ELECTIONS BOARD ISSUES GUIDELINE TO ADDRESS MAIL-IN BALLOT ERROR: Maryland’s five-member state election board unanimously approved a set of public guidelines Tuesday laying out how thousands of mail-in ballots will be tabulated for the primary election. The guidelines were needed to address the “canvassing issue” created when more than 437,000 mail-in ballots had to be replaced late last month. The rules made public Tuesday lay out instructions on how local election boards are to treat the original, potentially erroneous ballots and the replacements meant to correct the issue. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
FARMERS SEEK FEDERAL AID AFTER ‘DESTRUCTIVE’ APRIL FREEZE: Maryland farmers, grappling with the fallout from a “destructive” April freeze, are asking for federal assistance to recoup their substantial crop losses. Multiple Maryland jurisdictions lost 94% of their apple crops, 98% of their barley crops and 99% of their peach crops, the state’s Farm Service estimated, according to a letter from Gov. Wes Moore’s office. The Maryland Wineries Association also reported 36% of the state’s grape acreage was lost. Katherine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
22,000 SIGN UP FOR SPECIAL BUTTERFLY STATE ID: When Eric Carpenter-Grantham became the first person in Maryland to get a new state-issued identification card last fall with a special butterfly logo to identify his hidden disability, he encouraged others to follow him. That was Oct. 1. As of last week, more than 22,000 Marylanders had done just that, asking the Motor Vehicle Administration for the logo that was made possible under what became known as “Eric’s ID Law.” William Ford/Maryland Matters.
PORTIONS, POURS & POLITICS: ARE BALTIMORE’s POLITICAL BARS FADING AWAY? Last call seems to have come for the Baltimore political bar scene. A few hum along — Costas Inn on the East Side for crabs and campaigning; and Jerry D’s Saloon in Parkville for generous portions, pours and political fundraisers. But many of the taverns that dotted seemingly every corner of city and county neighborhoods have gone out of business on account of deaths, indictments, gentrification or sometimes all three. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
OP-ED: HEALTH CARE KEY TO FUTURE PROOFING BALTIMORE COUNTY: In April, Comptroller Brooke Lierman released “Maryland Industry Analysis: Healthcare and the Economy,” the most comprehensive state-level examination of Maryland’s healthcare sector ever. Healthcare is now Maryland’s largest industry, employing 427,000 people, accounting for 8% of state GDP and acting as the leading job creator for seven of the past 10 years. But there is also a warning. A nursing dire shortage — 9,000 RN job openings per month against only 1,800 new hires — and a looming $2.7 billion loss in federal Medicaid funding threaten the sector’s stability with aging Maryland population. This statewide diagnosis demands is a county-level response. Nowhere is the intersection of healthcare opportunity and economic urgency more acute than in Baltimore County. Patrick Roddy/The Baltimore Sun.
OLSZEWSKI, ELFRETH TO GO TO BAT FOR DEMS AT CONGRESSIONAL GAME: The Congressional Baseball Game, which returns to Nationals Park Wednesday night, is a bipartisan charity event that Maryland lawmakers say can bring together members of Congress from both parties. U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr., the Baltimore County freshman, and U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth of Anne Arundel County are on the Democrats’ team. They are Maryland’s only two representatives in the game. Staff/The Baltimore Sun.
POLITICAL NOTES: NEW AI ADVISER; KAGAN, McCASKILL TO PRESENT: Gov. Wes Moore’s newest senior adviser will aim to improve Maryland’s use of AI technology. Michael Boyce, who started as Moore’s senior adviser for responsible artificial intelligence in late May, is the second person ever to hold the title in state government. Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) and Del. Aletheia McCaskill (D-Baltimore County) are listed as presenters for the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit next month. Nicole Earle becomes the first woman and the first Black candidate to chair the Maryland Racing Commission when she assumes the job Wednesday, the governor’s office said. Christine Condon and William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
BA CO REPUBLICANS CENSURE COUNCIL CANDIDATE: In an extraordinary move, the Baltimore County Republican Steering Committee Monday night voted to censure County Council District 9 candidate Tim Fazenbaker for defaming fellow GOP candidates and office holders. Before the committee went into executive session, it heard from half a dozen people who said they had been targeted and intimidated by Fazenbaker. Fazenbaker called the vote “sour grapes” because they know he is going to win the GOP council primary. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
WICOMICO SHERIFF, COUNTY EXEC IN DISPUTE OVER NUDE PHOTOS CLAIM: A previously private dispute between Wicomico County’s two highest-ranking elected officials has reached a breaking point, sparking a potential public records battle over whether the sheriff ordered the county executive to stop sending his deputies sexually explicit images. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
WHY MAYOR SCOTT WANTS A DO-OVER ON CONTROVERSIAL BGE DEAL: Mayor Brandon Scott once vehemently defended the conduit agreement with BGE. But now, midway through its six-year term, his administration wants to renegotiate. Whether the deal is scrapped entirely or replaced by a new one, it’s a stark reversal for a mayor who characterized his decision as a principled political stance and called his critics peddlers of misinformation. Emily Opilo, Giacomo Bologna and Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Banner.
B’MORE SHERIFF CANDIDATES BATTLE FOR VOTES, PREP FOR LAWSUIT: As they crisscross Baltimore ahead of the June primary election, Sheriff Sam Cogen and challenger Sabrina Tapp-Harper have been raising money, knocking on doors and giving their stump speeches. They also recently sat for depositions in the workplace discrimination lawsuit she filed against him. Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.
BALTIMORE ATTY SUES PUBLISHING FIRM, SAYS IT SELLS ‘SNAKE OIL:’ “On the outside, Agora has cultivated the image of an offbeat publishing business writing about health, finance, and retirement,” Baltimore city’s attorneys wrote in a complaint filed Tuesday. “The truth is darker. Agora is an internet marketing and supplements company that targets older consumers with exploitative business practices.” The lawsuit asks a judge to order civil penalties of up to $1,000 a day for each violation of Baltimore’s consumer protection ordinance. It’s the latest big move from Baltimore’s Law Department. Madeleine O’Neill/The Baltimore Banner.
The post State Roundup: Elections board issues guide to address mail-in ballot problem; Farmers seek federal aid after devastating freeze; 22,000 sign up for special butterfly ID appeared first on MarylandReporter.com.
