Mayor Levar Stoney filed paperwork this week to run for Virginia governor in 2025, becoming the second Democrat to join the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Stoney has not formally announced for the office but has indicated that he will do so by the end of the year. Kevin Zeithaml, the mayor’s senior adviser, declined to comment Wednesday when asked about the campaign filing, which was made Monday. The post Richmond mayor Levar Stoney files paperwork to run for Va. governor appeared first on Center Maryland ..read more

A deadline is looming at the end of the year for Maryland to decide whether to keep or replace the troubled, for-profit company that provides medical care in state prisons and the Baltimore City jail complex. For the past five years, a company formerly known as Corizon Health has been responsible for treating more than 15,000 people incarcerated in state prisons and about 2,000 people being held in the city jails and other pretrial facilities in Baltimore. The post Maryland waited until the last minute to seek alternatives to its troubled prison healthcare provider appeared first on Center Mar ..read more

Democratic candidates seeking the U.S. Senate seat continued their push for support through a new ad, an endorsement in the city of Baltimore and a gathering with supporters in Florida. Rep. David Trone (D-6th) released his ninth campaign ad Saturday, the same week the congressman received an official endorsement from the National Education Association. The 60-second video entitled “Teachers” features public school educators, who only use their first names, summarized the need for more funding, counselors and other educational resources.   The post Senate campaign updates: Trone’s new ad ..read more

The Frederick County Council is considering legislation that would allow people who are not registered to vote in Frederick County to serve on certain boards and commissions. Since 2012, an ordinance passed by the Board of County Commissioners — the precursor to the County Council — required that members of all boards and commissions be residents of Frederick County who are registered voters. The post Council reevaluating eligibility requirements to serve on county boards, commissions appeared first on Center Maryland ..read more

A legislative task force created to assess data collection and policies within Maryland’s state’s attorneys’ offices discussed recommendations Tuesday that must be crafted into a report to key Senate and House committees by Dec. 31. The purpose of the report is to provide the public information that can show whether prosecutors’ practices are equitable and fair. The proposals reviewed by the Task Force to Study Transparency Standards for State’s Attorneys included creating a statewide uniform procedure to collect data and a plan for providing one-time, start-up costs to either upgrade or impl ..read more

CASA, the Maryland-based immigrant rights group, has taken a lot of criticism over its statements about Israel for which it has now apologized. But that criticism has extended to its simultaneous pursuit of taxpayer-funded contracts and advocacy. I discussed its non-profit structure in a previous post. Today let’s discuss its political spending. CASA’s structure, like that of many other non-profit advocacy groups, is complicated. It operates through three primary entities:   The post CASA’s Political Spending appeared first on Center Maryland ..read more

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has endorsed Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin when he retires at the end of his term. Alsobrooks joined Scott, Baltimore’s Democratic mayor who is himself seeking reelection, at the Zeta Center in Baltimore’s Park Heights neighborhood Tuesday to accept the endorsement. Emphasizing their past partnership as local leaders, Scott said Alsobrooks best understands the needs of cities compared with other candidates in the race. The post Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott endorses Angela Alsobrooks for U ..read more

Maryland’s utility regulation commission has denied Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.’s effort to shield from the public an internal memo detailing an agreement it struck with Baltimore earlier this year following a request by utility watchdog the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel. In a ruling issued Monday, the Maryland Public Service Commission said it found no grounds for maintaining a confidential designation for the memo as BGE requested. The commission, which reviewed the document, said the memo included no commercial or financially sensitive information. The post Memo detailing Baltimore ..read more

The 11-member Montgomery County Council on Tuesday expressed unanimous support for a zoning change that would allow developers to forgo parking spaces when building new housing near public transportation. Council members on Tuesday said the move is intended to encourage residents to go car-free and reduce the cost of new housing to tackle two of the county’s most pressing concerns: the climate crisis and the affordable housing shortage. The post Montgomery County leaders want to change parking rules, reduce driving appeared first on Center Maryland ..read more

As Maryland continues its push to expand access to reproductive health care, a new collaboration will look to improve contraception services in areas where people don’t have access to all of their birth control options. Maryland, by some measures, has some of the highest rates of unplanned pregnancies and is home to hundreds of thousands of women without easy access to comprehensive contraceptive care. The post New effort to eliminate contraception deserts launches in Maryland appeared first on Center Maryland ..read more