Maryland
House, Senate differ in initial approach to solving transportation funding question – Maryland Matters
House and Senate leaders appear to be on opposite sides of the road when it comes to solving the problem of how to fund transportation projects in Maryland.
Maryland faces a funding deficit of more than $3 billion over the next six years. An expected infusion of $150 million, while welcome, is viewed as a small bandage on a gaping wound.
“We should solve the problem in this session this year and not leave the uncertainty sitting out there and resolve what are really important Transportation Trust Fund shortfalls and needs,” said House Appropriations Chair Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel).
Maryland is facing a series of fiscal problems including how to pay for road and transit projects. State and local leaders find it harder to keep up with the cost of basic maintenance. Little is left to pay for extras such as a Red Line east-west transit project in Baltimore or congestion relief efforts on the Maryland portion of the Capital Beltway.
Long-term, the state will need to modernize its approach to how it pays for transportation projects. The current system, built on gas and vehicle taxes and other fees, is not keeping up with demand and inflationary pressures.
The Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs Commission is tasked with recommending changes to how the state pays for future transportation needs. Its final report is due at the end of this year.
Resolving the problem will take time, said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore).
Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore). Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
“That’s not going to happen this session, but we have to really discuss it,” Ferguson said. “If we want to expand the system, if we want to invest in greater transportation options in the state of Maryland be it from the airport to roads and bridges to transit, we have to find the money. That’s not an easy conversation. It’s going to take a lot of detailed work to make sure we’re doing it appropriately and thoughtfully. It’s going to take the next 12 months to figure that out.”
In December, Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld announced $3.3 billion in cuts to transportation spending over the next six-years, a period covered by the agency’s Consolidated Transportation Plan.
The announcement meant the cancellation of major projects in every political subdivision in the state. It also meant a reduction in state aid to local governments that already had been slashed more than a decade ago as the state tried to balance its budget during the Great Recession.
“We are upside down on managing local roads,” Michael Sanderson, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, said Tuesday during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee. These cuts make it worse, but we are already circling the drain on this.”
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski (D) said his jurisdiction needs more money to pay for basic road maintenance and new projects including the potential expansion of the Red Line into eastern and western Baltimore County.
“One time funding means that we’re back to square one again next year,” said Olszewski, who is also president of the association of counties. “So, while appreciated and helpful, we do want to sort of work with all of you to make sure we’re thinking about those long term, sustainable solutions so that we’re not back at the conversation about the department having to offer additional cuts, reductions and commuter bus service, local transit systems or other desperately needed projects. So the bottom line is the cutbacks mean lost service down the road, but not very far down it.”
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott (D).Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he “cannot plan for future years without assurances of funding.”
The city will disproportionately feel the pain of the proposed cuts.
As part of billions in cuts that Gov. Wes Moore (D) and transit officials announced, Baltimore would lose nearly $33 million in Highway User Revenues, a decrease of about 14%.
The state’s 23 counties and nearly 160 small, incorporated subdivisions combined will see a cut totaling more than $19.7 million.
Baltimore will also see a 3% reduction in funding earmarked for the locally operated Charm City Circulator.
“There have been instances before where it has been easy to balance the budget on the back of Baltimoreans,” said Scott. “We know that previous administrations took that route, but we don’t have to take that route again. But I know that you know, and Governor Moore knows that as Baltimore goes so does the state of Maryland. We have the opportunity, a responsibility, to chart a different course and stop the legacy of putting the burden of budget cuts on the back of our most vulnerable residents.”
Sanderson and other county leaders applauded an announcement by Wiedefeld and Gov. Wes Moore (D) that grants a one-year reprieve.
Moore is expected Wednesday to deliver a budget to lawmakers that pumps $150 million in cash into the Transportation Trust Fund.
The infusion offsets the December plan to reduce transportation spending by $184 million in fiscal 2025.
House Appropriations Chair Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel). Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Barnes said the use of cash “probably not sustainable long term.” Still, he and others said they backed the move for one year.
“Every dollar restored is going to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Barnes. “It doesn’t solve our long-term problems. We’re going to be back here next year unless we get serious about it.”
Most important to local governments would be the full restoration of proposed cuts to Highway User Revenue and aid for locally operated transit systems, totaling $52 million and $28 million, respectively.
“This is the right solution for this year but all of these places that are being backfilled I believe are really ongoing costs,” said Ferguson. “There is an ongoing question. This is the right way to approach it this year — let’s use the rainy day fund for a one-time expenditure for this year because we know over the next 12 months, we have to have a robust conversation over how we fund and what we want to fund in transportation moving forward.”
The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
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Baltimore may be under an extreme heat alert, but residents can dream about autumn, as tickets are now on sale for the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in October.
This three-day celebration of home and garden takes place from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Expect hundreds of exhibitors, local makers, home improvement experts, family-friendly experiences and celebrity guests. The show offers everyone the chance to explore the very latest in home improvement, landscaping, outdoor living and decor, the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, and do some holiday shopping all under one roof.
This year’s show will have more than 300 exhibitors, including more than 100 crafters from around Maryland in the Makers Market. There will be unique exhibits, stage presentations and a special appearance by Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge and Ryan Eldridge from Magnolia Network’s hit series “Maine Cabin Masters.” The three will have two Main Stage appearances, one on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the second on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.
“As temperatures start to drop and the holiday season comes into view, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show is a place to gather ideas, meet local experts and get inspired before the busy season begins,” said Dave Paul, show manager, in a statement. “Whether attendees are planning a home project, looking for outdoor living ideas or getting a head start on holiday shopping, the show brings together resources and experiences for every kind of homeowner, maker and DIY enthusiast.”
In addition to the Makers Market and stars of “Maine Cabin Masters”, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show will have a petting zoo, a Kids Market where attendees can shop from local children, and much more.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Prices are as follows:
Online:
- Adults: $8
- Senior Citizens (60+): $6
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- 4-Pack Online: $30 for four tickets, valid for one admission each and one day only
At the door:
- Adults: $10
- Senior Citizens (60+): $8
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- Friday & Saturday: $4 after 4 p.m. at the door only
Special Offers:
- Active and retired military personnel, veterans, firefighters and police officers receive free admission all weekend, along with one guest, with valid ID at the box office.
- Attendees who show a CharmPass app, Light RailLink ticket or eligible transit pass at the box office receive free admission any day of the show. One admission is available per pass.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium.
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Maryland
Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’
Law enforcement agencies are accustomed to dealing with cat burglars – but now a Maryland police department is saying it grappled with a cat-wielding bank robber.
The Prince George’s county police department said its officers arrested a man suspected of stealing a cat and then taking the animal with him to a PNC bank branch in the local community of Beltsville to rob the establishment on Monday morning.
“The cat was returned” after the suspect was arrested, the police department said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. The agency said no injuries were reported, and it declined to name the suspect or release additional details, saying the case – bound for a spot in the annals of bizarre reported US crimes – remained under investigation.
Nonetheless, a social media post from rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats provided more information.
A Beltsville Community Cats Facebook page post on Monday identified the cat at the center of the alleged botched caper as Magnolia, a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten. The shelter recounted how the suspect first snatched Magnolia from her “adoption habitat” at Beltsville’s Pet Supplies Plus store, took her across the parking lot to a PNC branch, and “tried to use her as an accessory in [an] attempted robbery”.
“He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the post continued. “Thankfully, the robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal.”
Pet Supplies Plus store employees told the NBC affiliate in nearby Washington DC that Magnolia’s cat napper had come in daily for about two weeks and focused on the kitten each time.
Finally, on Monday, he managed to use a key to open a cat adoption area and whisked Magnolia away, store employees said to the outlet, WRC.
Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that Magnolia’s thief “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out”.
According to WRC, Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats then received a call from a pet store employee who alerted her to Magnolia’s plight.
That prompted Stullich to run over to the store, where she said to WRC that she “immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat’.”
“But then I realized they all were going down to the bank,” Stullich recalled to WRC. “They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’”
Two days before her catnapping, Magnolia was the subject of a Beltsville Community Cats Facebook post inviting people to see her at Pet Supplies Plus and consider adopting her.
Magnolia as of Monday was still waiting to be adopted, Beltsville Community Cats said in its post detailing the bank robbery.
The non-profit organization offered members of the public the opportunity to apply to adopt Magnolia by emailing rescue@beltsvillecats.net.
Beltsville Community Cats’ post also joked that Magnolia’s “brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her” – except for undoubtedly “stealing” hearts, treats, toys and cuddles wherever her forever home may be.
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