3,800 LAWSUITS FILED UNDER CHILD VICTIMS ACT BEFORE LIMITS TOOK EFFECT: More than 3,800 people filed lawsuits under Maryland’s Child Victims Act in the two months before new limits on monetary damages took effect in June, according to an analysis of court records.That legal mad dash could theoretically put Maryland taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in jury awards. It also alleges a culture of sexual abuse across decades in Maryland’s classrooms, churches, foster homes and, especially, jails. Luke Parker/The Baltimore Sun.

STATE REVIVES MARC EXPANSION PLAN, DESPITE FISCAL WOES: Maryland is reviving plans to expand MARC, its regional rail service, into Delaware and Virginia and add more trains every hour, even as the state struggles to fund its current transit system. Rachel Weiner/The Washington Post.

TWO YEARS LATER, JUST WHERE IS THE RED LINE HEADING? Two years after Gov. Wes Moore revived the Red Line, Baltimore’s proposed east-west light rail feels mired in uncertainty. In June 2023, Moore reversed former Gov. Larry Hogan’s 2015 decision to cancel the roughly 14-mile transit project. Then, a year ago, Moore rejected bus rapid transit in favor of light rail for the line stretching from Woodlawn to Bayview, vowing to “walk every step of the way” with the community until trains were running. The next project milestone was expected to have been announced by the end of 2024. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.

WHAT LAWS GO INTO EFFECT ON JULY 1? Dozens of bills passed by Maryland lawmakers earlier this year will become law come July 1. From an antibias training requirement to taxes on precious metals here are some that may affect you. Clara Longo de Freitas/The Baltimore Banner.

HOUSEHOLDS WILL HAVE TO WAIT A BIT LONGER FOR ENERGY REBATES: Maryland households will have to wait just a little bit longer for a promised rebate on their energy bills amid the summer heat. While legislative leaders had said they expected the first payments in July, the Maryland Public Service Commission said Friday that the first round of rebates to all residential energy customers is expected in August or September. A second round is anticipated in either January or February. Total payments are expected to average about $80 per household for the year. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.

• The rebates are part of the $200 million that state legislators earmarked in the Next Generation Energy Act, which passed in the 2025 General Assembly and was signed by Gov. Wes Moore on May 20. The law went into effect June 1. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.

SUPREMES GIVE MO CO PARENTS OPT-OUT OF LGBTQ+ BOOKS: The U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory Friday to Montgomery County parents who object, for religious reasons, to the school system’s use of LGBTQ+-themed books in classrooms, saying parents should be allowed to opt their children out of such classes. William Ford/Maryland Matters.

FELON WON’T BE DEPORTED, TO BE FREED TO TESTIFY AGAINST ABREGO GARCIA: The Trump administration has agreed to release from prison a three-time felon who drunkenly fired shots in a Texas community and spare him from deportation in exchange for his cooperation in the federal prosecution of Kilmar Abrego García of Maryland, according to a review of court records and official testimony. Maria Sacchetti/The Washington Post.

ABREGO GARCIA’s ATTORNEYS ASK JUDGE TO DELAY HIS RELEASE: Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a federal judge in Tennessee on Friday to delay his release from jail because of “contradictory statements” by President Donald Trump’s administration over whether or not he’ll be deported upon release. Ben Finley and Travis Loller/ Associated Press.

COLUMN: THEIR NAMES WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN: The names float in and out of my consciousness, carried on a wind of remorse. Gerald. Rob. John. Rebecca. Wendi. My friends, murdered seven years ago in the Capital Gazette newsroom shooting, find me where they do every morning, shortly after I wake and remember to be grateful that I’m alive. I have my wife, my kids, my work to live for, and most days I do. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.

UNION HEADS ASKED TO PULL SUPPORT FOR MO CO SHERIFF: Montgomery County Sheriff Maxwell Uy may soon be facing at least one opponent in the 2026 gubernatorial election following a call this week by one of the county’s largest workers unions for local leaders to withdraw their support for him, alleging he has cultivated a “hostile” work environment. Elia Griffin/Bethesda Today.

MDOT YANKS OBJECTIONABLE VANITY PLATE: DEPORTM. It’s a message one Maryland driver wanted to share with everybody on the road using a vanity license plate. But sometime after the plate was spotted in Bowley’s Quarters in Baltimore County, the Maryland Department of Transportation yanked it. John Lee/WYPR-FM.

HE SAVED THE STATE’s BIG TREE PROGRAM: John Bennett is Maryland’s real-life Lorax. Like the Dr. Seuss character, he speaks for the trees. And he’s done so since 2007, when he saved the state’s Big Tree Program from shutting down under budget cuts. He’s keeping alive a tradition of documenting the state’s largest trees that is now 100 years old. The irony is that big trees aren’t necessarily that big. Anna Rubenstein/The Baltimore Banner.

B’MORE TECH HUB HOPES TO NAVIGATE TRUMP ERA AND WIN 70 MILLION BUCKS: When Baltimore won a spot on the federal government’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs list in 2023, it felt like millions of dollars for economic development were within reach. But, two funding opportunities later, Baltimore hasn’t been chosen — and now the region must adjust its pitch for a Trump administration with far different priorities than the previous one. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.

B’MORE COUNCIL PREZ WANTS CLOSER LOOK INTO FATAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES: Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen wants the city to take a closer look at behavioral health crisis response issues by adding another hearing to the council’s busy oversight schedule this summer. Cohen’s request comes after three people experiencing behavioral health crises died in an eight-day period this month. Carson Swick/The Baltimore Sun.

MILLENNIALS TAKE UP ALMOST HALF SEATS ON PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNCIL: Four years ago there were no millennials on the Prince George’s County Council in Maryland. Today, five of the 11 seats on the council are filled by millennials. This change was pointed out by Council member Tom Dernoga, during the swearing in of Council member Shayla Adams-Stafford earlier this month. John Domen/WTOP-FM.

MOSBY ADDRESSES CONVICTIONS AFTER RELEASE FROM HOME DETENTION: Former City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, recently released from home detention, is adamant that she committed no wrongdoing. Speaking on the Native Land podcast, Mosby addressed her perjury and mortgage fraud convictions, which she claims have left her financially devastated. Jeff Abell/WBFF-TV News.

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