MOORE SAYS HE’LL WORK TOWARD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Gov. Wes Moore told a gathering of county leaders Saturday that he is preparing to take action that he said will ease the cost of housing by spurring new projects. “We must go faster on affordable housing,” Moore told an audience of county leaders and state Cabinet officials as he delivered the traditional speech to close out the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference in Ocean City. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

COURT: PORTION OF STATE DIGITAL AD TAX VIOLATES CONSTITUTION: A provision in Maryland’s digital ad tax is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The 2021 law — the first of its kind in the nation — imposes taxes on large tech companies for the digital ads they sell within the state. But it also prohibits those companies from passing the tax on to consumers as a surcharge, fee or line item on their bills — what a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saw as a ban on telling customers about the new added tax. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

STATE-PRIVATE INITIATIVE ATTEMPTS TO FOSTER CONNECTIONS: Heather Miller Rubens and Lora Hargrove met for the first time this year, and agreed they were doing so at a time of extraordinary dividedness, particularly for religious leaders. Rubens, executive director of the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, and Hargrove, director of faith outreach for Gov. Wes Moore’s office of community initiatives, decided to start a program that would foster connection. Jonathan Pitts/The Baltimore Sun.

BUCKEL: TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT IN DEMS GERRYMANDER THREAT: A decision by Texas Republicans to further gerrymander that state’s congressional districts does not make it OK for Maryland Democrats to move forward with an arguably similar proposal in Annapolis, House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said earlier this week. “Maryland is already one of the most gerrymandered states in America,” said Buckel, an Allegany County Republican. Bryan Renbaum/The Baltimore Post-Examiner.

REP. HARRIS THREATENS TO HAVE FEDERAL SCHOOL FUNDING PULLED: Rep. Andy Harris threatened to work with the Trump administration to withhold Maryland’s federal education funds unless the state’s top education official – Superintendent Carrie Wright — removes herself from a heated battle with a local school board in his district, according to a letter sent by Harris. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.

VAN HOLLEN TAKES HIS PLACE AS MARYLAND’s SENIOR SENATOR: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen held his first town hall as Maryland’s senior senator at the Maryland Association of Counties conference Friday, stepping into a role long held by former Sen. Ben Cardin, who retired last year. Van Hollen gave a presentation that could have been delivered by Cardin in any of the past few years, criticizing President Donald Trump’s administration in general and vowing to bring the new FBI headquarters to Greenbelt, the Democratic equivalent of political comfort food. Christine Condon and Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.

MOORE DENOUNCES TRUMP; TRUMP HITS BACK: Gov. Wes Moore has spent the past few days going on TV to denounce President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. The president took notice. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump criticized Moore directly. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

COMMENTARY: MDP’s PARTISAN SCHTICK THAT HAS MERIT: It’s an idea from the Maryland Democratic Party, so even registered Democrats could be tempted to dismiss it as partisan schtick. But even partisan schtick can have significant merit, and this bit does — and not just for Marylanders but everyone trapped in die Trump-Welt right now. On Aug. 13, the MDP launched what it calls the Federal Harm Registry, described as “a new tool for Marylanders to share how federal policies are negatively impacting their lives.” Dan Rodricks/Substack.

JUDGE COULD CLEAR WAY FOR OUT-OF STATE BEER DELIVERIES: A federal lawsuit moving through Maryland’s district court could potentially clear the way for local beer lovers to get their favorite hops and ales from out-of-state breweries shipped directly to their homes. Mary Carole McCauley/The Baltimore Sun.

***Join Maryland Reporter’s Len Lazarick at Howard Community College for a four-week noncredit seminar on China Today 2025 beginning Sept. 4 and a three-week seminar on Vietnam: 50 years after the War beginning Oct. 2. For more info, see the catalog. He will again be teaching East Asian Civilization for credit for the fall semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:30. Tuition is waived (but not fees) at HCC and most Maryland public colleges and universities for residents over 60.***

THEY ARE FEEDING THE HUNGRY, THEN GUARDING THE DOOR FROM ICE: A pantry in Wheaton is one of several in the area that have made it a public mission to feed their community, regardless of citizenship status. Immigrants make up about a third of Montgomery County residents. Volunteers and local leaders hope that by providing a safe place to receive food, they can salvage a sense of security being challenged by a new wave of immigration enforcement. Matti Gellman/The Baltimore Banner.

PASTOR CAUGHT BY ICE RETURNS TO EASTON HOME: With tears streaming and arms wide open, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz wrapped her father in a long-awaited embrace outside a Louisiana detention center Thursday — the first time she had seen him in nearly a month. Daniel Fuentes Espinal, the Maryland pastor arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in late July, was finally free and on his way back to his family in Easton. John-John Williams/The Baltimore Banner.

• Espinal was arrested for allegedly overstaying his visa and held both in Salisbury and Baltimore before he was moved to the Winn Correctional Center, a private prison facility used by ICE to detain immigrants in northwestern Louisiana. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
• “I’m very happy to be home with my family and my community,” Fuentes Espinal said in a video posted on Len Foxwell’s Facebook on Sunday. Jake Shindel/WBAL-TV News.
• Clarissa Fuentes Diaz recounted the emotional reunion with her father. It came nearly a month after he was arrested by ICE agents in Easton while heading to work the morning of July 21. Konner Metz/The Easton Star Democrat.

FORMER FEDERAL WORKERS HELP FILL TEACHERS SHORTAGE: When the Trump administration gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development, Ethan Taylor knew the writing was on the wall for his USAID-funded job at the Department of the Interior. Now Taylor is one of 18 participants in an accelerated teacher training program in Montgomery County, which is attracting former federal workers in droves in the wake of government workforce reductions. Racquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.

B’MORE OPTS FOR $152M IN OPIOID SETTLEMENT: The city of Baltimore decided to opt to receive $152 million in damages and abatement from McKesson and Cencora on Thursday. The winnings bring Baltimore’s total haul from opioid manufacturers and distributors to about $580 million since the city decided to sue opioid companies on its own rather than sign on to a global settlement. The city would have gotten about $63 million from the global settlement. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.

BA CO COUNCIL’s LATEST REDISTRICTING PLAN FACES ACLU SCRUTINY: The Baltimore County Council’s latest proposed redistricting plan is facing criticism from civil rights groups and some residents, who contend that the newest nine-district map violates the federal Voting Rights Act. The council’s proposal, introduced Aug. 4, would create two majority Black districts in western Baltimore County, centered on Woodlawn and Randallstown. Council Chair Mike Ertel, a Towson Democrat, said the plan would “provide the best opportunities for voters in those districts to elect the preferred candidate of their choice.” Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.

CHINESE CHEF PIVOTS TO MEXICAN INGREDIENTS UNDER TRUMP TARIFFS: Rice, bok choy, chili peppers and even to-go containers — restaurants serving Asian-style food said sourcing the essentials has been a struggle since President Donald Trump added new tariffs as part of a trade war with China. Facing rising costs, one Fells Point restaurant is taking an unconventional approach: using Mexican ingredients. Nori Leybengrub/The Baltimore Banner.

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