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Tag: Wes Moore

  • ‘Keep our names out of your mouth’: Moore defends Baltimore against Trump at Pimlico event – WTOP News

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    After citing his administration’s gains in Baltimore, Gov. Wes Moore seized the opportunity to lambaste President Donald Trump.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    An excavator tore open the walls of the Pimlico clubhouse Thursday as the governor and other dignitaries looked on — the official kick-off for a demolition already underway at the historic track in northwest Baltimore’s Park Heights.

    The Maryland Board of Public Works signed off on the demolition and reconstruction project in May, starting a race to demolish and rebuild the aging track in time to bring the Preakness Stakes back to the Baltimore neighborhood by 2027.

    But the storied old clubhouse wasn’t the only thing being ripped into Thursday.

    After citing his administration’s gains in Baltimore — a massive decline in gun violence, a new lease for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards and the ongoing effort to redevelop Harborplace — Gov. Wes Moore (D) seized the opportunity to lambaste President Donald Trump (R), who said Baltimore is “so far gone” when it comes to violent crime. Trump made the remarks earlier this month as he mobilized National Guard troops to patrol Washington, D.C.

    “If you are not willing to be part of the solution, keep our names out of your mouth,” Moore said, eliciting cheers from the crowd. “Specifically, Donald Trump, if you are not willing to walk our communities, keep our name out of your mouth.”

    But the next speaker to step to the microphone — a Park Heights clergyman leading the community advisory board for the redevelopment — had a sobering message, and a reminder that the city’s problems have not gone away.

    Bishop Troy Randall, who grew up in the neighborhood abutting the racecourse, said he was caught in the crossfire of a shooting near the racetrack 5 p.m. Wednesday that left an 18-year-old man dead.

    “My heart grieves, as well as its joy,” Randall said. “I am a product of the good, and I’m a product of the bad.”

    Randall said he was sitting in his car, having just dropped off a neighbor at the barbershop, when shots rang out.

    “They shot my car, and as I laid on the floor of my car crying, I said, ‘Lord, not this. Not this way. It can’t end like this,’” Randall said.

    After the shots stopped, Randall emerged from his car to see the young victim lying on the ground.

    “I got out of that car, and I stood there, and I looked at the gentleman gasping for air in his lungs, I prayed that God give him another day,” Randall said.

    Randall said the harrowing incident inspired him to continue fighting for Park Heights to benefit from the redevelopment. He said Moore “kept his promise” to visit the neighborhood, by attending Thursday’s ceremony.

    Thursday, Moore touted his administration’s plan to reinvest a share of the revenue from the new racing facility in neighborhood improvements.

    Gov. Wes Moore (D) embraces Troy Randall, chair of the Pimlico Community Advisory Board, at a demolition ceremony Thursday. (Photo by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters)

    “The community have to be shareholders,” Moore said. “They have to benefit from all the new revenue that we will see.”

    Moore pointed to $75 million in state funding for affordable housing in the neighborhood and $5 million for a new Park Heights public library.

    The Board of Public Works vote in May approved a $15.2 million contract with Clark Construction related to the demolition and reconstruction, kickstarting a long-discussed plan to raze the deteriorating racing facility.

    The unanimous vote came even as State Treasurer Dereck Davis, one of the three members of the board, wondered if it should be a final handout to a struggling horseracing industry. He pondered aloud if building year-round appeal for the racetrack was a “pipe dream.”

    The board also approved $4.5 million that day to buy a farm in Carroll County that is slated to host a new $110 million training center, capable of hosting some 800 horses.

    With Pimlico razed, next year’s Preakness is scheduled to be run at Laurel Park. But the state, which owns Pimlico, plans to have the track reopened by May 2027, in time to once again host the second leg of the Triple Crown.

    That gives project managers less than two years to complete the full demolition and rebuild. But Moore was optimistic Thursday.

    “We are ensuring that the second leg of the Triple Crown will also be the Triple Crown’s crown jewel,” Moore said. “And that that crown jewel will be right here in Baltimore, right where it belongs.”

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    Jessica Kronzer

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  • Hale cites pragmatism as he switches party affiliation to run for Md. governor – WTOP News

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    Ed Hale Sr., a Baltimore businessman, sports team owner and longtime Democrat, ended speculation about his party affiliation and declared Wednesday that he will run for governor as a Republican.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    Ed Hale Sr., a Baltimore businessman, sports team owner and longtime Democrat, ended speculation about his party affiliation and declared Wednesday that he will run for governor as a Republican.

    Hale described himself as a moderate, but said his party switch was rooted in political pragmatism more than ideology.

    “There’s no way I could win running against Wes Moore with that machine he’s got,” Hale said of the incumbent Democratic governor. “He takes all the money and oxygen out of the room. I can’t do it. I’m a pragmatist and I’m a moderate person. That’s just the way I am.”

    Hale made the announcement — one that was expected — in an east Baltimore waterfront park that he once owned and sold to the city. It came after he hired Annapolis pollster Patrick Gonzales to look at a head-to-head race between himself and Moore.

    “I don’t believe I had a chance, based on the polling that was done, to beat him,” Hale said of Moore. “I had a chance, but it was not as good as it would be running as a Republican.”

    Hale said later that the poll only looked at him against Moore and did not include other Republicans who have filed or announced for governor, or who are the subject of speculation.

    Hale, 78, is well-known in the business community but is an unpolished political candidate.

    “So, the big thing here is, I like building things. 
I like making things. I like hiring people. That’s the way it is,” Hale said. “
What we have right now are these career politicians with smiling faces that really, really don’t give a sh-t. You all know it. I do. I care.”

    While Hale was blunt about his reasons for switching, Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) was equally blunt, casting doubt on Hale’s affiliation switch and portraying him as a political opportunist.

    “We’ve built a Republican movement in Maryland that stands for more than just opposition to the far left — it stands for authentic leadership and a clear governing philosophy,” Hershey said in a statement. “Our voters expect more than opportunism — they expect commitment.”

    Hershey noted that Hale has “spent decades” supporting Democrats.

    In remarks to reporters, Hale noted his relationships with former Baltimore mayor and Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer, a Democrat. He also spoke about raising money for Democrats including Dutch Ruppersberger, the former Baltimore County executive and congressman, and former Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski.

    “I did it because they were going to win and if you don’t do that, you’re just not very pragmatic or prudent,” Hale said.

    But he noted he also voted for Republicans, including former Govs. Larry Hogan and Robert Ehrlich.

    “It’s just the way that I am. I want to vote for the winner,” he said.

    Hale grew up in Baltimore. He said his record “stands for itself” more than political affiliation.

    “If you want to talk about labels, I’m the wrong person,” he said. “You’re born in Baltimore — I’m from east Baltimore not too far from here — and you’re automatically a Democrat. But I stopped thinking about party affiliation except when I voted.”

    He described his Democratic affiliation as a business tool.

    “If you’re building anything, you have to go with the party that’s in place, so you have someone to call to get a permit,” Hale said. “I can sugarcoat it any way you want, but that’s the tool.”

    Hershey, in his statement, questioned Hale’s commitment to core Republican principles.

    Senate Majority Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) questioned Ed Hale’s reasons for switching parties to run for governor. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.)

    “The Republican nomination for Governor will not be handed out to the highest-profile defector from the left. It must be earned,” Hershey said in his statement. “Maryland Republicans expect their leaders to stand firm on limited government, lower taxes, and personal responsibility.

    “We’ll be scrutinizing Ed’s record closely to ensure he genuinely embraces our values, not simply our party label,” Hershey’s statement said.

    Hale may also find himself at odds with Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump.

    “Now, I am not a Donald Trump guy. I’m going to make that very clear,” Hale said, but added that he would try to work with the president, who is very unpopular in Maryland.

    Hale said he would not “poke” Trump as Moore and other Democrats have done.

    “You have to have some pragmatism and common sense … so that you know that you’re going to be doing the right thing to make jobs in the state of Maryland,” he said.

    Hale laid out a platform of opposing taxes and fees and accused Democrats of misrepresentation as some, including Moore, claimed to have cut taxes.

    “I want to attack … what we all know is a problem,” Hale said. “I think we have dishonest people telling us things that are just not true, making us try to try to make us believe that these things are true, that the taxes are not going up. That fees are not going up. We all know it’s not true.”

    He said he backs nuclear power as a way to lower energy costs in the state and hinted at a tough-on-crime position, calling for juveniles as young as 14 to be jailed and for parents to be held responsible.

    “I think we should lower the date that they could go to jail — the age — down to 14,” Hale said. “If that’s the one stealing the cars and doing that, put them in jail. Find the parents and get judgments against the parents, too. That will begin the parenting.”

    Hale joins a growing field of Republicans who have formally filed or announced for governor.

    Baltimore businessman Ed Hale Sr., a Democrat, will seek the GOP nomination for governor next year, after realizing it would be difficult to beat current Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a Democratic primary. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

    John Myrick, who previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, and Carl A. Brunner Jr., a Carroll firearms instructor, have both formally filed for the GOP nomination.

    Freshman Del. Christopher Bouchat (R-Frederick and Carroll) said he will run for governor rather than re-election to the House. Carroll County farmer Kurt Wedekind has also said he will seek the Republican nomination. Neither Bouchat nor Wedekind have formally filed their candidacy.

    And then there is the ongoing speculation about Hogan mulling a possible return to office. The former two-term governor has used social media to stoke that speculation.

    Hale himself raised the possibility of another Republican former governor – Ehrlich — attempting a comeback.

    “If Larry Hogan wants to run, if Bob Ehrlich wants to run — I’ve heard that, too – have at it. Let’s have a contest,” he said.

    Hale’s announcement Wednesday does not make him a formal candidate. He must change his party registration, something the Talbot County resident said he could do as early as Wednesday.

    Hale must also register his campaign committee with the Maryland State Board of Elections, as well as financial disclosure forms. Hale said some of that may also be done as early as Wednesday afternoon.

    He cannot file his formal candidacy with the state board until he chooses a running mate.

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  • Hale cites pragmatism as he switches party affiliation to run for governor

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    Baltimore businessman Ed Hale Sr. during a campaign event Wednesday in Canton, where said he will switch parties and run for governor next year as a Rebublican. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

    Ed Hale Sr., a Baltimore businessman, sports team owner and longtime Democrat, ended speculation about his party affiliation and declared Wednesday that he will run for governor as a Republican.

    Hale described himself as a moderate, but said his party switch was rooted in political pragmatism more than ideology.

    “There’s no way I could win running against Wes Moore with that machine he’s got,” Hale said of the incumbent Democratic governor. “He takes all the money and oxygen out of the room. I can’t do it. I’m a pragmatist and I’m a moderate person. That’s just the way I am.”

    Hale made the announcement — one that was expected — in an east Baltimore waterfront park that he once owned and sold to the city. It came after he hired Annapolis pollster Patrick Gonzales to look at a head-to-head race between himself and Moore.

    “I don’t believe I had a chance, based on the polling that was done, to beat him,” Hale said of Moore. “I had a chance, but it was not as good as it would be running as a Republican.”

    Hale said later that the poll only looked at him against Moore and did not include other Republicans who have filed or announced for governor, or who are the subject of speculation.

    Hale, 78, is well-known in the business community but is an unpolished political candidate.

    “So, the big thing here is, I like building things. I like making things. I like hiring people. That’s the way it is,” Hale said. “ What we have right now are these career politicians with smiling faces that really, really don’t give a sh-t. You all know it. I do. I care.”

    While Hale was blunt about his reasons for switching, Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) was equally blunt, casting doubt on Hale’s affiliation switch and portraying him as a political opportunist.

    “We’ve built a Republican movement in Maryland that stands for more than just opposition to the far left — it stands for authentic leadership and a clear governing philosophy,” Hershey said in a statement. “Our voters expect more than opportunism — they expect commitment.”

    Hershey noted that Hale has “spent decades” supporting Democrats.

    In remarks to reporters, Hale noted his relationships with former Baltimore mayor and Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer, a Democrat. He also spoke about raising money for Democrats including Dutch Ruppersberger, the former Baltimore County executive and congressman, and former Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski.

    “I did it because they were going to win and if you don’t do that, you’re just not very pragmatic or prudent,” Hale said.

    But he noted he also voted for Republicans, including former Govs. Larry Hogan and Robert Ehrlich.

    “It’s just the way that I am. I want to vote for the winner,” he said.

    Hale grew up in Baltimore. He said his record “stands for itself” more than political affiliation.

    “If you want to talk about labels, I’m the wrong person,” he said. “You’re born in Baltimore — I’m from east Baltimore not too far from here — and you’re automatically a Democrat. But I stopped thinking about party affiliation except when I voted.”

    He described his Democratic affiliation as a business tool.

    “If you’re building anything, you have to go with the party that’s in place, so you have someone to call to get a permit,” Hale said. “I can sugarcoat it any way you want, but that’s the tool.”

    Hershey, in his statement, questioned Hale’s commitment to core Republican principles.

    Senate Majority Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) questioned Ed Hale’s reasons for switching parties to run for governor. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.)

    “The Republican nomination for Governor will not be handed out to the highest-profile defector from the left. It must be earned,” Hershey said in his statement. “Maryland Republicans expect their leaders to stand firm on limited government, lower taxes, and personal responsibility.

    “We’ll be scrutinizing Ed’s record closely to ensure he genuinely embraces our values, not simply our party label,” Hershey’s statement said.

    Hale may also find himself at odds with Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump.

    “Now, I am not a Donald Trump guy. I’m going to make that very clear,” Hale said, but added that he would try to work with the president, who is very unpopular in Maryland.

    Hale said he would not “poke” Trump as Moore and other Democrats have done.

    “You have to have some pragmatism and common sense … so that you know that you’re going to be doing the right thing to make jobs in the state of Maryland,” he said.

    Hale laid out a platform of opposing taxes and fees and accused Democrats of misrepresentation as some, including Moore, claimed to have cut taxes.

    “I want to attack … what we all know is a problem,” Hale said. “I think we have dishonest people telling us things that are just not true, making us try to try to make us believe that these things are true, that the taxes are not going up. That fees are not going up. We all know it’s not true.”

    He said he backs nuclear power as a way to lower energy costs in the state and hinted at a tough-on-crime position, calling for juveniles as young as 14 to be jailed and for parents to be held responsible.

    “I think we should lower the date that they could go to jail — the age — down to 14,” Hale said. “If that’s the one stealing the cars and doing that, put them in jail. Find the parents and get judgments against the parents, too. That will begin the parenting.”

    Hale joins a growing field of Republicans who have formally filed or announced for governor.

    Baltimore businessman Ed Hale Sr., a Democrat, will seek the GOP nomination for governor next year, after realizing it would be difficult to beat current Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a Democratic primary. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

    Baltimore businessman Ed Hale Sr., a Democrat, will seek the GOP nomination for governor next year, after realizing it would be difficult to beat current Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a Democratic primary. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

    John Myrick, who previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, and Carl A. Brunner Jr., a Carroll firearms instructor, have both formally filed for the GOP nomination.

    Freshman Del. Christopher Bouchat (R-Frederick and Carroll) said he will run for governor rather than re-election to the House. Carroll County farmer Kurt Wedekind has also said he will seek the Republican nomination. Neither Bouchat nor Wedekind have formally filed their candidacy.

    And then there is the ongoing speculation about Hogan mulling a possible return to office. The former two-term governor has used social media to stoke that speculation.

    Hale himself raised the possibility of another Republican former governor – Ehrlich — attempting a comeback.

    “If Larry Hogan wants to run, if Bob Ehrlich wants to run — I’ve heard that, too – have at it. Let’s have a contest,” he said.

    Hale’s announcement Wednesday does not make him a formal candidate. He must change his party registration, something the Talbot County resident said he could do as early as Wednesday.

    Hale must also register his campaign committee with the Maryland State Board of Elections, as well as financial disclosure forms. Hale said some of that may also be done as early as Wednesday afternoon.

    He cannot file his formal candidacy with the state board until he chooses a running mate.

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  • Long drama over BWI concessions contract may be nearing a close – WTOP News

    Long drama over BWI concessions contract may be nearing a close – WTOP News

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    The state is moving closer to awarding a lucrative 20-year contract to run the concessions operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall…

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    The state is moving closer to awarding a lucrative 20-year contract to run the concessions operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport — a year and a half after Gov. Wes Moore (D) pulled the plug on the initial procurement process, which was laden with controversy.

    Maryland Matters has learned that an evaluation committee at the Maryland Department of Transportation has recommended granting the contract to URW/Harbor Bankshare, a partnership between the international development company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE and Harbor Bank of Maryland. URW is best known for building and operating shopping centers, including four in Maryland. The Board of Public Works is expected to vote on the recommendation by year’s end.

    High-priced government procurements are frequently shrouded in secrecy, and agencies that run them and the companies that bid on the contracts are usually prevented from speaking publicly.

    Asked this week to confirm that the agency evaluation committee favored URW/Harbor Bankshare to run all concessions at BWI, and a series of related questions, David Broughton, an MDOT spokesperson, would say only, “This is still an active procurement, and the Maryland Department of Transportation expects to take the item to the Board of Public Works for approval by the end of the year.”

    But correspondence obtained by Maryland Matters between the agency and the companies that did not get the nod from MDOT’s screening committee show that URW/Harbor Bankshare was the top choice, “considering both the technical and financial factors set forth” in the state’s call for bids.

    Fraport/BWI Partners, the incumbent concessionaire that has held the contract under different corporate names for two decades, was the runner-up, according to the documents, which went out in late August. BWI Experience Partners, a partnership between national airport concessions operator Vantage Airport Group and half a dozen Black entrepreneurs from Maryland, was ranked third. An entity called Asur/RMD BWI JV, which is affiliated with ASUR, a Mexican airport services company, finished fourth.

    Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is best known for building and operating shopping centers throughout the world, including Westfield-branded malls in Potomac, Wheaton, Hyattsville and Annapolis. It also operates concessions in certain terminals at JFK International Airport in New York, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

    The company that is ultimately chosen by the Board of Public Works for this contract will oversee concessions — food, drink, retail and other hospitality services — at BWI for 20 years, working with several leaseholders and subcontractors who operate the stores, restaurants, snack bars and other commercial services at the busy state-owned airport.

    But these contract awards are never a done deal until the Board of Public Works votes — and even then there is an appeals process.

    While this procurement has yet to produce the controversy of the one that Moore canceled shortly after taking office in 2023, there still appear to be some unanswered questions that may give board members — Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) and Treasurer Dereck Davis (D) — some pause.

    For one, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which is based in Paris, signaled in 2021 that it wanted out of the U.S. market, and has been offloading properties ever since, including the Annapolis Mall in August — though it has been reinvesting in certain other developments. Is the company committed to maintaining its U.S. airport contracts? The CEO of URW’s airports division, Dany Nasr, resigned in August after a year and a half on the job.

    “This journey has been extraordinary, driven by our mission to uplift the travel experience by placing people at the heart of everything we do,” he wrote to colleagues upon his departure.

    BPW members may also want to know why the MDOT evaluation, according to people with knowledge of the process, did not include interviews with the companies or requests for “last and best offers,” a standard practice in procurements. They may want to know who was on the MDOT screening committee. Pointedly, MDOT took the contract decision away from the Maryland Aviation Administration, which operates BWI, and its administrator, Ricky Smith, after Moore canceled the procurement last year.

    Additionally, BPW members may want to know whether the Westfield bid was the best for meeting the state’s ambitious Minority Business Enterprise goals, which Moore has made a priority, particularly for state government contracts.

    The state initially began advertising for a new concessions operator for the airport in mid-2022, during the administration of former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The Maryland Aviation Administration, a division of MDOT, put out a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking bids for the contract, which is expected to provide tens of millions of dollars for both the vendor and the state’s coffers.

    But as Maryland Matters first reported, the process quickly ran into criticism, after the aviation administration twice changed the RFP in ways that appeared to favor one company — New Market Development Joint Venture LLC, a politically connected firm that was launched just months before the bidding began. One alteration, dealing with the level of experience needed to run concessions at BWI, clearly benefited New Market Development, because the company would not have qualified for the contract without the change.

    Passengers walk through a terminal at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

    In November 2022, MAA staff recommended awarding the contract to New Market Development, whose majority owner is Major Riddick, a former chief of staff to ex-Gov. Parris Glendening (D) and longtime fixture on the Maryland political and government scene.

    New Market Development was bidding to be one of the very few minority-owned businesses to run an airport concessions program in the U.S., though in most airport procurements, federal rules dictate that minority- and women-owned businesses are given preferences on many subcontracts.

    Riddick has operated fast-food franchises at BWI and at the airport in Pittsburgh for many years, but has no experience running a broader concessions contract.

    In December 2022, before the Board of Public Works got around to voting on the aviation administration’s recommendation, the MAA sent a brief message to all bidders, saying the contract process was being put on hold. Fraport sued the state during the same week, seeking to block New Market Development from getting the contract. It also said it would dispute any award of the BWI contract to Riddick’s company to the state’s Board of Contract Appeals — though MDOT officials said at the time that this particular contract could not be contested to that board.

    Fraport, an international company that runs airport concessions around the world, has been allowed to temporarily maintain the airport concessions contract, which its corporate predecessors first won when former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) was in office. The company’s other concessions operations include Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Nashville International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and terminals at JFK and Newark Liberty International Airport.

    One month after he took office, in February of 2023, Moore announced that he wanted the procurement process for airport concessions to go back to the drawing board.

    “BWI Marshall is an economic driver for our state and our region,” Moore said at the time. “The retail and concessions program is a key element to the growth and success of the airport, and my administration is committed to carefully crafting a new solicitation and a procurement process that encourages robust competition, fairness, and provisions that align with our administration’s values and short-term and long-term economic strategies.”

    When the state sought bids a second time, MDOT, rather than the aviation administration, became the lead agency for evaluating the proposals. Time will tell whether the state’s top leaders believe the agency has succeeded this time.

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    Ivy Lyons

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  • Wes Moore, Kamala Harris’ approval numbers trending up in Maryland, poll says – WTOP News

    Wes Moore, Kamala Harris’ approval numbers trending up in Maryland, poll says – WTOP News

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    The survey, released Tuesday morning by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media, is the first time Wes Moore has edged over 60% — a rating held by his predecessor Larry Hogan for the majority of his two terms.

    WTOP’s Linh Bui reports that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has gained momentum after his primetime speech at the Democratic National Convention.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    More than six in 10 voters in a new Maryland poll said they approve of the job being done by Gov. Wes Moore (D).

    Vice President Kamala Harris, right, is greeted by Maryland gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore during a campaign event, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Baltimore, Md. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)(AP/Julio Cortez)

    The survey, released Tuesday morning by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media, is the first time Moore has edged over 60% — a rating held by his predecessor Larry Hogan (R) for the majority of his two terms.

    Moore, entering the back half of his first term, has seen his national profile rise both as a campaign surrogate for President Joseph Biden and later Vice President Kamala Harris. Those efforts led to a prime time speaking spot in the recent Democratic National Convention.

    Pollster Patrick Gonzales attributed the surge in Moore’s approval to crisis management in Maryland.

    “So, if I had to pick one thing — I have no empirical data or empirical proof — I would pick the way he’s handled the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the aftermath dealing with it,” said Gonzales.

    In a February Gonzales poll, 58% of voters said they approved of the job done by Moore. That poll was released more than a month before the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

    The span fell into the Patapsco River in the early morning hours after the Dali, a 984-foot container ship, lost power and struck a bridge support. Six workers were on the bridge doing overnight road repairs.

    In the poll released Tuesday, nearly 64% of voters said they approved of the job done by Moore so far. Nearly 39% said they strongly approved of the first-term governor’s performance. That included more than eight in 10 Democratic voters and more 35% of Republican voters who expressed favorable opinions about Moore.

    Just under 25% said they disapproved of Moore’s performance. With the exception of Republican voters, Moore held favorable majorities across all age, geographic, racial demographic groups in the survey.

    Gonzales surveyed 820 registered voters who said they are likely to vote in November. The poll asked voters about Moore and other issues including the coming presidential election and the direction of the country.

    The poll, conducted between Aug. 24-30, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%.

    Optimism over the country’s direction

    Marylanders appear to feel a bit better about the direction of the country than they did six months ago.

    According to the survey, 50.4% said the country is headed in the right direction. About 45% of those who responded said it was headed in the wrong direction.

    The numbers represent an improvement from the February Gonzales poll. In that survey, 54% said the country was headed in the wrong direction.

    Republicans and independents and white voters are among the most pessimistic. The discontent was felt the greatest on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland where more than six in 10 voters were pessimistic.

    Those areas also tend to be some of the most Republican areas of the state.

    Nearly 73% of Black voters surveyed expressed optimism about the direction of the country.

    Biden approval remains steady

    Job approval numbers for Biden slipped a bit since the February poll but remain within the margin of error.

    Overall, 53% of those surveyed said they approved of Biden’s job performance. More than six in 10 of those who approved said they “strongly approved.”

    Again, there were few surprises: Biden’s job approval closely tracks the partisan divide in national electoral politics. More than 76% of Democrats approved of Biden’s efforts. More than 80% of Republicans and 58% of independents disapproved.

    Nearly 76% of Black Maryland voters said they approved of Biden’s work — the highest of any demographic in the poll.

    WTOP’s Linh Bui reports that Vice President Kamala Harris is getting a boost in Maryland, according to a recent poll.

    A bounce for Harris

    A lot has happened since February. One of the biggest events was Biden’s decision to end his re-election bid and endorse his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Maryland voters have changed their opinion about Harris since February.

    Six months ago, 46% of statewide voters said they approved of the job done by Harris. That same poll found 47% disapproved of her efforts.

    In the poll released Tuesday, Harris has bounced back with more than 55% with a favorable job approval number. Fewer than four in 10 voters said they disapproved.

    Negative attitudes toward Trump strongly held

    Meanwhile, Maryland voters have not changed their opinions on Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee.

    Roughly 57% of those surveyed held a negative opinion of the job Trump did as president. Of those who felt negatively about Trump’s job performance, more than nine in 10 voters “strongly disapproved.”

    More than four in 10 said they approved.

    Again, the poll showed the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans lining up to support the candidate of their party. Independent voters were almost evenly split.

    “Keep in mind that the intensity of disapproval has always been there since 2017 and the first time I ever did a poll in Maryland on Trump,” Gonzales said. “I’m not going to put too fine a point on it, but his numbers today aren’t quite as bad as they were in February when it was 61% disapprove, 38% approve. They still stink and that’s just the way it is.”

    Few surprises for presidential contest in Maryland

    There is also little drama in terms of the presidential matchup between Harris and Trump. Maryland is a state where Democratic voters outnumber their Republican counterparts by a roughly 2-1 margin.

    Maryland has not gone to a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. Additionally, Trump remains wildly unpopular in the state.

    Nearly 56% of voters surveyed said they planned to vote for Harris while 35% said they would cast a ballot for Trump.

    “It’s not looking not looking like 2020, but this looks pretty much like Maryland,” Gonzales said.

    In 2020, Biden garnered more than 65% of the vote and defeated Trump in the state by nearly 33 points. Gonzales said Biden’s electoral performance was a historic high in Maryland.

    Gonzales said that more than 90% of voters who said the nation was on the right track planned to vote for Harris. Seven of 10 voters who said the country was headed in the wrong direction said they would vote for Trump.

    Gonzales offered one note of caution for the national picture based on his Maryland poll.

    “The only cautionary sign that I see in that matchup number is that stated preference today among independents in Maryland is 38% for Harris, 36% for Trump,” the pollster said. “If I’m a Democrat, I don’t like seeing a poll in Maryland that among independents only has me up by two points over Trump.

    “It doesn’t put Maryland in play for Trump but it might have implications in other parts of the country,” Gonzales said.

    RFK endorsement of no consequence

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, will have negligible effect on the race in Maryland.

    Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign two weeks ago. He then endorsed Trump’s bid.

    The unaffiliated candidate will appear on the Maryland ballot in November. Last week, state elections officials confirmed he surpassed the 10,000 signatures needed for inclusion.

    The announcement has not swayed voters to Trump in any meaningful way.

    Of those surveyed, 74% said Kennedy’s endorsement had no effect on who they would vote for.

    The balance of those voters were nearly evenly split with a slight edge to Trump.

    But many of those voters were already in the Trump camp.

    Of the 12.8% who said they would be more likely to vote for Trump as a result of Kennedy’s announcement, more than three in four acknowledged they were already voting for Trump, Gonzales said.

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  • Most Maryland Democrats support Harris now, but that wasn’t always the case – WTOP News

    Most Maryland Democrats support Harris now, but that wasn’t always the case – WTOP News

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    With the Democratic establishment — in Maryland and across the country — quickly coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Biden at the top of the White House ticket, it’s easy to forget that her first foray into presidential politics, in 2019, wasn’t nearly as triumphal.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    With the Democratic establishment — in Maryland and across the country — quickly coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Biden at the top of the White House ticket, it’s easy to forget that her first foray into presidential politics, in 2019, wasn’t nearly as triumphal. But she had a hardy band of supporters in Maryland then who are reveling in the moment now.

    “Sometimes I know what I’m talking about,” Prince George’s County Council Member Wanika Fisher (D), an early Harris supporter, joked recently.

    Harris, then a first-term U.S. senator from California, entered the 2020 presidential race to great fanfare in her hometown of Oakland, with a raucous well-attended rally in late January. By the end of the year, she was out of the race.

    That was hardly a disgrace: Two dozen credible Democrats, from Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet to finance bro Andrew Yang, sought the White House nomination, and many flamed out quickly. By the time the filing deadline for the 2020 Maryland presidential primary rolled around, only 14 Democrats made it to the ballot, and by the time the primary took place on June 2, Biden was already the presumptive nominee.

    But Harris’ history-making bid attracted some passionate supporters in Maryland. And for a period, Harris notably established a beachhead in downtown Baltimore, where her campaign opened a second headquarters in an office building on South Charles Street — in part, her advisers said at the time, because Charm City resembled Oakland, where the main headquarters was.

    So who was part of the Maryland #KHive five years ago?

    Del. Jheanelle K. Wilkins (D-Montgomery) was a supporter — and in fact had been tracking Harris’ political career on social media since before she had even been elected to the Senate, in 2016. State Sen. Mary L. Washington (D-Baltimore City) was also a supporter.

    So was then-state Comptroller Peter Franchot — the epitome of an anti-machine Democrat at the time — who said in a social media post after one of the Democratic candidate debates that in an impressive field, Harris was “the most presidential.”

    For Fisher, who was a freshman in the House of Delegates during Harris’ first presidential bid, the connection with the vice president runs deep — and is both professional and personal.

    Wanika Fisher, then a state delegate and now a Prince George’s County council member, rides with supporters of then Sen. Kamala Harris in the 2019 Baltimore Pride parade. Photo courtesy of Wanika Fisher.

    Fisher, like Harris, is the daughter of immigrants, and is half-Black and half-Asian. Maryland Secretary of State Susan C. Lee once called Fisher “the Kamala of Maryland.”

    “We share the same journey,” Fisher said. “We’re both former prosecutors. We share the same sorority [Alpha Kappa Alpha]. We have the same ethnicity. Growing up, I never imagined that anyone like Kamala or me could succeed in politics. We’re a place where dreams come true. That’s how I’m feeling about Kamala right now.”

    Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate and another former prosecutor, has described Harris as a professional mentor and personal friend, and they have campaigned together over the years in California and in Maryland. In 2019, Alsobrooks and her teenaged daughter traveled to Detroit, site of a televised Democratic presidential debate, to provide Harris with moral support.

    Alsobrooks has already parlayed her relationship with Harris into a speaking gig at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month, with the details yet to come. Harris, she said this week, “will provide a clear and stark contrast to the regressive vision Donald Trump has for this country. She will make this race about the future and the kind of country our children deserve to inherit. Each and every one of us deserves that kind of leader.”

    Beyond elected leaders, Harris’ presidential campaign benefited from the sweat and wisdom of some local political strategists.

    Martha McKenna, the Baltimore-based Democratic media consultant and co-founder of the powerhouse Democratic group Emerge Maryland, cut TV ads for Harris’ 2016 Senate campaign. It “was a terrific experience,” she recalled.

    While McKenna remained officially neutral in the 2020 White House primary, she lobbied Harris’ presidential campaign to open a headquarters in Baltimore and hosted a happy hour for Harris’ Baltimore-based campaign staff to meet local politicos.

    Bill White, who had been a lobbyist with the Annapolis-based firm Capitol Strategies and previously had been the 2018 campaign manager for state Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel), joined the Harris campaign as a national ballot access coordinator. While he was based in the Baltimore headquarters, he spent a lot of time on the road for the campaign.

    Patrick Denny was a Baltimore-based fundraiser for the Harris campaign in 2019. He used those Maryland connections to become finance director of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D).

    It was a smallish band of supporters then. But now almost every Democratic leader in Maryland is all-in for Harris.

    Fisher said the vice president can appeal to voters on many levels, not just as a woman of color. She was a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage as California attorney general and as a prosecutor in San Francisco, Fisher said. She was an early advocate for re-entry programs and accountability in the criminal justice system.

    And in a society, that’s ever more diverse, Harris’ interracial marriage, with loving step-children and religious diversity, is a sign of encouragement to many voters “and the new American family,” Fisher said, in a country where the “1950’s, white-picket fence notion of families” is no longer commonplace.

    “Kamala didn’t come out of nowhere,” she said. “She knew things and worked hard and was a leader.”

    Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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  • State agencies in Maryland will use ‘plain language’ to help residents access state services, info online – WTOP News

    State agencies in Maryland will use ‘plain language’ to help residents access state services, info online – WTOP News

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    Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Tuesday directing state agencies to use “plain language” that provides clear and brief information on any documents or websites from state government aimed at the average reader in Maryland.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Tuesday directing state agencies to use “plain language” that provides clear and brief information on any documents or websites from state government aimed at the average reader in Maryland.

    Moore signed the four-page order – with eight whereas clauses and nine subsections – to make government websites and services easier to read and access in recognition of the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act later this week.

    “This executive order will help ensure that every piece of writing that comes out of this administration, in print and online, is simple, accessible … and easy to read,” Moore said Tuesday at the State House ceremony where he signed the order.

    While the executive order took effect immediately after Moore signed the document, it will likely take months to apply plain language across state agencies.

    Maryland Information Technology Secretary Katie Olson Savage said her office expects to have an implementation plan by the end of the year, which will provide a clearer timeline on the transition for agencies and state services to convert to plain language.

    “There are hundreds of Maryland websites that provide information, services and benefits for 6 million residents. And unfortunately, the current digital experience provides varying levels of accessibility, and use language that can be confusing and filled with jargon, regardless of ability,” Savage said at the event.

    But Moore said the plain language initiative will help all Marylanders navigate state government, not just those with disabilities.

    “It is based on a simple idea … that it should not be so difficult for Marylanders to access the programs and services that they deserve,” the governor said.

    It’s not a new idea. The ADA was signed July 26, 1990, and there have been U.S. efforts to use plain language in governments since the 1970s.

    Maryland Disabilities Secretary Carol Beatty noted that recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than 70 million Americans identified as having a disability as of 2022.

    “It’s often said that disability is the only minority group that anyone can join at any moment, be it by birth, illness, by accident or aging. Disability issues are everyone’s issue,” she said.

    Beatty reflected on the progress made in the 34 years since the ADA was signed, but said there is still room for improvement.

    “It is critical that we look back and take stock of all that we have accomplished in those last 34 years, but we also must push forward to make sure we continue to provide access for all,” Beatty said.

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  • ‘I’ve seen the work that we can actually get done’: Maryland Gov. professes unwavering support for Biden – WTOP News

    ‘I’ve seen the work that we can actually get done’: Maryland Gov. professes unwavering support for Biden – WTOP News

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    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined WTOP’s Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson to talk about the impact of the pardons for marijuana convictions, and he reiterated his unwavering support of President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for the White House.

    Tens of thousands of Marylanders could receive pardons for their marijuana convictions in what Gov. Wes Moore described at the “most sweeping state-level pardon in any state.”

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore talks about ongoing work at the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site, as well as the last day of the state’s legislative session, during an interview with The Associated Press in his office on Monday, April 8, 2024 in Annapolis, Md., (AP Photo/Brian Witte)(AP/Brian Witte)

    Moore joined WTOP’s Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson on Monday to talk about the impact of the pardons, and he reiterated his unwavering support of President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for the White House.

    Listen to their conversation below and read the transcript. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on pardons for marijuana convictions and his unwavering support of Biden

    Shawn Anderson: What have you been hearing from those whose convictions were pardoned and how they are hoping to go about their lives?

    Wes Moore: I think for so many people whose convictions were pardoned, it’s a game changer for them. Because we had a system that was making every sentence a life sentence, which especially didn’t make sense, because the thing that they were convicted of, is no longer illegal. And in fact, I announced last week that cannabis, just for the past year, has now become a billion-dollar industry in the state of Maryland. And so you cannot talk about the benefits of legalization, if you do not wrestle with the consequences of criminalization. So I think for those who received the pardon, and again, it’s 175,000 cannabis convictions that have now been pardoned, the largest in our country’s history. I think this was a game changer for them and their families.

    Anne Kramer: When it comes to expungement, governor, how would that work? And is that something you could consider in the future?

    Wes Moore: Yes, so about 40,000-plus people got their record expunged, just with the conviction. And now there are some who, there is still a expungement processes they have to go through. The governor, while you have pardon power, you don’t have expungement power in the same way. And so, while over 40,000 people now got their record expunged, the remainder will just have to go through a simple process. Now that they have the pardon, it’s really more of a simple formality they need to go through. But at the same time, I want to be clear that what we did with this mass pardon — this is a first step. We still need to right a lot of historical wrongs that have happened in the way that we have used cannabis as this cudgel, and particularly when it comes to communities of color with the criminal justice system.

    Shawn Anderson: Let’s switch gears here to President Biden and the continuing calls by some prominent Democrats in some regards to have him step aside from the reelection so another candidate can be chosen to run against former President Trump. You were at an important meeting last week with the president at the White House. You have been one of his staunchest defenders. Almost a week has passed since then. The president and the White House continue to do damage control. Do you think the president has done enough at this point to convince your fellow Democrats and donors to the campaign that he is in it for the long haul?

    Wes Moore: No, I think the president is going to have to continue working the way that he’s working now. Going out to not just donors, and not just elected officials, but also to community members, and to people who live in neighborhoods and explain what becomes a vision for the next four years. I think that the uncertainty is still there, and frankly, what we’re watching is unsustainable. We’ve got to get to a point when this conversation is about the binary choice between the president and, frankly, someone whose vision for this country is downright dangerous. And so we’ve got to get to that point.

    But I can tell you right now that my support for the president, it’s unwavering, because I’ve seen what a partnership with President Biden looks like. I’ve seen the work that we can actually get done together when you’re looking at the results that we’ve seen here in the state of Maryland. And my advocacy for making sure that we defeat Donald Trump in November, it is completely unwavering.

    Anne Kramer: Governor, what about President Biden physically and mentally makes you so confident he is up to the rest of this race when the calls keep growing larger for people who say they want him to step aside?

    Wes Moore: Well, I think President Biden continues to give us examples. He was in Pennsylvania yesterday. He was in Wisconsin before that. He continues to be on the road and meeting people where they are. I think that matters.

    And I think when you look at the results that his administration has continued to provide, I think that matters, too. I mean, since I’ve been the governor, we’ve seen over 40,000 new jobs in the state of Maryland, record low unemployment rates, a record drop in crimes and homicides that we’ve seen in the state of Maryland. Baltimore City, for example, the last time the homicide rates were this low in Baltimore, I wasn’t born yet. That’s happened in partnership with the Biden-Harris Administration. And so I think you’ve continued to watch an administration that sees us and supports us as local leaders and as community members. And I think that people will continue to see him on the campaign trail making his case.

    Shawn Anderson: We understand that you were on an election donor call with the president this afternoon. When you talk to donors, because they are as nervous as some of the lawmakers who are expressing their doubts, what do you say to them? What about that donor call? What did you have to say to them?

    Wes Moore: Well, what I said is, I got a chance to see what partnership looks like in the president and I don’t do disloyalty. And particularly when it comes to people who have stood with us in some of our lowest moments. I explained to the donors, and I said that a little under four months ago, I received a phone call that no chief executive ever wants to receive. And that was that 13% of my economy was now shut down. And tens of thousands of workers were hours away from waking up and realizing they didn’t have a job. And there were six Marylanders who weren’t accounted for. All of that happened when the Key Bridge collapsed.

    I know that my first phone call from the White House came at 3:30 that morning, and that I had a president later on that day, stand up in front of the country, and say, ‘Gov., we’ve got you. We’re going to be with you every step of the way.’ And he’s been true to his word.

    The thing I wanted to share with everybody is this is a president who is true to his word. And that matters to me. People who have integrity, that matters to me, and that’s why I continue to support him, and hope that we can get another four years.

    Anne Kramer: Gov. Moore, last question for you. You met with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today, what was that all about?

    Wes Moore: It was wonderful, because Canada’s not just our largest export trade partner. But I think the values that they have pushed and that the Prime Minister continues to push are ones that I respect. And so it was a wonderful chance to connect with him, to hear more about the economic prospects that we have in the state of Maryland. We are watching how Maryland’s economic growth and what we’re seeing right now — it is real, and having a trade partner like Canada in everything from construction to agriculture, to high tech and AI, it matters. Being able to continue to build that relationship, not just with the leadership, but then also with the country, is something that’s incredibly important to the economic prospects here in the state of Maryland.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Abigail Constantino

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  • Full interview: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on

    Full interview: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on

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    Full interview: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on “Face the Nation,” June 30, 2024 – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Watch Margaret Brennan’s full interview with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore that aired on “Face the Nation,” June 30, 2024.

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  • $2 billion Baltimore bridge rebuild is test case for new national debate over infrastructure spending

    $2 billion Baltimore bridge rebuild is test case for new national debate over infrastructure spending

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    In an aerial view, the remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge are seen as salvage crews continue to work to clean up the wreckage after the bridge collapsed in the Patapsco River on June 11, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. 

    Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

    Three months after Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed – killing six people, shutting a major port and disrupting vehicle traffic along the Eastern Seaboard — local, state and federal officials began a massive effort to make the best out of an unimaginable situation.

    “We’re working with construction companies and designers, and working with the people of our state, to think about what is it that we hope for this almost two-mile long bridge,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore told CNBC.

    The process passed a major milestone last week when crews managed to reopen the main navigation channel to the Port of Baltimore, the nation’s largest port for vehicles. That process alone was initially forecasted to take up to a year.

    “It didn’t take 11 months. We got it done in 11 weeks, because we work together,” Moore said.

    But now, in many ways, comes the hard part. Officials hope to use the disaster as a chance to reconsider all the infrastructure in the region.

    “This is going to be an important opportunity for our state to look at all of our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels. You know, our critical infrastructure is imperative for our economic growth and development,” Moore said.

    Reimagining how to rebuild a bridge

    Some of that planning is already underway. Last month, the Maryland Transportation Authority issued its first request for proposals to rebuild the bridge. The plan is to use what officials call a “Progressive Design-Build Approach,” in which the design and construction firms are hired at the same time and work together throughout the process. This efficiency could allow a new bridge to be built in just four years — breakneck speed for a project expected to cost upward of $2 billion. The Maryland Transportation Authority is expected to choose the firms this summer.

    U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC the new bridge will be far better than the old one that opened in 1977.

    “We know things that we didn’t know in the 1970s, about how to put up a bridge,” Buttigieg said. “Nobody wanted to be here through this tragic catastrophe that happened. But it does bring an opportunity, and I would say, responsibility, to get things right for the future.”

    Transportation planners have also begun a series of community meetings to gain public input. At a virtual meeting on June 11, questions included whether the new bridge — like the old one — will be a toll bridge (that is the plan) and whether the new bridge will be wider than the old, four-lane structure (no).

    As the process continues, officials have promised an “engagement tour” to get public input.

    The city of Baltimore, meanwhile, hopes to speed up funding for the already-planned reconstruction of the Hanover Street Bridge over the Patapsco River, which has emerged as a key alternate route for travelers who formerly used the Key Bridge.

    A microcosm of the national infrastructure push

    The situation in Baltimore is a vastly sped-up version of processes underway in states and cities across the country, said Buttigieg, who is overseeing some 54,000 projects nationwide funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.

    “We have funding that goes to projects that come from every state, city, airport authority or transit agency, you can think of,” he said.

    While Buttigieg acknowledged that some of the demand is a result of the huge amount of money being made available — $550 billion in transportation and infrastructure funding over five years — it is also a reflection of the need.

    “To me, it indicates just how much work there is to do in this country,” he said. “We were reminded as a country the hard way how important our infrastructure is, because of the pressures we experienced at the beginning of this decade with Covid. We saw what happens if our supply chains come under strain.”

    New economic development battleground

    Companies seeking to capitalize on the drive — and incentives — to rebuild damaged domestic supply chains are looking for states and localities that have proper infrastructure in place, said site selection consultant John Boyd, Jr., of The Boyd Company. This may help explain why infrastructure has become such a hot topic in the world of United States economic development.

    “Site readiness is a key component when we think about what distinguishes one market versus another, and it very often is such a critical factor, it could tip the scales for a project towards an overall less business-friendly state, if they have a certified site that’s ready to go,” he said.

    A CNBC analysis of all 50 states’ economic development marketing materials shows that infrastructure is the most mentioned attribute by states marketing to attract companies. As a result, Infrastructure is the top-weighted category in CNBC’s annual state competitiveness rankings, America’s Top States for Business.

    Experts say the emphasis on infrastructure will likely stick around for a while.

    “It’s not easy to build out electrical or water or gas or wastewater infrastructure. Those things take time and money,” said Seth Martindale, chairman of the Site Selectors Guild, which supplied some of the data for the CNBC study. “I think it’s going to be five-plus, 10-plus years before we really get it to a point where we feel good about it.”

    Buttigieg noted that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is already halfway through its five-year lifespan, with plenty of needs remaining.

    “I think it’s not too soon to start thinking and talking about what the next five-year package ought to look like,” Buttigieg said, referencing the future of U.S. infrastructure.

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  • Md. Gov. Moore: Programs for Key Bridge recovery will sunset in June – WTOP News

    Md. Gov. Moore: Programs for Key Bridge recovery will sunset in June – WTOP News

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    The governor’s office said the programs, which began in April, have provided $37.4 million in assistance to those affected by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26.

    Crews conduct a controlled demolition of a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the Dali container ship in Baltimore on May 13, 2024. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced Friday that certain economic relief programs responding to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse will sunset, beginning in late June.

    In a news release, the governor’s office said the programs, which began in April, have provided $37.4 million in assistance to those affected by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26. Those include $6.4 million for minority or women owned businesses, and $22 million to support Baltimore area businesses, according to the release.

    The bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after a cargo ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns. Six construction workers were killed in the incident.

    The programs scheduled to sunset on June 28 are:

    • Maryland Department of Labor Worker Support Program
    • Maryland Department of Commerce Business Assistance Program
    • Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Business Grant Program

    In addition, the Department of Housing and Community Development Business Loan Program, which provides loans to businesses impacted by the Key Bridge collapse, says that program will end on August 15.

    For those wishing to apply for the temporary programs before they expire, visit:

    “Thanks to the collaboration of bipartisan lawmakers and leaders across state government, we stood up financial relief programs at incredible speed, avoiding mass layoffs and deep financial pain for countless workers and businesses,” said Gov. Moore in the news release. “Our call was simple: Mission First — People Always. Together, Maryland answered that call.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Conservationists respond with praise to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s recent climate action – WTOP News

    Conservationists respond with praise to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s recent climate action – WTOP News

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    The Chesapeake Bay Foundation commended Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for his executive order last week requiring state agencies submit plans to address climate change.

    On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order requiring state agencies to submit a plan to help address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden commended Moore for his action. She said there’s significant overlap between actions that are taken to mitigate climate change and those that will help improve the water quality and habitat in the Chesapeake Bay.

    “We have these ambitious goals in Maryland for reducing our climate emissions by 60% by 2031 and achieving net zero by 2045. And they have really important implications for the Chesapeake Bay, as well,” Colden said. “But they’re only as good as their implementation. So, it’s absolutely critical that these are implemented in an accountable and transparent way.”

    As for the actions she would like to see taken in the climate plans: there’s protecting and conserving marshes and streams, with things such as riparian buffers or conserving forests and improving soil health by planting trees.

    “These are the same practices that we’ve been prescribing for years to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay,” Colden said. “If we achieve our goals with respect to reducing climate emissions, we’re also going to have the co-benefits of helping to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, as well.”

    She said CBF serves as a watchdog, ensuring that all the climate plans part of Moore’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan are enforced and carried out.

    Aside from conserving the environment, she said the plan has direct economic, social and ecological benefits to Marylanders.

    The action prioritizes implementing practices that help to reduce climate emissions. But Colden said its doing it “in a way that is equitable and helps to write those historic injustices that we know exist in Maryland and have been extremely challenging to the communities as well as, you know, our ecological health in certain areas around the state.”

    CBF has long worked with communities surrounding Baltimore and Baltimore Harbor that are affected by industrial pollution.

    “One of the communities that we have worked with is Turner Station in Dundalk … they’re experiencing this consistent flooding, and there’s concerns about legacy toxic contaminants associated in the sediments that are included in that flooding,” Colden said.

    “So there is an example of an impact that has been produced by climate change, leading to increases in nuisance flooding in a community that has been impacted for decades from these industrial activities.”

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Grace Newton

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  • Gov. Moore vetoes four bills, lets audiologist bill become law without his signature – WTOP News

    Gov. Moore vetoes four bills, lets audiologist bill become law without his signature – WTOP News

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    Press association beats back public notice bill it missed during the 2024 session.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    A bill that would have curbed some public notice advertising revenue for newspapers in Maryland has been vetoed by Gov. Wes Moore (D).

    House Bill 1258 was one of four from the 2024 legislative session vetoed by Moore. Two others — identical House and Senate bills expanding the scope of work audiologists can do — were allowed to go into law without the signature of the governor.

    All the actions announced Friday were expected.

    In vetoing the public notice bill, Moore cited concerns about “ensuring the existence of thriving independent local media.”

    HB 1258, sponsored by Del. Elizabeth Embry (D-Baltimore City), would have ended the requirement that public notice on estates be placed in newspapers around the state, allowing them instead to be published on a central website created by the state’s registers of wills.

    The bill was overlooked by newspapers and media organizations who have fought off similar bills over the years. Those same groups launched a lobbying effort after the session to secure Moore’s veto.

    Rebecca Snyder, executive director of the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, said the veto “underscores Gov. Moore’s acknowledgment of the role of news media and how important our watchdog function is — not only the investigative work that that news media is known for but also the public notice and public records that are a really important way to hold government people in power accountable.

    “We understand that this is part of a broader conversation, and we’re willing, certainly, to work with other stakeholders on this. But we are really happy to have seen, kind of, the fruits of our advocacy come to pass,” Snyder said.

    The press association, which represents newspapers in the state, said the move would end a practice of independence and transparency. It also would have hit the flagging industry in its pocketbook, a fact noted by Moore.

    “The press also plays an important role in public accountability through investigative journalism,” Moore wrote in his veto letter. “Public notice requirements have helped sustain much of the local print media in Maryland as print advertising dollars have dried up and the entire print media industry has consolidated and downsized.

    “Many communities in the state now suffer from a lack of press coverage of local news, undermining public accountability. To so rapidly remove such a large source of advertising revenue as estate notices without considering the impact on the future of local media in Maryland could have severe consequences,” he wrote.

    Even so, the governor said changes and technology and cost savings for local governments and families should not be ignored. Moore said lawmakers were not given the opportunity to “balance these two significant public interests.”

    Supporters said the bill would have saved estates and families money.

    Moore agreed. In his veto letter, he said that “existing print public notice requirements do present a financial burden on local and state governments as well as individual citizens.”

    “This is the challenge that Delegate Embry was seeking to address,” the letter said.

    Moore wrote that the costs to estates are an important concern “and one that should be dealt with.”

    Moore vetoes three other bills

    Senate Bill 60 would have authorized out-of-state dealers to temporarily display motor homes, recreational vehicles and trailers at shows around the state. The out-of-state dealers could not take orders nor accept deposits under the measure.

    The bill also would have required the Department of Commerce to conduct a study on the impact of out-of-state dealers at the Maryland RV show held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

    Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Eastern Shore), lead sponsor of the bill, said the goal was to bolster local RV shows while protecting businesses licensed in the state.

    Moore said he rejected the “well-intentioned bill” to protect Maryland jobs.

    “Maryland’s recreational vehicle industry is made up of small businesses who employ a total of more than 300 employees statewide,” Moore wrote. “As with many of the small businesses that propel our economy and further opportunities for families in the state, a consistent and reliable marketplace is crucial. Senate Bill 60, as passed, creates a significant and temporary shift in the marketplace for RV dealers with unknown impacts.”

    Senate Bill 380 would have created a 21-member workgroup to examine efforts to recruit and retain police officers around the state. Moore vetoed the bill saying it duplicated other efforts.

    “It is not necessary to create two workgroups designed to address the same problem,” he wrote.

    Senate Bill 693 was identical to a House bill Moore signed May 9, authorizing Carroll County government to borrow $28.9 million through bonds for projects within the county. The governor vetoed the Senate version, saying that “enactment of duplicate bond bills would double authorized debt.”

    Audiologist bill becomes law, needs more work

    Moore, as expected, allowed identical bills — HB 464 and SB 795 — to become law without his signature.

    The bills allow licensed audiologists to diagnose and treat auditory conditions; sell, dispense, and fit hearing aids and external portions of cochlear implant devices; perform ear cleaning; and order blood work and tests as it relates to auditory conditions.

    MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, opposed the bill that it said “vastly expanded” the work of audiologists.

    “I acknowledge and commend the General Assembly, particularly the Finance and Health and Government Operations Committees for their work with advocates to authorize audiologists to practice to the full extent of their training and provide appropriate access to care for Marylanders,” Moore wrote. “However, discussions with proponents and opponents of the bill have made clear that the statute will require further clarification.”

    Moore, in his letter, recommended proponents and opponents “collaborate on revisiting these statutes during the interim to ensure that the differences between audiology and otolaryngology are made more clear.”

    MedChi CEO Gene Ransom said Friday that his organization “obviously is pleased that Gov. Moore addressed the desire to fix the problem that we identified. We’re looking forward to working with the administration and the General Assembly to make the bill workable.”

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    Ivy Lyons

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  • Primaries in Maryland and West Virginia will shape the battle this fall for a Senate majority

    Primaries in Maryland and West Virginia will shape the battle this fall for a Senate majority

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    ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Voters across Maryland and West Virginia will decide key primary elections Tuesday with big implications in the fight for the Senate majority this fall.

    At the same time, Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump hope to project strength in low-stakes presidential primaries, while further down the ballot, two congressional candidates on opposite sides of the 2021 Capitol attack serve as a stark reminder that the nation remains deeply divided over the deadly insurrection.

    In all, three states are hosting statewide primary elections on Tuesday — Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia — as Republicans and Democrats pick their nominees for a slate of fall elections. None are more consequential than Senate primaries in Maryland and West Virginia, where Republicans are eying pickup opportunities that could flip control of Congress’ upper chamber for at least two years.

    A TRUMP CRITIC VIES FOR MARYLAND’S GOP NOMINATION

    In Maryland, Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan expects to dominate the state’s GOP Senate primary despite his years-long criticism of Trump, whom Hogan describes as a threat to democracy. The former two-term governor would be the blue state’s first Republican senator in more than four decades.

    It’s unclear whether Trump loyalists will ultimately embrace Hogan. In all, six other Republicans are challenging the 67-year-old former governor.

    In a message to supporters before polls closed, Hogan avoided any mention of Trump as he cast himself as the underdog in the fall election should he claim the GOP nomination on Tuesday.

    “I’m in this Senate race because I am sick and tired of the division, partisan bickering, and inaction of many of our politicians in Washington today,” Hogan wrote. “I CANNOT stand by and watch the dysfunction continue without doing everything in my power to fix the broken politics.”

    On the Democratic side, Rep. David Trone has been locked in a contentious — and expensive — battle with Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

    Trone, the co-founder of the Total Wine & More national liquor store chain, has put more than $61 million of his own money into the race. That’s just shy of the national record for self-funding a Senate campaign, with much of it going to a months-long TV ad blitz. The three-term congressman says he’s better positioned to beat Hogan in November as a progressive Democrat not beholden to special interests.

    Race has been an issue in the primary, with Alsobrooks working to become Maryland’s first Black U.S. senator. Trone apologized in March for what he said was the inadvertent use of a racial slur during a budget hearing.

    Alsobrooks, who serves as chief executive of Maryland’s second-largest jurisdiction with the state’s largest number of registered Democrats, has been endorsed by many of the state’s top officials, including Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Steny Hoyer and a long list of state lawmakers.

    She has campaigned on growing economic opportunity, investing in education and protecting abortion rights.

    THE WEST VIRGINIA BATTLE TO REPLACE MANCHIN

    Meanwhile, in West Virginia, the Republican Senate primary is likely to decide retiring Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s replacement given the state’s overwhelming Republican tilt.

    Republican Gov. Jim Justice and U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney are the leading GOP candidates. With Manchin gone, the seat is almost guaranteed to turn red come November.

    The Trump-endorsed Justice, a former billionaire with a folksy personality that’s made him wildly popular in the state, is the front-runner against Mooney and five other lesser-known Republicans. A former Democrat, Justice switched to the Republican Party in 2017. He announced the change at a Trump rally.

    Mooney has tried to win over conservatives by labeling Justice a “RINO” — which stands for “Republican in name only” — who would support Democratic policies. Justice did support Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, saying West Virginia couldn’t afford to turn away the money offered in the bill. Mooney voted against it.

    On the other side, Democrats are choosing between Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, who has Manchin’s endorsement, and Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury, who has support from the Progressive Democrats of America. Also in the Democratic primary: former Republican Don Blankenship, who was convicted of violating safety standards after 29 people died in a 2010 coal mine explosion.

    West Virginia is also deciding its candidates for governor.

    Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican nominee in the 2018 Senate race against Manchin, is running for the Republican nomination. He’s up against the sons of two members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation: car dealer Chris Miller, whose mother is Rep. Carol Miller, and former state Rep. Moore Capito, whose mother is Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner is also in the GOP race.

    On the Democratic side, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams is unopposed.

    TESTS OF STRENGTH IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

    There’s far less drama in Tuesday’s presidential primaries.

    Biden and Trump have already amassed enough delegates to claim the presidential nominations at their respective national conventions this summer. Yet voters on both sides hope to register a significant protest vote Tuesday that will demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the Biden-Trump rematch.

    Maryland progressives especially unhappy with the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas are encouraging voters to select “uncommitted to any presidential candidate” instead of Biden. There is no uncommitted option in West Virginia or Nebraska.

    Everett Bellamy, a Democrat who voted early in Annapolis, said he voted “uncommitted” instead of Biden as a protest against the killing of women and children and noncombatants in Gaza.

    “I’ve got to make a decision come November, but for now while the violence is raging in Gaza and people are being killed every day and starving to death, I wanted to send a message,” Bellamy, 74, said after leaving an early voting center. “Hopefully, I have a better choice come November.”

    Meanwhile, Trump’s Republican critics cannot choose “uncommitted,” but they can choose his former GOP rival Nikki Haley, who will appear on the ballot in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia despite formally suspending her campaign more than two months ago. Last week in Indiana, Haley earned nearly 22% of the Republican primary vote.

    Trump has shrugged off his Republican critics, yet his weakness with the party’s moderate wing could threaten him in the general election.

    TWO SIDES OF THE INSURRECTION

    Tuesday’s elections also include two candidates who were intimately involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    In West Virginia, a former member of the House of Delegates, Derrick Evans, is running for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District. The 39-year-old Trump loyalist served a three-month jail sentence after livestreaming himself participating in the storming of the U.S. Capitol. He calls himself the only elected official who “had the courage” to stand behind efforts to temporarily halt certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.

    Evans is trying to oust incumbent Republican Rep. Carol Miller.

    In Maryland, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn is among nearly two dozen Democrats running in the state’s 3rd Congressional District. The 40-year-old Democrat was in the Capitol working to repel the violent mob on Jan. 6.

    Also on Tuesday, in North Carolina, voters will finalize their pick in what has become a one-person Republican primary in the state’s 13th Congressional District. Trump endorsed Brad Knott this month, leading his opponent to suspend her campaign.

    ___

    This story has deleted an incorrect reference to a California election being Tuesday. The California election is next week.

    ___

    Willingham reported from Charleston, West Virginia. Peoples reported from Washington.

    ___

    Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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    Brian Witte, Leah Willingham And Steve Peoples, Associated Press

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  • Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives – WTOP News

    Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives – WTOP News

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    Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

    WTOP’s Dick Uliano reports from Baltimore following the demolition at the Key Bridge collapse site

    See photos of the explosion below. 

    BALTIMORE (AP) — Crews set off a chain of carefully placed explosives Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and with a boom and a splash, the mangled steel trusses came crashing down into the river below.

    The explosives flashed orange and let off plumes of black smoke upon detonation. The longest trusses toppled away from the grounded Dali container ship and slid off its bow, sending a wall of water splashing back toward the ship.

    It marked a major step in freeing the ship, which has been stuck amid the wreckage since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26. The demolished span came crashing down on the ship’s bow and remained resting on its deck for the past six weeks.

    The collapse killed six construction workers and halted most maritime traffic through Baltimore’s busy port. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and restore traffic through the port, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure.

    Officials said the detonation went as planned. They said the next step in the dynamic cleanup process is to assess the few remaining trusses on the Dali’s bow and make sure none of the underwater wreckage is preventing the ship from being refloated and moved.

    “It’s a lot like peeling back an onion,” said Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    Officials still expect to refloat the ship within the next few days.

    “This was a very big milestone for our progression forward,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore District Commander for the Army Corps of Engineers. She said crews don’t anticipate having to use any more explosives.

    The Dali’s 21-member crew remained onboard the ship during the detonation, and no injuries or problems were reported, said Capt. David O’Connell, commander of the Port of Baltimore.

    The crew members haven’t been allowed to leave the grounded vessel since the disaster. Officials said they’ve been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan.

    In a videographic released this week, authorities said engineers were using precision cuts to control how the trusses break down. They said the method allows for “surgical precision” and is one of the safest and most efficient ways to remove steel under a high level of tension.

    The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting investigations into the bridge collapse.

    Danish shipping giant Maersk had chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn’t get far. Its crew sent a mayday call saying they had lost power and had no control of the steering system. Minutes later, the ship rammed into the bridge.

    Officials have said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system.

    Copyright
    © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

    Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
    Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    Maryland Bridge Collapse
    The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on the container ship Dali, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore, as seen from Riviera Beach, Md. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the Dali was postponed on Sunday.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    Maryland Bridge Collapse
    American flags fly on a docked boat as the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on the container ship Dali on Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore, as seen from Riviera Beach, Md. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the Dali was postponed on Sunday.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
    Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    <p>Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)</p>
    Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

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    WTOP Staff

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  • 4/7: Face the Nation

    4/7: Face the Nation

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    4/7: Face the Nation – CBS News


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    This week on “Face the Nation,” six months to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, the Israeli military has pulled many of its troops out of southern Gaza. Holly Williams joins from Tel Aviv with more. Plus, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Chris Van Hollen join as Baltimore seeks to rebuild from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

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  • Maryland governor gives update on bridge cleanup, details difficulties for divers

    Maryland governor gives update on bridge cleanup, details difficulties for divers

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    Maryland governor gives update on bridge cleanup, details difficulties for divers – CBS News


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    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said divers at the site of the Baltimore bridge collapse can’t see more than a foot or two in front of them because the water in the Patapsco River is so murky. The governor also said a temporary southwest channel is expected to open in the coming days.

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  • Inside the effort to clear the Baltimore bridge wreckage

    Inside the effort to clear the Baltimore bridge wreckage

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    Inside the effort to clear the Baltimore bridge wreckage – CBS News


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    Crews are working to clear the wreckage of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship struck a support column. CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave and Nicole Sganga have more.

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  • ‘All hands on deck’: Divers plunge in search of 6 workers feared dead after Baltimore bridge collapse – WTOP News

    ‘All hands on deck’: Divers plunge in search of 6 workers feared dead after Baltimore bridge collapse – WTOP News

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    Recovery efforts are underway as divers plunge back into Patapsco River Wednesday morning with hopes of recovering the bodies of six construction workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship rammed into the bridge, causing it to collapse.

    Listen to WTOP online and on the radio at 103.5 FM or 107.7 FM for our team coverage.

    A Coast Guard cutter passes a cargo ship that is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship his the bridge Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)(Courtesy AP/Steve Helber)

    Recovery efforts are underway as divers plunge back into Patapsco River Wednesday morning with hopes of recovering the bodies of six construction workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning when a powerless cargo ship rammed into the bridge, causing it to collapse.

    The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search and recovery operation for the workers at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, saying that due to the amount of time that had elapsed since the initial collapse and the cold water temperatures, they did not expect to find any of the workers alive.

    Even though the operation has shifted away from search and rescue, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday morning there’s still a sense of urgency in the recovery mission.

    “The top priority for me right now is still the recovery, we’ve got to bring these families closure,” Moore said Wednesday.

    The governor ordered that Maryland flags be flown at half-staff until further notice to honor the victims.

    The divers have already been back in the water searching for hours, Moore said just before 8:30 a.m.

    “I can’t stress enough the heroism of these folks,” Moore said. “They are in frigid conditions, they are down there in darkness where they can literally see about a foot in front of them. They are trying to navigate mangled metal. And they’re also in a place that it is now presumed that people have lost their lives.”

    More Key Bridge collapse coverage:

    Reports came in around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday that a large vessel had crashed into a column in the central part of the bridge that carries north and southbound lanes of Interstate 695. It’s not clear what caused the actual crash, but the ship’s crew notified authorities of a power issue through a mayday call before it struck the bridge.

    Sound of first responders from Broadcastify/AP

    Radio communication between emergency responders illustrates how police had roughly 90 seconds to cut off traffic on the bridge before it crumbled.

    The officers can be heard discussing how traffic must be stopped to make sure no one is on the bridge because a ship lost control of its steering. They mention the construction crew.

    Around a minute into the recording, the vessel struck the bridge and a destructive scene immediately unfolded.

    “The whole bridge just fell down,” one officer said. “Start, start whoever, everybody … the whole bridge just collapsed.”

    Because of the warning, Moore said port authority workers were able to stop traffic and prevent more vehicles from traveling onto the bridge.

    “These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”

    Two other workers were rescued, with one of them remaining in serious condition as of Tuesday night, Moore said. The other was uninjured. Their crew was repairing potholes on the bridge when the container ship crashed into it, Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary, said.

    Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows members of the crew, said he was told they were on a break and some were sitting in their trucks.

    Among the missing were people from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to diplomats from those countries.

    Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland confirmed that two of the missing were Guatemalan citizens working on the bridge

    Three Mexicans were on the bridge. One was rescued, and two are missing, said Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

    The Honduran man was identified as Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval by that country’s deputy foreign affairs minister.

    While U.S. authorities have not named any of the construction workers, a Maryland-based immigrant rights group said one of its longtime members is among those who are presumed dead. In a news release, CASA said Miguel Luna, from El Salvador was missing.

    The group said Luna was “a husband, a father of three, and has called Maryland his home for over 19 years.”

    Maryland State Police said there is no evidence anyone went into the water, other than the workers, but they haven’t discounted the possibility.

    Synergy Marine Group, manages the ship, which is called Dali. In a news release the group said one crew member who was injured on the vessel was taken to the hospital and later discharged. All other crew members along with the two pilots are safe.

    The management group also said its emergency response team is in Baltimore, “to support the ongoing efforts to ensure crew safety, maintain vessel integrity and facilitate the swift and safe reopening of the waterway.”

    Investigators board ship

    The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, and the agency’s chair Jennifer Homendy said she believes a small team briefly boarded the ship Tuesday night.

    “The preliminary investigation points to an accident,” Moore said.

    Investigators had previously held off on boarding the ship earlier in the day to make room for the Coast Guard’s search efforts, she said.

    The U.S. Coast Guard was able to get the voyage data recorder off the ship, Homendy told WTOP.

    NTSB was able to download the recorder and send it off to a lab, she said.

    “That will give us help, give us a lot of information about the vessel and the operation of the vessel,” Homendy said. “It will begin to develop a timeline of events for us of what led to the striking of the bridge.”

    A larger group of investigators is expected to board the ship Wednesday in search of indicators that could point to what went wrong onboard, Homendy said. That gathering of evidence will include collecting electronic information like logs as well as documenting information about the vessel and the bridge.

    While she said officials’ highest priority is the recovery effort for the construction workers, NTSB is also working to collect evidence while the wreckage is still in place.

    “This will get cleaned up and moved very quickly at some point, and that all of that evidence would be gone,” she said, adding that it’s “utter devastation.”

    Major shipping hub shut down to vessel traffic

    Baltimore’s Key Bridge was built in 1977 and named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that, along with the Port of Baltimore, is a hub for shipping on the East Coast.

    Ship traffic entering and leaving the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice. Maryland Congressman David Trone was told in a briefing the port’s closure will cost the economy at least $15 million a day, according to a statement from his office.

    The crash will disrupt the country’s shipping industry and undoubtedly create headaches for commuters who reply on the bridge.

    President Joe Biden said the federal government should pay for rebuilding the bridge, and Moore said he’s discussing his legislative options to speed up the recovery with Maryland’s General Assembly and the Biden administration.

    “We know that this is going to have to be all hands on deck when we’re talking about the long-term recovery and for what it’s going to mean, not just for elements of the Key Bridge, but all the other elements that this has impacted,” Moore said.

    Trone, who is a member of the house appropriations committee, echoed that it will be a team effort to rebuild.

    “Right now at the federal level, we’re actively exploring the use of ‘quick release’ emergency relief funds in partnership with Secretary Buttigieg and the urgent deployment of Congressionally approved funding,” Trone wrote in a statement Wednesday.

    In 2023, the port handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo. Moore said the harbor is responsible for $191 million of economic activity daily.

    “For everybody who was buying cars, for everybody who was buying farm equipment, we’re the largest port in the country that does that,” he said Wednesday morning while speaking with reporters. “This is not just impacting Maryland.”

    Moore said he’s “overwhelmed” by the amount of support from fellow governors, philanthropists and others looking to help.

    “Maryland, we really appreciate the love that’s been coming from around the country and the support,” Moore said. “I tell them, the people who need it most of these families>”

    WTOP’s Luke Lukert and Ciara Wells and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Online protection bills for kids pass in Maryland House, Senate — but Big Tech companies continue their fight – WTOP News

    Online protection bills for kids pass in Maryland House, Senate — but Big Tech companies continue their fight – WTOP News

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    Bills that would limit how much data can be harvested from kids online passed overwhelmingly in their respective chambers in Annapolis, but there are signs that opponents aren’t finished objecting to the measures.

    Bills that would limit how much data can be harvested from kids online passed overwhelmingly in their respective chambers in Annapolis, Maryland, but there are signs that opponents aren’t finished objecting to the measures.

    House and Senate bills would bar tech companies from using data to push personalized ads to children or to track them in real time. The exception would be apps that are used for navigation.

    In addition, tech firms that make products that require an account would have to default to the highest privacy setting possible.

    While the bills must pass in both chambers before final passage, Net Choice — which represents tech giants Google, TikTok and Meta — has already written a letter to Gov. Wes Moore asking that he veto the bills.

    Testifying before a House panel last month, Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel for Net Choice, told lawmakers that the bill was unconstitutional and infringes upon the First Amendment rights of digital companies.

    “California tried to do an end run around the First Amendment. They lost. Their law has done absolutely nothing to protect children in the state of California,” said Szabo.

    Szabo, who pointed out he’s a parent and lives in Maryland, said, “I am happy to provide solutions; just this is not one of them.”

    In the same hearing, Del. C.T. Wilson, chair of the Economic Matters Committee, said lawmakers were intent on passing protections for children online.

    Wilson referenced earlier testimony on suicides linked to online bullying.

    “I guess … we don’t do anything about that because of freedom of speech?” Wilson continued. “Teddy Roosevelt said: ‘The best thing you can do is the right thing. The second-best thing is the wrong thing, but the worst thing is nothing.’”

    Net Choice has filed lawsuits in other states on similar bills. While the organization has anticipated ultimate passage of the bills and asked for a gubernatorial veto, it’s not yet clear if the group will file suit in Maryland.

    Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has expressed support for online protections for children. In written testimony to the House Economic Matters Committee, Brown wrote in support of the House bill.

    “HB 603 prohibits the use of deceptive design patterns that mislead and confuse underage users. Thus, [the bill] imposes permissible limits on commercial activity aimed at protecting children from documented harms,” the attorney general said.

    Sen. Ben Kramer, who has sponsored a Senate version of the legislation, told WTOP he is confident the bills will be enacted. And in case of a legal challenge, Kramer said, “If Big Tech wants to have a run at it [in the courts], so be it, and we’re not going to be intimidated by them.”

    In an email, Gov. Moore’s press secretary Carter Elliott said the governor will review the legislation once it passes both chambers.

    “When bills hit his desk, he will thoroughly review them all to ensure that the Moore-Miller Administration is enacting legislation that is in the best interest of all Marylanders,” the press secretary said.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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