BPW ELIMINATES 500 STATE JOBS, WITH EXPECTED SAVINGS OF $27M: More than 500 state jobs were abolished Wednesday by the Board of Public Works through a combination of elimination of vacant positions and the departure of hundreds of workers who took an early buyout. All told, the elimination of 502 positions is expected to save $27.4 million in fiscal 2026. Nicole Pilsbury/Maryland Matters.

RISE IN GAMBLING PROBLEMS WITH LEGAL MOBILE SPORTS BETTING: There’s been an uptick in disordered gambling behaviors since Maryland legalized online sports betting, which problem gambling experts call a “concerning” trend that could worsen if newer modes of gambling become more available. “Statewide Gambling Prevalence in Maryland: 2024” is the newest edition of legislatively mandated reporting on gambling trends over the years. But it’s the first report since legally available mobile sports betting became available in the state. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.

REGULATORS TELL UTILITIES TO SPEED TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY: Maryland regulators are directing Baltimore Gas and Electric and other utilities to accelerate their role in the state’s transition to clean energy and greater use of electric vehicles. The Maryland Public Service Commission ordered investor-owned utilities in the state to ramp up plans to shift to clean energy, strengthen grid resilience and reduce consumer costs. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.

AUDITORS: HEALTH DEPT BOARDS LACK CONSISTENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY: A legislative panel on Wednesday signaled an interest in making changes to dozens of professional oversight boards housed within the Maryland Department of Health, after complaining of a lack of accountability and repeat findings on the boards by auditors. One auditor said there is “no one single person” who is responsible or accountable for the plethora of findings “which is both challenging on our end and importantly for the department in implementing the recommendations.” Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

OC WIND DEVELOPER SAYS TRUMP ADMIN COULD BANKRUPT COMPANY: The developer behind Maryland’s only permitted offshore wind farm says the Trump administration’s effort to block its project could drive the company into bankruptcy. US Wind’s development off the coast of Ocean City could one day produce more than two gigawatts of zero-emissions power. But, for the last year, the company has fought a lawsuit over its project filed by Ocean City and other nearby jurisdictions, and last month President Donald Trump’s administration asked a federal judge to revoke a critical permit. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.

STATE OKs ‘TAP AND GO’ EBT CARDS, IN EFFORT TO CURB BENEFIT THEFT: Maryland will become one of the first states in the nation to distribute “tap and go” EBT, or electronic benefit transfer, cards to state residents, giving almost 1 million Marylanders secure access to their cash and food benefits. It could be months before the cards are fully available. But state officials were already welcoming the new contract, which they hope will reverse a rising number of benefit thefts from recipients. Nicole Pilsbury/Maryland Matters.

• The state’s spending board voted Wednesday to award a multiyear contract potentially worth up to $38 million to Fidelity Information Services of Milwaukee. Fidelity will start right away to transition from the current company that oversees benefits cards, with the goal of issuing new cards starting July 1. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

STATE POLICE CONDEMN PARODY ‘CHALLENGE COIN:’ Within days of Gov. Wes Moore’s appointment of Sen. Michael Jackson as the next acting superintendent of the Maryland State Police, the state senator had been praised and parodied online by current and former law enforcement. Some also circulated “challenge coins” with the image of the late singer Michael Jackson embracing Gov. Wes Moore. A state police spokesperson said the coin was “neither approved or condoned” by the agency and said that such “actions are disrespectful and undermine the values of the [d]epartment.” Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.

INVESTIGATION: B’MORE NONPROFIT FUNDED BY CITY LACKS TRANSPARENCY: A year-long investigation into the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund has uncovered gaps in transparency, raising questions about how a nonprofit sustained almost entirely by city tax dollars spends the public’s money — and why it refuses to explain key financial decisions. At the heart of the accountability concerns is BCYF’s pattern of silence while receiving 99% of its funding from taxpayers. Patrick Hauf/The Baltimore Sun.

CARROLL STATE’S ATTY CRITICIZES BROWN’s POLICE GUIDANCE ON ICE: Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker is again criticizing Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s guidance on immigration enforcement, saying it “reads more like a veiled threat to local law enforcement officers who would cooperate with federal authorities enforcing federal immigration laws than friendly advice.” Brown released new advice on the issue last week. Gabriella Fine/The Carroll County Times.

FREDERICK COMMISSION RECOMMENDS SMALLER DATA CENTER OVERLAY ZONES: The Frederick County Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended that the County Council adopt a smaller area as a data center overlay zone than the county proposed. This comes after the commission held a lengthy public hearing last week about the county’s proposed critical digital infrastructure overlay zone map, which would limit data center development in the county to an area near Adamstown. Marwa Barakat/The Frederick News Post.

EX-CECIL DEPUTY PLEADS GUILTY TO MISCONDUCT FOR ACCESSING DATABASE: A former Cecil County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of misconduct in office and three counts of unauthorized access to a computer after he searched a law enforcement database for information on seven people who were not suspects, including his wife. William Ford/Maryland Matters.

MARYLAND COMPANY BUILDING DRONE BOATS FOR FUTURE WARS: Nearly a century ago on this South Baltimore waterfront, an army of workers mass-produced hundreds of supply boats that were crucial to America’s victory in World War II. Today, at the same waterfront, BlackSea Technologies is launching boats that could win the wars of tomorrow. Goodbye, Liberty ships. Hello, drone boats. Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.

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