Maryland
Maryland Gov. Moore issues cannabis pardons, announces homeownership program
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will pardon thousands of cases of cannabis possession in the state, he announced Thursday.
The governor made the announcement at a Juneteenth event and also announced a new program to increase race-based equity.
In an interview with News4 earlier this week, Moore called these initiatives part of the “work of repair” he said is necessary to address ways communities of color have suffered from the systemic impacts of racism.
Moore announced he’s directing more than $400 million toward historically underserved neighborhoods in Maryland – an effort he said is designed to raise appraisal values and increase homeownership in disenfranchised communities.
Under the JUST Communities program, 419 Census tracts will receive special consideration when competing for state funding.
According to Moore’s office, qualifying communities must have histories of redlining, impacts from highway projects, high state imprisonment rates or unequal exposure to environmental or health hazards. In Montgomery County, 36 communities will receive the designation. In Prince George’s County, 89 will receive it.
Moore is issuing nearly 7,000 new pardons for misdemeanor cannabis convictions. Last year, he signed a clemency order pardoning 175,000 people whose cannabis charges he said posed an unjust barrier to employment.
“This is one of the most aggressive home-ownership pushes for the Black community that we have seen in our state’s history,” he told News4 earlier this week.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore sits down with News4’s Shawn Yancy to discuss his future as a politician, including whether or not he intends to run for president in 2028.
“It’s about access. It’s about inclusion. And it’s about wealth. Because that is the issue that we’ve got to address when it comes to this work of repair,” he continued. “What are we doing to address wealth and the wealth gap? And I’m really excited that Maryland again is moving more aggressively on this issue of ending the racial wealth gap than any other state in the country.”
The governor has been heavily criticized for vetoing a bill that would have created a commission to study the harms caused by slavery. He said these efforts are designed to help those communities now.
Police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
The driver of a car involved in a crash with a Prince George’s County school bus in Accokeek, Maryland, on Friday has been identified.
Prince George’s County police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Bryans Road in Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive around 7:20 a.m. when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
Investigators said the crash happened in the intersection, causing the school bus to flip onto its side. Gravely died at the scene.
The school bus driver was transported to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Police said no students were on the bus at the time of the crash.
Investigators said they believe debris from the collision damaged a third vehicle. The driver of that vehicle “declined medical attention,” police said.
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 301-731-4422.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
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A D.C. man won $5 million from a scratch-off lottery ticket in Maryland last week, and the matching number that netted him the prize happened to be his age.
Talk about a birthday surprise! A D.C. man won $5 million from a scratch-off lottery ticket in Maryland last week, and the matching number that netted him the prize happened to be his age.
Maurice Williams, a school bus driver in D.C., claimed the first top prize on a $5,000,000 LUXE scratch-off. He had used his $50 winnings from a previous LUXE scratch-off ticket to buy a new one the next day.
In a release from the Maryland Lottery, Williams said he didn’t know he had won until he scanned the ticket: “It’s crazy because the matching number was 59 and I just turned 59 the other day.”
Williams said he sat in shock for a while before calling his mother.
He said he plans to buy his mother a house with the winnings and then save up.
Two more top prizes from the scratch-off have yet to be claimed, the Maryland Lottery said, as well as nine $200,000 prizes, 10 $50,000 prizes and thousands of prizes ranging from $50 to $10,000.
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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
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