The cost to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge has ballooned to between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, more than twice original estimates of just under $2 billion, and the reopening pushed from 2028 to late 2030, state officials said Monday. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/17/k...

A coalition of state lawmakers from around the 13-state PJM Interconnection region presented their plan Monday for handling the explosion of data center requests in the region and the tremendous demand for power that comes with them. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/17/d...

Even as some state lawmakers are rushing to pass legislation to accelerate the development of data center infrastructure, communities across the country are taking steps to ensure they have a say in where and how data centers are built. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/17/r...

The Prescription Drug Affordability Board on Monday added Trulicity and Ozempic to the list of prescription drugs that are likely unaffordable for Marylanders. It also moved to cap payments on the first two drugs on the list, Jardiance and Farxiga. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/17/m...

Despite recent predictions that lawmakers could be facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit when they convene Jan. 14 for the 2026 General Assembly, a new report says Maryland must invest in reading instruction. marylandmatters.org/briefs/liter...

Gov. Wes Moore (D) has a difficult, but not insurmountable, path to redraw the state's eight congressional districts — and it may hinge on the first-term Democratic executive's ability to win votes in the Senate. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/16/w...

Fresh off the longest government shutdown in history, Congress has just two months to find bipartisan agreement to curb rising health insurance costs and set a budget if lawmakers want to avoid another government shutdown. Signs are not good. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/16/r...

Residents have worked decades to protect the Jones Falls, the long-abused stream that flows through Baltimore before emptying into the Inner Harbor. That work could be upended by city plans to move a trash and recycling facility next to the river. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/16/w...

The Department of Homeland Security is giving $10,000 bonuses to transportation security officers who demonstrated “exemplary service” through the government shutdown. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/16/h...

Key players in the electric vehicle industry said they’re concerned that state-imposed costs to fund a new charger inspection program could suppress the budding EV industry in Maryland. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/14/m...

Dan Langenkamp writes that World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a day to remember people like his wife, Sarah, who was struck and killed in 2022 while riding her bike. But it's also a day to think about solutions to this deadly problem. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/15/w...

Gov. Wes Moore wanted to hear from Maryland residents about the state's congressional district maps. At the first public comment session of the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission on Friday night, many opposed the idea. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/14/i...

Bowie State University learned late Friday it received a $50 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott — the largest single contribution in the university’s 160-year history. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/14/b...

Legislation to ban immigration agreements between local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will return in the 2026 legislative session, after a year in which ICE raids have become increasingly aggressive. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/14/b...

Republican leaders said they will propose legislation to limit partisan redistricting, by creating a new independent redistricting commission and by codifying part of a 2022 court ruling that called for compact districts with commonsense boundaries. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/13/g...

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. will try again to pass a bill ending the practice of charging youth as adults for some offenses, saying it affects youths physically and emotionally. And if that argument doesn't work, he said it costs the state about $17 million a year. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/13/s...

The record 43-day government shutdown that ended this week scrambled air travel, interrupted food assistance and cost the U.S. economy about $15 billion a week, and the process of getting back to normal after such a lengthy layoff will take some time. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/13/r...

CASA gets a new executive director in George Escobar, Annapolis gets a new mayor ij Jared Littman -- part of a Democratic sweep -- and Funk & Bolton makes five new hires ahead of the 2026 legislative session, in political notes. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/13/a...

It’s not fishable or swimmable yet, and has stalled in its progress, but the Potomac River is in far better shape than it was just 14 years ago. That's the verdict of the Potomac Conservancy, which gave the river a grade of “B” for the fifth year in a row. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/13/p...

The legislature's top budget analyst warned lawmakers against draining the state's cash reserves to cover a nearly $1.5 billion fiscal 2027 deficit, which could hurt the state's bond-rating now and leave it unprepared for greater deficits down the road. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/l...

Since 2015, the Central Maryland Regional Veterans Treatment Court has graduated 135 vets who were charged with misdemeanors but were given the support to get their lives back on track, and organizers hope a recent expansion boosts those numbers. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/v...

State and federal officials are finalizing the terms of an agreement to usher in a new hospital payment system in Maryland to replace the one set to expire at the end of the year. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/w...

Federal agencies are telling furloughed employees that they’re expected to show up for work Thursday morning, now that House lawmakers have ended the longest government shutdown. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/a...

The longest shutdown in U.S. history ended Wednesday night when President Donald Trump signed a spending package that reopens the government and funds most of it through January. The Oval Office signing ended a 43-day federal shutdown. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/r...

The Trump administration will release full benefits for most participants in the nation’s major federal nutrition program within 24 hours of the reopening of the federal government, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson said Wednesday. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/r...

Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced the creation Wednesday of the "Leave No One Behind" campaign slate that will seek out Democarts who are focused on backing the governor's agenda. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/12/g...

The first meeting of the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission on Tuesday was short and to the point -- if the point was that there are still a lot of questions surrounding the commission's work and not much time to answer them. marylandmatters.org/briefs/first...

Sen. Michael Jackson became Col. Michael Jackson at midnight Tuesday, taking over as superintendent of the Maryland State Police and kicking off a scramble to fill his District 27 Senate seat which represents parts of three Southern Maryland counties. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/b...

The U.S. Supreme Court has extended through Thursday a pause on lower courts’ orders that the Trump administration authorize a full month of SNAP benefits, the latest wrinkle in a case that was already the object of a weekslong tug-of-war. A timeline: marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/u...

A small group of veterans gathered Tuesday at War Memorial Plaza to rally against President Donald Trump's threats to send troops into the city, one of several rallies in cities nationwide that have had troops deployed or faced that threat by Trump. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/m...

Lawmakers will be briefed Wednesday on a $1.4 billion budget gap they could face as they head into the 2026 legislative session, roughly times larger than the amount predicted in April. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/b...

A century ago, Black youth who died in state care were buried in unmarked graves. Today in Maryland, they are thrown into adult prisons. The state must do better by those youth, living and dead, write Vincent Schiraldi and Marc Schindler. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/u...

Three unions representing federal employees are suing the Trump administration for including a new essay question on thousands of federal job applications, asking candidates how they plan to advance the Trump administration’s policies. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/u...

Artificial intelligence and quantum computing are the industries of tomorrow -- with a heavy demand on the power grid of today. Which is why the state needs to invest in renewable energy, the authors write, if it wants to lead in AI and quantum. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/10/i...

A new Trump administration rule issued late last month would override state laws that prevent consumers’ credit reports from including medical debt, potentially weakening financial protections for millions of Americans. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/r...

The U.S. Senate approved a stopgap spending bill late Monday that will end the longest government shutdown in American history if passed by the House and signed by President Donald Trump this week, as expected. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/r...

The White House continued pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to block court rulings requiring the federal government pay for full benefits for the SNAP, even as Congress appeared to be nearing an end to the record-breaking government shutdown. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/11/r...

A state task force studying the pros and cons of natural psychedelics recommended that state lawmakers take steps toward decriminalizing natural psychedelics for medical and recreational use in the near future. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/10/t...

A Maryland commission is recommending that the state do away with its practice of automatically charging youth as adults for certain crimes, saying it doesn't improve public safety and can harm the youth. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/10/j...

Seven U.S. Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans on Sunday night in advancing legislation to reopen the government and temporarily keep it afloat until the end of January, after a record-breaking shutdown that began Oct. 1. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/10/r...

After the Supreme Court put payments on hold, the Trump administration instructed states that authorized full November nutrition assistance benefits to return a portion, another reversal for a program that helps 42 million people afford groceries. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/10/r...

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has joined more than 100 legal actions against Trump administration policies. Critics say he's playing political games, but Brown says he's merely protecting the rights of Maryland and its residents. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/b...

While the federal government goes back and forth -- sometimes in the same day -- on whether it will fund SNAP benefits, and at what level, state and local officials said they are moving funds around in an effor to mitigate the damage to SNAP recipients. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/l...

Dozens of people gathered in the State House on Friday to call for Democrats to redraw the state's congressional districts to counter partisan redistricting in GOP-led states — and, specifically, to rally against Ferguson’s opposition to redistricting. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/m...

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s order Friday that the Trump administration pay for a full month of food benefits, hours after some states began sending funds to some of the 42 million Americans who use the SNAP program. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/r...

Senators on Friday said they plan to remain in town for the weekend, a sign negotiations may be picking up to approve a stopgap spending measure and end the government shutdown, now at day 38. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/r...

Maryland and Prince George's County sued the Trump administration over its plans to keep the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., a move they said would "unlawfully sabotage a multiyear collaborative effort" to relocate the facility to Greenbelt. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/m...

Redrawing Maryland's congressional districts mid-decade could imperil, rather than aid, Democrats' chances of retaking the U.S. House next year, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) warned this week. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/m...

It's been a challenging year for immigrants, but they have faced adversity before and survived and will do so again, said Gustavo Torres, the outgoing executive director of the immigrant-advocacy group CASA at its 40th anniversary gala Thursday. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/t...

BWI, National and Dulles are among the 40 airports set to see a 10% reduction in flights beginning Friday in an attempt to ease stress on air traffic controllers, who have been working more than a month without pay during the government shutdown. marylandmatters.org/2025/11/07/r...