Local government

Baltimore and Maryland’s newest slate of top elected officials gathered Friday for the first time as a group to discuss their approach to fighting crime before an audience of students at Morgan State University.

The move comes after an E. Coli outbreak last year in Baltimore’s drinking water and “catastrophic failures” at its two wastewater treatment facilities.

A draft proposal written by BGE calls for the city to stop charging the company franchise fees in exchange for paying as much as $124 million in system improvements during a four-year period between 2023 and 2027.

The question of whether oversight of Baltimore’s water and wastewater systems — which serve Baltimore County and parts of Carroll, Howard and Harford counties — should change hands has lingered for years amid its dysfunction.

Concerns about jury duty have been raised with Maryland courts and those across the country, and people who study the process say more jurisdictions are responding with reforms.

Legislative services, the department responsible for writing the bills, confirmed receiving more than 700 requests in the last two days before the deadline — a new record.

“It is constitutional, it is available, and it is the right thing to do," Apple wrote in a letter of support.

The popular but embattled leader had said she had ”no other choice” but to ask the organization’s board to transition her out.

The Baltimore City Fire Department is proposing three different options to recoup its dwindling vehicle fleet of fire trucks but the scenarios as suggested to city leaders, may force the city council to make some hard decisions next budget cycle.

Long COVID patients want treatment and good data about the mysterious condition that continues to cast a shadow over their recovery. But at the moment, they’re limited to what’s available: hardly anything.

The announcement came amid criticism of his leadership style and a looming board decision about whether to seek a new leader.

Journalists shouldn’t allow Gov. Wes Moore’s personal appeal and popularity to get in the way of holding him accountable, Banner Public Editor DeWayne Wickham says.

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Ethics and Accountability is required to hand over final recommendations to the Baltimore County Council by Feb. 16.

A Banner analysis of a revived Group Violence Reduction Strategy in the Western District suggests remarkable impacts.