NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Friday May 23
[Scroll down for full week’s compendia]
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Friday:
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is attending a three-day real estate convention in Las Vegas, Nev., where she says “deals got done.”
• MAYOR SAYS ‘DEALS GOT DONE’
AT LAS VEGAS CONVENTION
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings- Blake declined however to give any details about the alleged deals.
But in a telephone interview with City Hall Reporter Luke Broadwater of The Sun, she said there would be announce- ments “within the next 60 to 90 days.”
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• LAWYERS BILL $15M IN STENT SETTLEMENT
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in two class-action lawsuits over unnecessary stents received at St. Joseph Medical Center are asking for almost $15 million in fees as part of the $37 million settlement.
Read More at: Maryland Daily Record
• MIKULSKI INTRODUCES BILL TO CREATE NAVAL ACADEMY CYBER CENTER
The $120 million funding for the Annapolis project would go toward building a multi-story academic building with classrooms and research labs as well as offices and lecture halls, where midshipmen would train using real-world experiences to handle future cyber threats.
Read More at: Baltimore Business Journal
• O’MALLEY URGES GRADS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
The governor and prospective presidential candidate told some 3,600 University of Maryland graduates at College Park on Thursday to be ready for a world in the midst of rapid transformation spurred by climate change, technological advancement and global connectedness.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• COURTHOUSE WORKERS PROTEST RODENTS, POORLY VENTILATED OFFICES
Clerk of the Court Frank Conaway, a former mayoral candidate, led the call Thursday for better working conditions in Baltimore City Circuit Court buildings.
Read More at: WJZ-TV (Channel 13)
N.B.: NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS is a weekday/workday service. As such, Voice of Baltimore will not publish a compendium on Memorial Day (Mon. May 26th).
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NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Thursday May 22
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Thursday:
M&T Bank Stadium will keep its name for at least 13 more years.
• RAVENS, M&T BANK AGREE TO 10-YR. $60M PARTNERSHIP EXTENSION
The pact extends the naming rights to the Camden Yards football stadium through 2027.
Read More at: WBAL-TV (Channel 11)
• CRAIG, GEORGE CRITICIZE HOGAN FUNDRAISING
The two Republicans running against Larry Hogan for the GOP nomination for governor asked Maryland election officials Wednesday to investigate their opponent, charging that his use of a conservative advocacy group to raise money violates state law. Hogan meantime qualified for public financing of his campaign.
Read More at: WBFF Fox45-TV | Baltimore Sun
• PELOSI NAMES CUMMINGS TO HEAD MINORITY ON BENGHAZI PANEL
The Baltimore City congressman will lead Democrats on a controversial select committee to investigate the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• JUDGE RULES BILLBOARD LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY CAN PROCEED
The mayor and City Council had filed a motion to dismiss an action by Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. in U.S. District Court in Baltimore that claims the city’s charge on billboards is an unconstitutional restraint on commercial free speech. Judge George L. Russell 3rd denied the city’s motion for dismissal Wednesday.
Read More at: Maryland Daily Record
• DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR MD. PRIMARY APPROACHES
Prospective voters must register for the June 24 gubernatorial primary by June 3. Members of the Maryland House and Senate, as well as the attorney general, state comptroller and lieutenant governor are also up for election.
Read More at: The (Annapolis) Capital
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NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Wednesday May 21
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late- breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Wednesday:
Ravens’ running back Ray Rice —shown here signing autographs at ManCave Sports Memora- bilia in December 2012 for a $79 fee — agreed to enter a pre-trial intervention program to avoid prosecution for assault in Atlantic City.
• RAVENS’ RB RAY RICE SIDESTEPS PROSECUTION
New Jersey prosecutors agreed to drop aggravated assault charges against the Ravens’ running back for allegedly knocking out his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City hotel/casino elevator in February, provided he stays out of trouble for one year, gets counseling and pays court costs.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• DEVELOPER ABANDONS 25TH STREET STATION PROJECT
WV Urban Developments said Tuesday it is no longer planning to redevelop the Anderson Automotive site at 25th and Howard Streets, including building a shopping center anchored by a Walmart.
Read More at: Maryland Daily Record
• CONGRESS TO PASS FEDERAL PORTS BILL
The legislation will allow Maryland to unload tons of dredging material on Chesapeake Bay islands, an effort that state officials say is critical for the Port of Baltimore. The bill passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming 412-4 vote margin, all but assuring passage in the Senate this week.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• BOWIE ANNEXES CAR DEALERSHIP LAND ON RTE. 301
The Prince George’s County city some 25 miles south of Baltimore annexed approximately 70 acres of primarily commercial property valued at nearly $30 million Monday night. Three existing car dealerships — Honda of Bowie, Nissan of Bowie and Ourisman Hyundai of Bowie — occupy most of the land, in addition to several smaller commercial properties, vacant land, a church and four single-family homes.
Read More at: Bowie Blade-News
• FLIGHTS FROM BWI TO DALLAS, PUNTA CANA ADDED BY SOUTHWEST
The airline will serve the cities nonstop beginning in the fall. Between October and December, introductory fares to Dallas will be $99 each way.
Read More at: Baltimore Business Journal
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NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Tuesday May 20
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Tuesday:
A Baltimore City police officer shot two pit bulls Monday as they were attacking the 11-year-old nephew of their owner.
• POLICE SHOOT PIT BULLS ATTACKING CHILD
It happened late Monday afternoon in the backyard of a home on North Belnord Avenue in East Baltimore. The dogs were “shaking and pulling” the homeowner’s nephew, who said he shouldn’t have gone into the backyard to check on the family pets.
One dog is dead, the other wounded. The 11-year-old’s pants were ripped and he has superficial injuries on his legs.
Read More at: WJZ-TV (Channel 13)
• CANDIDATES TO DEBATE ON FOX45-TV
WITHOUT BROWN
Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and State Del. Heather Mizeur will participate in the May 27 debate on WBFF-TV, absent the leading candidate, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who has refused to take part.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• CALIFORNIA CHROME TO WEAR NASAL STRIP IN BELMONT
After staunchly refusing to allow any horse to wear the easy-breathing strip, including a two-year period since the last Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner applied for a waiver, the Belmont Park stewards cleared the way Monday for California Chrome to run in the final leg of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• BWI MARSHALL AIRPORT GETS $11M TO IMPROVE RUNWAYS
The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Airport Improvement Program.
Read More at: WBFF Fox45-TV
• HAGERSTOWN SUNS TO STAY PUT FOR TWO MORE YEARS
The Washington Nationals’ minor league baseball affiliate will then move to Fredericksburg, Va. to a new 5,000-seat stadium to be built by New Jersey-based Diamond Nation, which is currently working through land acquisition and financing for the $29 million project.
Read More at: Hagerstown Herald-Mail
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NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Monday May 19
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Monday:
Cornell William Brooks has been named to head the NAACP.
• NAACP NAMES NEW HEAD
The Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People over the weekend announced the appointment of Cornell William Brooks, an attorney and minister from Northern Virginia, to become the 18th person to oversee the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• DUKE ELIMINATES HOPKINS IN LACROSSE QUARTERFINAL
The defending national champion Blue Devils defeated the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Sunday in Newark, Del., 19-11, to advance to the NCAA semifinals.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• DERBY WINNER WINS PREAKNESS BUT MAY SKIP BELMONT
The nasal strip worn by California Chrome during his current six-race winning streak may not be allowed by New York officials in the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.
If California Chrome wins the Belmont on June 7 he will become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
Read More at: Sports Illustrated
• AT&T BUYS DIRECTV FOR $48.5B
The sale, at $95 per share, if approved would give the telecommunications giant a larger base of video subscribers and increase its ability to compete against Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which agreed to a merger in February.
Read More at: WBFF Fox45-TV
• HILLARY CLINTON’S AGE AND HEALTH FAIR ISSUES
So says RNC Chairman Reince Priebus of the prospective Democratic presidential nominee. His comments on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” and those of Republican strategist Karl Rove drew sharp criticism from Democrats.
Read More at: New York Times
