Maryland

Molding Tomorrow’s Civic Leaders—From Firsthand Experience

Published

1 year ago

December 9, 2024

Molding Tomorrow’s Civic Leaders—From Firsthand Experience

Shetty’s son visits her at work during a debate on the House floor. (Photo courtesy of Emily Shetty)

Shetty first started volunteering in fourth grade, donating her time to the children’s department of her local public library in High Point, N.C. She went on to volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Habitat for Humanity and at a day care facility for young adults with developmental disabilities.

Shetty knew intimately how important it was to have a community of people who cared. Her father abandoned her family when she was young, leaving her mother with heavy debt. Soon, her mother was working multiple minimum-wage jobs: the overnight shift at a factory, as an activity coordinator at a nursing home and in an interior design furniture showroom. She also went to community college to earn a nursing degree—an extra challenge for a woman born in Bulgaria who spoke English as a second language.

“We were frequently unable to afford electricity or hot water,” said Shetty. “It was really hard. She was gone a lot.”

Still, Shetty worked her way into Duke University and on to law school at the Catholic University of America. “I wanted to be here in the nation’s capital so I could learn more about ways to help people on a broader scale,” said Shetty. She worked for Ed Towns, a member of Congress from Brooklyn, and did advocacy work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

In 2014, Shetty decided to run for office herself. “I really like solving problems and helping people, and I had a lot of experience in legislative advocacy at the federal level, so I wanted to bring some of that federal experience—and in particular a strong belief that our health care system is very broken, and some concrete ways I wanted to help fix that,” she said. She lost then but was successful when she ran again in Maryland’s 18^th District, in Montgomery County, in 2018.

Two years ago, Shetty joined the launch of the Maryland Fellows program, a collaboration among the Federal and Global Fellows programs, the Department of English’s Maryland General Assembly Writing internship and the Department of Government and Politics. In the Fall semester, students choose from among three courses, and in the spring, they intern in the public and nonprofit sectors—many choose the Maryland General Assembly. (Shetty teaches only in the fall, since Maryland’s legislative session runs from January into April.)

“I had zero idea how any of these processes worked before” taking Shetty’s class, said Jillian Waxman ’25, who took the course last fall and is a teaching assistant this semester. “I’d heard of delegates and senators, but this class fully developed my understanding from the ground up.”

Over the semester, students heard from guest speakers, including delegates, county council members, leaders in law enforcement, and professionals working in housing policy and criminal justice. “I’d say it’s one-third focused on individual leadership development, one-third about how our government operates and one-third building a network of practitioners who share their experiences with the class,” said Shetty.

For students, it’s a chance not just to learn about leadership, but also about the importance of dialogue. “I lean pretty left, and before taking this class I was kind of stuck in that mindset,” said Divyasri Malavathu ’27. “Taking this class made me realize that it’s not just about political parties—civic leadership is about everyone, regardless of what you believe in or what your personal values are.”

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Maryland

Maryland residents question new paint can fee amid growing costs

Published

9 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Maryland residents question new paint can fee amid growing costs

MARYLAND (WBFF) — A trip to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) left some drivers stunned by higher costs that they say are piling up across the state.

Tony Joshua said he walked away when he saw what it would cost to register his vehicle.

“Sticker shock? (laughs),” he said. “I turned right around and got out of the line. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have it.”

ALSO READ | Maryland’s new paint fees spark outrage as recycling nonprofit isn’t registered in state

The cost of registering, titling and inspecting a vehicle in Maryland doubled last year, but the fee increases don’t stop at the MVA. The Maryland legislature has approved more than 300 new fees in the past two years including a tire tax, a tech tax and a vending machine tax.

“It’s just like greed more than anything,” Baltimore resident Clifton Parrot said.

Baltimore resident Sheila Bowling questioned how the additional funding is being used.

“This is the million dollar question. Nobody knows what those fees are doing. Everything is high in the city,” she said.

If I’m dodging potholes, where is the money going?” Joshua asked.

One of the latest fees will be attached to every gallon of paint sold in Maryland and will go to a nonprofit organization that will manage Maryland’s paint recycling program. But FOX45 News has learned that the nonprofit, PaintCare, isn’t registered as a nonprofit in the state of Maryland, even though it’s set to receive a dollar fee for every gallon of paint sold in the state.

Joshua said the growing costs have him questioning whether he can stay in Maryland.

“It flabbergasts me where the money is going. Sometimes I’m like ‘dude, do I stay here?’” he said.

Bowling said, “This shouldn’t be happening in 2026 this shouldn’t be happening.”

For many Marylanders, the rising fees have strained budgets and morale, with some saying they can no longer afford the increasing price of driving.

“I’m just at my wits end about it. I’m like when do we, the taxpayers get a break?” Joshua asked.

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Maryland

Deadly motorcycle crash closes busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Montgomery Co. – WTOP News

Published

21 hours ago

April 7, 2026

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Deadly motorcycle crash closes busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Montgomery Co. – WTOP News

A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.

Montgomery County police said officers responded around 6:15 a.m. to a report of a crash involving a car and a motorcycle at Manor Road and Connecticut Avenue.

A motorcyclist was found in serious condition. Police said the man died at the scene.

A woman driving the car was hospitalized with minor injuries.

Connecticut Avenue is closed in both directions between Jones Bridge Road and Manor Road as police investigate the collision.

The crash is the latest in a series of deadly motorcycle incidents across Maryland, including a deadly hit-and-run in Charles County that left one man dead Saturday.

A map of the area is below.

CLICK MAP FOR THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FROM THE WTOP TRAFFIC CENTER: Map shows closure of Connecticut Avenue in both directions, south of Interstate 495 in Chevy Chase, Md.

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Maryland

Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults

Published

1 day ago

April 6, 2026

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Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults

MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland lawmakers have approved a bill that would end the automatic charging of certain juveniles as adults and is now on its way to the governor’s office for review.

The Youth Charging Reform Act passed the House of Delegates on Monday after clearing the Senate last week. The bill aims to end the automatic charging of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain drug, assault, and gun offenses.

ALSO READ | Bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults inches closer to passage

The bill drew significant opposition from several top prosecutors in Maryland, including Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

For months, they’ve warned that the change could weaken accountability and pose public safety risks.

“DJS is not equipped to deal with these increased violent offenders, and the legislature should defer the implementation of this bill until the programs are in place,” McCarthy said.

Maryland sheriffs also joined the pushback, including Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees, who previously said, “This is not a smart move, by any means, I don’t like it because, and I think by and large, law enforcement doesn’t like it, because we don’t have a whole lot of trust in the juvenile court system and the DJS system.”

ALSO READ | FOX45 sends video of prosecutors’ concerns to lawmakers backing juvenile justice bill

Supporters of the bill argued that most cases end up in the juvenile system regardless, and therefore, it makes sense to start them in the Department of Juvenile Services.

“They’re already ingesting that work anyway; they’re already doing that workload anyway,” Sen. Will Smith, lead sponsor of the legislation, previously told FOX45 News. “We’re just wasting time and money by sending them to the adult system first.”

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The bill now awaits at Gov. Wes Moore’s desk for a final decision.

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