Politics

Most Baltimoreans get their news through TV and find local media a fair, accurate source of information that will help determine how they vote, according to a new survey from Goucher College Poll in partnership with The Baltimore Banner. The Goucher-Banner poll surveyed 711 registered Baltimore voters by cellphone and landline from Sept. 19-23. The poll has a 3.7 percentage point margin of error.

Baltimore’s spending board approved contracts Wednesday for Mayor Brandon Scott’s appointees to lead the police and fire departments, two days after both agency veterans were officially confirmed by the City Council. The contract for acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley calls for a starting annual salary of $285,000 for three years, a $10,000 jump from the starting salary of his predecessor, Michael Harrison.

A handful of members within the Maryland congressional delegation are asking the Internal Revenue Service to waive rules that would financially burden families who paid into the college trust program Maryland 529. In August, State Treasurer Dereck Davis announced that his office would allow Maryland 529 account holders to electronically view their account balances and accrued interest earnings, modernizing a troubled agency that had almost entirely relied on paper documents since its 1997 inception.

The Baltimore County Council will explore the possibility of adding more council members, following years of pressure from voting rights advocates. Councilman Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat, introduced a resolution Monday proposing a work group to study “whether any changes to the structure of the council are appropriate and [will] serve the goal of improving representation for county residents.”

While Marylanders are being reminded to get their flu and RSV vaccines, they are also being reminded that COVID-19 boosters are available. But a new poll found that not everyone is rushing to get the shot. The poll by Gonzales Research and Media Services showed that 52% of respondents said they will be getting their boosters this year, while nearly 42% said they will skip it. And their willingness to get the booster shots appears tied to how they feel about the federal government’s handling of the pandemic.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were evicted Tuesday from their United States Capitol hideaway offices in the aftermath of the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The ejection of Hoyer and Pelosi from their hideaway offices was one of the first acts of the new interim speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). Hoyer’s communications team confirmed reports that he was ordered out of his hideaway, but declined any further comment on the matter in a statement to Capital News Service.

For several months, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater has been soliciting ideas for bills and position statements for the county’s 2024 legislative package, which will be presented to the state delegation this year. Fitzwater’s staff contacted more than 100 community organizations and all of the county’s boards, commissions, councils and municipalities, according to a Sept. 28 press release.

With Maryland’s Child Victims Act in effect since Sunday, lawsuits have already been filed in courthouses throughout the state — including some high-profile cases against the Roman Catholic Church and state of Maryland. But how many more will come remains unknown. When other states set aside time limits — permanently or for brief timeframes — hundreds and sometimes thousands of cases seeking delayed justice were filed in state courts.