Protestors plan to rally on Saturday in an effort to convince Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to lift the state of emergency and allow businesses to reopen. It mirrors other such protests in states across the country where governors are keeping businesses closed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. But new polling out this week shows…
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MD Corrections Agency Confirms New COVID-19 Cases, As Advocates Warn Of An Outbreak
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, which oversees state prisons and jails and parole and probation services, has confirmed that 17 people have tested positive for COVID-19, including three inmates and four correctional officers. Advocates have warned that prisons, jails and other detention facilities are especially vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses….
Continue ReadingCoronavirus Sends General Assembly Home Early
The Maryland General Assembly adjourned its annual 90-day legislative session on Wednesday, 19 days early as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time since the Civil War that the legislature cut its time in Annapolis short. “This has been something that I don’t think any of us could have imagined or…
Continue ReadingEastern Shore Residents Push State Lawmakers For Limits On Chicken Farms
The farm in Delmar where April Ferrell grew up and still lives is surrounded by chicken farms. Sitting on a golf cart in her yard, Ferrell indicated the lot next door, where she said her parents built two small chicken houses in the 1980s. Then she pointed in the other direction, across the street, where…
Continue ReadingLawmakers Try to End Long Hospital Stays for Foster Kids
A 13-year-old boy in the custody of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric hospital in September 2018. About two weeks later, an administrative law judge ruled that there was no medical reason for him to stay there. But Social Services didn’t pick him up for nearly four more…
Continue ReadingHogan: Public ‘Crying Out’ For Mandatory Minimums
Gov. Larry Hogan spent much of this week attacking the Democrat-led General Assembly for not advancing his bills aimed at reducing crime in Baltimore. On Thursday, Democratic leaders fought back. Hogan’s latest comments came during a press conference Thursday. He accused legislators of ignoring a “crisis” in Baltimore by not voting his crime package out…
Continue ReadingMaryland Foster Children Stay in Hospitals Because They Have Nowhere Else To Go
Amber is in Maryland’s foster care system, but she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in mid-October, shortly after she tried to kill herself. WYPR is not using her real name to protect her privacy. Most of Amber’s days for the last three months have followed the same schedule. The teenager wakes up, eats breakfast,…
Continue ReadingHogan’s Redistricting Plan Meets Democratic Resistance — Again
When Democrat Kweisi Mfume won Tuesday’s special primary election to represent Maryland’s 7th Congressional District, he became the presumptive winner of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings’ seat — even though there’s also a Republican nominee for the seat and less than a fifth of the district’s voters cast a ballot. Political analysts say that’s in…
Continue ReadingSchools Plan Set to Dominate General Assembly Session
Typically when state lawmakers return to Annapolis for the annual 90-day legislative session, each brings a unique set of priorities. But when the General Assembly convenes for its 441st session on Wednesday, one subject is poised to overshadow almost everything else: A proposal to overhaul public education in Maryland. Democratic leaders in the state Senate…
Continue ReadingAfter 33 Years, Maryland Senate Gets New Leader
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller announced Thursday that he is relinquishing his gavel when the General Assembly returns to Annapolis in January. The 76 year old has cancer and several related health issues. “My mind is still strong but my body is weak,” Miller said at a press conference Thursday. “This is a…
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