MD Gov Declares Emergency, $10M for Food Banks Amid Shutdown Crisis

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has declared a state of emergency and announced $10 million in assistance to food banks across the state as federal SNAP benefits are set to expire at the end of October due to the ongoing government shutdown. This emergency action comes in response to what has become the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history, leaving thousands of Maryland residents at risk of losing critical food assistance. The announcement follows pressure from Comptroller Brooke Lierman and state lawmakers who had been pushing for state action to cover the potential lost federal food assistance dollars. The situation has created significant financial uncertainty for both SNAP recipients and federal workers across Maryland who are facing economic hardship during the prolonged shutdown.

In a separate but equally significant development, Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar, her brother, and a Baltimore City Police officer who served as a campaign volunteer have been charged in a federal extortion plot. According to recently unsealed federal indictments, the three are accused of attempting to blackmail a political consultant from speaking out against Attar during her 2022 reelection campaign. The charges represent another chapter in Maryland's long history of political scandals and have placed additional scrutiny on the state's political landscape. Meanwhile, Republican delegates are calling for Governor Moore to fire Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael J. López amid ongoing concerns about Maryland's foster care system, which was the subject of a scathing audit and has faced criticism following the death of a teenager in foster care while living in a Baltimore City hotel.

Additional state developments include discussions about reopening Maryland's childcare scholarship program, which has been frozen due to overwhelming demand that exceeded state funding capacity. The program's enrollment grew from 12,000 children when it began in 2018 to over 46,000 by the last fiscal year, creating financial strain that led to the enrollment freeze. Progress continues on the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild, with new renderings showing the project's design nearing completion as construction enters its early stages. Other notable developments include Carroll County updating its solar zoning laws to align with state regulations, Baltimore County executive candidates discussing government transparency in their first town hall, and the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project considering route changes that could redirect the controversial power line through New Windsor.