3 TOP JUVENILE DETENTION OFFICIALS FIRED AFTER DAMNING REPORT: Three top officials overseeing Maryland’s juvenile detention facilities were fired last week after a state ombudsman published a report containing allegations of numerous problems inside those buildings, including contraband drugs, food quality concerns, staffing shortages and a sexual incident among three young people who were incarcerated. Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.

FEDS NIX MARYLAND MAGLEV FUNDING: No high-speed train will be zooming through parts of Maryland, after the concept was rejected by the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration has determined the potential multibillion-dollar investment to construct the proposed Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation rail line, known as maglev, “is no longer feasible.” William Ford/Maryland Matters.

SCHOOL, HEALTH OFFICIALS SEE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF LEGAL CANNABIS ON KIDS: It’s been two years since recreational cannabis became legal in Maryland. While revenue has increased and arrests for cannabis possession have decreased, health experts and school officials say there’s an often-overlooked impact — many kids don’t see the drug as risky. Gabriella Fine/The Baltimore Sun.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF SOLAR IN MARYLAND: The Maryland Department of the Environment is pushing for 50% of the state’s electricity generation by 2030 to come from renewable energy resources, such as solar whether at a home or in an industrial project. A University of Maryland professor has found that 1,965 acres of land in the state are used in utility-scale solar. That’s a total of 19 projects as of May 2024; of those acres, 1,757 were previously farmland. April Santana/The Baltimore Sun.

$2.3M IN REPAIRS MADE TO GOVERNMENT HOUSE: More than $2.3 million in state-funded repairs have been made to Maryland’s 155-year-old governor’s mansion since Gov. Wes Moore and his family moved in, according to documents obtained through an open records request. Records show the projects were greenlit and mostly completed before the dramatic drop in the state budget outlook late last year, when a deficit that grew to roughly $3.3 billion led to spending cuts and tax hikes. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.

CASA EXEC DIRECTOR TO RETIRE AFTER 31 YEARS: As immigrant rights are threatened daily by federal policies under the Trump administration, one of the country’s most influential immigration advocacy groups, CASA, is losing its leader of more than three decades. Gustavo Torres, who has served as executive director for 31 of his 34 years with the Maryland-based organization, plans to retire in November. William Ford/Maryland Matters.

AUTHOR HOPED TO LEAVE CULTURE WAR BEHIND IN BLUE MARYLAND: Two years into their new life in Anne Arundel County — and six months into the Trump administration — author Saundra Mitchell is learning her adopted blue state isn’t immune from the culture war against books in schools. One of the latest battles happened in Montgomery County and resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Parents across the state, including in Harford County, continue to push for bans. Kristen Griffith/The Baltimore Banner.

STATE GIVES NON-PROFITS $30M TO CLEAN UP VACANT B’MORE PROPERTIES: Sixteen Baltimore-based nonprofits will receive a collective $30 million in state funds to help clean up vacant properties in the city, continuing Gov. Wes Moore’s public-private partnership approach to the issue. Carson Swick/The Baltimore Banner.

B’MORE HOPES TO RECRUIT MORE WOMEN FIREFIGHTERS: Olayemi Harleston is one of four women recruited in last year’s Baltimore City 13-person firefighting class — a demographic the department is eager to increase. Nina Giraldo/The Baltimore Banner.

B’MORE MAYOR SCOTT TO HOST FUNDRAISER ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD: Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott will host a campaign fundraiser this month in Martha’s Vineyard for a third-term election run, which he calls “Volume 3.” Scott, whose reelection to the mayoral office in 2024 is still a recent memory, will hold the event at the storied Legacy House in Oak Bluffs, where Martin Luther King Jr. spent time during the Civil Rights Movement. Tickets range from $250 to $2,500. John-John Williams IV and Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.

ANNAPOLIS GOPS SAYS IT WILL HAVE MORE CANDIDATES IN CITY ELECTIONS: Though only two Republican candidates have been certified at this point to run in Annapolis’ city elections, party leaders say more candidates are coming. The filing deadline to run for election in Annapolis was Monday, and so far, voters are looking at a heavily Democratic slate. Bridget Byrne/The Capital Gazette.

AI NEEDS HUGE AMOUNTS OF POWER; CONSTELLATION IS STRIKING DEALS: Much of the potential of artificial intelligence may still be beyond imagination, but one thing’s clear — its power needs will be enormous. Less certain is who will pay AI’s electric bills and just how much consumers will bear. But big tech firms like Microsoft, Meta, Google and Amazon are rushing to lock in long-term, clean power sources for ever-larger data centers, making deals with utilities and power plant operators in Maryland and across the U.S., including Baltimore-based Constellation Energy. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.

FORMER VOA WORKER FROM EDGEWATER, ALLEGEDLY THREATENED U.S. REP. MTG: An Edgewater man and former Voice of America employee accused of threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is alleged to have called the congresswoman “racist” and an “antisemitic Nazi” in threatening phone calls to Greene’s district offices, according to court documents. A memo filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on July 18 details the eight calls Seth Jason, 64, allegedly made to Greene’s district offices between October 2023 and January 2025. Maggie Trovato/The Baltimore Sun.

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