Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown signed onto a letter asking Congress to pass the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which has been introduced in both houses. Brown joins a list of 39 state attorneys general in advocating Congress to crack down on the drug xylazine, which is showing up in illicit drugs and contributing to a spike in overdoses and other health issues. (WYPR)
2020 census data released yesterday shows the population of Maryland and the United States is skewing older. Maryland’s median age of 38.8 — the same as the national median — is eight-tenths of a year higher than it was in 2010. The median age increased in all of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions. Baltimore City remains the jurisdiction with the lowest median age at 35.5, despite an increase of 1.1 years over 2010. Garrett County had the largest jump in median age, increasing by 4.1 years to 46.8 in 2020. (Baltimore Sun)
The Montgomery County Council is slated to vote Thursday on a $6.7 billion operating budget built on a property tax increase for residential and commercial properties that has divided the leaders of Maryland’s most populous county. (Washington Post)
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is adopting a stopgap measure as a deadline looms for county leaders to agree on her $5.4 billion budget for the year that begins July 1. That plan relied on projected revenue that fell short this month. The measure plans to plug a $60 million hole in the budget with rainy-day funds to avoid raising taxes even as Alsobrooks faces calls to increase county spending. (Washington Post)
Pride storybooks for children in pre-K to fifth grade are at the center of a lawsuit filed by three families against the Montgomery County Board of Education and schools Superintendent Monifa McKnight. (WTOP)
The Anne Arundel County school board is considering a controversial policy that could limit the types of flags that can be displayed in public schools. It’s a policy similar to the one adopted by Carroll County Schools last year. (WBAL)
An Anne Arundel County man who has repeatedly carried his AR-15 around a school bus stop was reportedly found to have praised Adolf Hitler is a post on Twitter. J’den McAdory allegedly tweeted on May 11: ” “I did hours of research on A-H. I gotta say, he’s a remarkable leader.” McAdory is claiming “A-H” stood for the initials of a relative. (WBAL 1090)
Baltimore homicide detectives are investigating the fall of a baby boy from a third-story balcony on Tuesday in the Frankford neighborhood. (Baltimore Banner)
For the first time in over two decades Maryland is seeking a new elections chief. A public watchdog group says an expedited effort to hire a new state elections administrator should include publicly naming the candidates who will be interviewed. (Maryland Matters)
A Worcester County man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for child abuse. (WMDT)
Prosecutors in the case against two Maryland physicians accused of sending sensitive medical information to Russia showed jurors hours of undercover video of Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist Anna Gabrielian inside a hotel room with her laptop open, accessing the confidential medical files of her patients for a foreign government. (WJZ)
The Howard County Council added a competitive bidding process to access state funds for a new lakefront library in Columbia. The council unanimously passed an amendment on Wednesday afternoon that now says the money can only be used if there is a competitive bidding process for the site and building design. The Howard Hughes Corp. was announced as the project’s developer and awarded a sole-source contract, meaning it was issued without a competitive bidding process. (Baltimore Banner)
Four vacant houses in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood will be torn down to make way for a 28-unit apartment building. (Baltimore Fishbowl)
The Housing Authority of Baltimore City dismissed nearly 200 eviction cases Wednesday against public housing tenants after allegations of violations. The dismissals followed criticism of the planned evictions by members of the Baltimore Renters United coalition. (Baltimore Banner)
A collision Wednesday morning between two CSX locomotives in Curtis Bay caused a diesel fuel spill in a rail yard there, according to state officials who have not yet provided an estimate of the quantity of fuel released. The spill occurred at the company’s facility at Chesapeake Avenue and 9th Street. (Baltimore Brew)
In Southern Maryland, police officers are receiving specialized training to effectively handle mental health crises. (Southern Maryland Chroncicle)
An Anti-Robocall Multistate Task Force including Maryland, Delaware and Virginia officials has initiated a lawsuit against a company they say conducted billions of illegal robocalls. (WBOC)
The owner of a popular Baltimore County restaurant is facing federal charges alleging he failed to pay employees’ withheld wages and other business taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, and misrepresented payments on his own individual return. (Baltimore Sun)
The Carroll County State’s Attorney announced an indictment related to a fatal car crash in Baltimore on March 26. (Carroll County Observer)
An informational meeting was hosted by the Maryland Department of the Environment, inviting the public and the developers of a planned crematory in the White Marsh area of Baltimore County to voice concerns or ask questions. Neighbors raised concerns about toxins released into the air, the property values of their homes and nearby traffic. (WMAR)
Adnan Syed is asking the Supreme Court of Maryland to overrule a lower court’s decision to bring back his convictions in the 1999 murder case examined in the hit podcast “Serial.” (Baltimore Sun)
The Maryland Transportation Authority and AAA expect high traffic volumes for the upcoming holiday weekend with an estimated surge in travelers along the Bay Bridge and Route 50. MDTA estimates around 325,000 thousand cars to cross the Bay Bridge this weekend with an estimated national travel increase of about 7% from last year’s numbers. (WBOC)
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The Orioles, down 5-1 in the seventh inning, put up eight runs to surge past the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last night, 9-6, evening the series at one game apiece. (Camden Chat)
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With the Memorial Day holiday weekend approaching and the ensuing beach-bound traffic jams it inevitably brings…it begs the question: is it time for a new span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge? Many in Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s counties think so.
