Connect with us

Maryland

FBI Headquarters Decision Near as Virginia, Maryland Amp Up Appeals 

Published

on

FBI Headquarters Decision Near as Virginia, Maryland Amp Up Appeals 


The FBI is near choosing a brand new headquarters. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation at the moment calls the more and more decrepit J. Edgar Hoover Constructing at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., dwelling.  A brand new dwelling wouldn’t solely home the workers who work within the Hoover constructing, however would additionally permit the FBI to consolidate different workplaces.

Talks about discovering a brand new dwelling stretch via 4 presidential administrations now, all the best way again to 2004. The Obama administration proposed three choices, however the Trump administration halted these.

The Biden administration’s 2023 finances request launched in January included an FBI headquarters for greater than 7,500 staff.

Advertisement

This month, each Virginia and Maryland lawmakers made pitches for the undertaking, with a Virginia legislative fee approving incentives price roughly $10 million for the undertaking, and Maryland providing $200 million in incentives.

The three finalists for the brand new dwelling are the 58-acre Franconia Warehouse Advanced in Springfield, Va., which the federal Common Providers Administration owns; a 61-acre web site in Greenbelt, Md., close to the Greenbelt Metro station managed by the Washington Metropolitan Space Transit Authority; and an 80-acre web site owned by Lerner Enterprises on the former Landover Mall in Landover, Md.

Among the many components GSA will contemplate when choosing a brand new location are proximity to the FBI Academy at Quantico, transportation entry, price, web site flexibility, fairness and varied development issues.

“The brand new FBI headquarters belongs right here, as a result of we have now a rock-solid case for why Springfield throughout every one of many criterion,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin mentioned at a press convention on Wednesday, declaring that corporations corresponding to Amazon, Boeing and Raytheon Applied sciences have all lately chosen the state for brand new headquarters. “Springfield is solely higher located, and that’s how the choice must be made.”

The GSA, which runs leasing and constructing operations for the federal authorities, will meet with representatives from each states in late February and early March to allow them to give last pitches based mostly on the standards.  

Advertisement

“GSA and FBI are dedicated to deliberate and considerate engagement with our companions in Congress on this undertaking,” a GSA spokesperson mentioned in an announcement. “We look ahead to receiving suggestions from stakeholders and are additionally dedicated to a good and clear course of that leads to choosing a web site that greatest meets the wants of the FBI and the American folks over the long run.”

Because the search winds down, the GSA can be seeking to hold a presence within the District, and has lately submitted a prospectus to Congress searching for permission to lease 214,000 sq. toes at Douglas Improvement’s 1025 F Avenue NW for the following 20 years.

The FBI at the moment pays $9.2 million a yr to lease 200,432 sq. toes in the identical constructing underneath a 10-year lease that expires Nov. 24, 2025.

The Home Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Atmosphere and Public Works should approve the prospectus earlier than it may transfer ahead. A call is predicted within the subsequent month. 

Keith Loria could be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.

Advertisement



Source link

Maryland

Supreme Court takes up Maryland parents’ bid to opt kids out of lessons with LGBTQ books

Published

on

Supreme Court takes up Maryland parents’ bid to opt kids out of lessons with LGBTQ books


Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a dispute over whether a Maryland school district violated parents’ religious rights when it declined to allow them to opt their elementary school children out of instruction involving storybooks about gender and sexuality.

The dispute centers around a decision by the Montgomery County School Board to end opt-out requests and notice requirements for the reading and discussion of storybooks that feature LGBTQ characters. The case sets up another clash involving LGBTQ rights and religious rights. It’s unclear whether the Supreme Court will hear arguments in its current term, which ends this summer, or its next term that will begin in October.

The books were approved for the Montgomery County Public Schools language-arts curriculum for the 2022-2023 school year as part of an effort to include new material that better represents the school district’s students and families, it said. Montgomery County is Maryland’s largest county and its school system serves more than 160,000 students.

Books introduced for students include titles like “Pride Puppy,” a picture book about a dog that gets lost at a Pride parade, and “Jacob’s Room to Choose,” about two transgender school-aged children.

Advertisement

Lawyers for the school district said in court filings that the books “impart critical reading skills through engaging, age-appropriate stories,” and the district follows a “careful, public, participatory selection process” to ensure they meet that criteria. The books are made available for individual reading, classroom read-alouds and other educational activities, according to the school district.

After the books were introduced, some parents sought to have their children excused when they were read or discussed. Some of these so-called out-out requests were religious-based and others were not, according to court filings. Lawyers for the board said that while teachers and principals attempted to accommodate the requests, the number grew and raised concerns about student absenteeism, the feasibility of administering opt-outs throughout the district and the “risk of exposing students who believe the storybooks represent them and their families to social stigma and isolation.”

The district then announced in March 2023 that it wouldn’t allow opt-outs from language-arts instruction that involved the storybooks “for any reason.”

The decision sparked backlash from the community, and more than 1,000 parents signed a petition urging the board to reinstate their notice and opt-out requests. Hundreds also attended school board meetings and said they had religious obligations not to subject their children to gender and sexuality instruction that conflicted with their religious beliefs.

Following the school district’s announcement, in May 2023, three sets of parents sued the Montgomery County Board of Education, alleging their First Amendment and due process rights were violated. The lead challengers are Tamer Mahmoud and Enas Barakat, who are Muslim and have a son in elementary school. Also challenging the board’s move are Chris and Melissa Persak, who are Roman Catholic and have two elementary-age children, and Jeff and Svitlana Roman, who are Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox and have a son in elementary school.

Advertisement

They sought a court order that would require notice and opt outs when the books were read or discussed. The parents argued their children’s exposure to the books “necessarily establishes the existence of a burden” on their right to freely exercise their religion.

A federal district court denied the request, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the decision.

The divided three-judge panel found that there was no evidence at that time that the families were compelled to change their religious beliefs or conduct, or what they taught their children.

The parents then appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the 4th Circuit’s decision effectively requires parents to “surrender their right to direct the religious upbringing of their children by sending them to public schools.”

“Under the Fourth Circuit’s reasoning, parents cannot be heard until after the damage has been done to their children. But there is no unringing that bell — by then, innocence will be lost and beliefs undermined,” they wrote in a filing.

Advertisement

But the school board urged the Supreme Court to turn away the case.

They said the parents “seek to unsettle a decades-old consensus that parents who choose to send their children to public school are not deprived of their right to freely exercise their religion simply because their children are exposed to curricular materials the parents find offensive.”

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Maryland

Northwestern beats Maryland 76-74 on Nick Martinelli’s jumper just before the OT buzzer – WTOP News

Published

on

Northwestern beats Maryland 76-74 on Nick Martinelli’s jumper just before the OT buzzer – WTOP News


Nick Martinelli made a baseline jumper just before the overtime buzzer to help Northwestern snap a three-game losing streak with a 76-74 victory over Maryland on Thursday night.

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli (2) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning basket during overtime of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland in Evanston, Ill., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)(AP/Nam Y. Huh)

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Nick Martinelli made a baseline jumper just before the overtime buzzer to help Northwestern snap a three-game losing streak with a 76-74 victory over Maryland on Thursday night.

Northwestern led 64-56 with 4:43 left in regulation before Maryland closed on an 11-2 run, capped by Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s layup with 6.9 seconds left to tie it at 68-all. Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer had a layup hit off the back iron at the other end and Derik Queen secured the defensive rebound.

In overtime, Gillespie made a layup with 6.9 seconds left to tie it at 74-all and he poked it away from Ty Berry at the other end. The ball deflected off Maryland forward Julian Reese, giving Northwestern possession with 0.7 seconds left.

Advertisement

Martinelli broke free on a screen and sank a runner in front of the Northwestern bench as his teammates came onto the court to celebrate.

Martinelli finished with 22 points for Northwestern (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten). Barnhizer had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Berry scored 15.

Reese led Maryland (13-5, 3-4) with 23 points. Gillespie added 14, Rodney Rice had 13 and Queen grabbed 14 rebounds to go with nine points. The Terrapins were hurt by 16 turnovers.

There were 11 lead changes and nine ties in the first half that ended with Northwestern leading 38-37 after Martinelli beat the buzzer with a shot in the lane. The game finished with 16 ties and 15 lead changes.

Maryland hosts Nebraska on Sunday, while Northwestern plays at No. 20 Michigan.

Advertisement

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Copyright
© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Maryland

Northwestern beats Maryland on Nick Martinelli's jumper just before the OT buzzer

Published

on

Northwestern beats Maryland on Nick Martinelli's jumper just before the OT buzzer


Nick Martinelli made a baseline jumper just before the overtime buzzer to help Northwestern snap a three-game losing streak with a 76-74 victory over Maryland on Thursday night at Welsh–Ryan Arena in Evanston.

Northwestern led 64-56 with 4:43 left in regulation before Maryland closed on an 11-2 run, capped by Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s layup with 6.9 seconds left to tie it at 68-all. Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer had a layup hit off the back iron at the other end and Derik Queen secured the defensive rebound.

In overtime, Gillespie made a layup with 6.9 seconds left to tie it at 74-all and he poked it away from Ty Berry at the other end. The ball deflected off Maryland forward Julian Reese, giving Northwestern possession with 0.7 seconds left.

Martinelli broke free on a screen and sank a runner in front of the Northwestern bench as his teammates came onto the court to celebrate.

Advertisement

Martinelli finished with 22 points for Northwestern (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten). Barnhizer had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Berry scored 15.

Reese led Maryland (13-5, 3-4) with 23 points. Gillespie added 14, Rodney Rice had 13 and Queen grabbed 14 rebounds to go with nine points. The Terrapins were hurt by 16 turnovers.

There were 11 lead changes and nine ties in the first half that ended with Northwestern leading 38-37 after Martinelli beat the buzzer with a shot in the lane. The game finished with 16 ties and 15 lead changes.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending