelection message. But in nearby battleground Pennsylvania, a state that could decide control of Congress and the presidency this fall, Democrats are far from certain that Trump’s criminal record matters to voters at all.

Clarissa Taylor-Jackson first voted for Sheila Dixon for mayor in 2008 because she thought under her leadership the city felt cleaner and safer. The 40-year-old downtown resident voted for Dixon again in the recent primary because she wanted more of that.