November 28, 2019

Man Strips Naked Inside Senate Office Building

A man entered a U.S. Senate office building on Tuesday afternoon and stripped fully nude, police say.

The 26-year-old Capitol Hill resident fully disrobed inside the Russell Senate Office Building, a police affidavit obtained by the News4 I-Team says. He was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police and faces a charge of indecent exposure.

The man "entered the Russell Building through the Russell subway from the Capitol Visitors Center, stripping off his clothing," a police affidavit says. An officer confronted him.

"I am on my way to see God," the man responded.

Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Man-Strips-Naked-Inside-Senate-Office-Building-565539472.html

November 28, 2019

Legislators concerned about auditor's complaints that University of Maryland Medical System is

Legislators concerned about auditor’s complaints that University of Maryland Medical System is ‘hindering’ his probe


Maryland lawmakers say they’re concerned and closely monitoring the University of Maryland Medical System’s behavior after the state’s top legislative auditor said the hospital network was “hindering” his work.

Some legislative leaders, including the sponsors of sweeping reform legislation passed this year after a self-dealing scandal at UMMS, say more bills could be needed if the hospital network refuses to comply with the state audit.

“I think it’s egregious given the history of the prior board and what gave rise to the legislation to begin with,” said Sen. Jill P. Carter, a Baltimore Democrat who was lead sponsor of the Senate version of the reform measure. “It’s an insult to the legislature and the general public. To be honest, we could have gone more stringent with the legislation than we did. If they’re going to be noncompliant, we may have to revisit this issue this session.”

Maryland Legislative Auditor Gregory Hook told legislative leaders in an Oct. 31 letter that the medical system had “delayed and hindered our work by repeatedly failing to make employees available and failing to provide requested information on a timely basis.”

Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-umms-concerns-20191127-zre3fat6hfcq3plhee3izraaq4-story.html

November 28, 2019

3,500 Maryland employees were not paid Wednesday because of Capital One routing number error

3,500 Maryland employees were not paid Wednesday because of Capital One routing number error, officials say


The paychecks of 3,500 Maryland employees were not direct-deposited into their Capital One accounts on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving because of a routing number error on the bank’s part, state officials said.

Capital One informed the state comptroller’s office, which handles the payroll, that it was changing its routing numbers about two weeks ago, prompting the office to update the routing numbers in its systems to the new numbers, said Alan Brody, a spokesman for the comptroller.

But when paychecks went out Wednesday, only 1,000 of the 4,500 full-time state government employees with Capital One accounts received their money. State officials contacted Capital One about the problem, Brody said, and bank officials said the routing numbers for the rest of the employees had not yet switched, leaving their paychecks in limbo.

Capital One “did not change all of their account holders to the new routing numbers,” said Dhiren Shah, director of the state’s Central Payroll Bureau within the comptroller’s office.

Read more: https://www.capitalgazette.com/politics/bs-md-pol-maryland-employee-paychecks-20191127-nyzttnjrxrcbtjl756f7gaw3gi-story.html

It will be interesting to monitor whether Capital One will be charging overdraft fees for their screwup.

November 28, 2019

Hogan Announces Search for New State Center Developer

Looking to jump-start a redevelopment process that has been mired in lawsuits and inactivity for years, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced on Tuesday that the state will immediately begin seeking bidders on a new State Center project.

The five-building, 28-acre site in Midtown Baltimore is currently home to a dozen state government agencies, making it the largest concentration of state offices in Maryland.

Hogan said the state will immediately begin reaching out to companies interested in redeveloping the aging State Center complex. The Maryland Stadium Authority will lead the process, in coordination with the state’s Department of General Services.

The governor called the actions an “important step in the revitalization of Baltimore City,” and he said the new “bold” project will have a “transformative” impact on the surrounding communities.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/11/26/hogan-announces-search-for-new-state-center-developer/

November 28, 2019

Senator's Bill Would Ban Balloon Releases

Letting a balloon float away in Maryland would draw in a fine of $250, under a bill sponsored by Sen. Clarence K. Lam. The legislation is similar to a current Queen Anne’s County law.

Lam (D-Baltimore, Howard) said he hopes the bill does two things: reduces the amount of waste that ends up in the environment and raises awareness of the need to properly dispose of balloons.

He said there would be a $250 civil fine for each act of intentionally releasing a balloon, but no one would go to prison for it because it’s not considered a criminal offense.

Lam said the proposed law, unlike in Queen Anne’s County, would not allow biodegradable balloons.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/11/27/lams-bill-would-ban-balloon-releases/

November 28, 2019

After report of aide quitting, Biden says Latinos a priority

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Joe Biden said Monday that he's making outreach to Latinos a priority in his Democratic presidential campaign after a news report that his most senior Latina staffer had resigned out of frustration.

Biden told reporters on a phone call that he's spent a lot of time in Florida, California and even Iowa talking to Latinos and has no shortage of concern for or interest in Latinos.

The former vice president was responding to a report in Politico that his most senior Latina staffer, who served as national coalitions director, had quit. The report says Vanessa Cárdenas raised concerns that the campaign focused too much on white voters in Iowa and black voters at the expense of Latino voters.

Cardenas could not be reached for comment.

Read more: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/joe-biden/2019/11/26/after-report-aide-quitting-biden-says-latinos-priority/4307517002/

November 28, 2019

Sen. Chris Coons faces a primary challenge from a progressive millennial. Does she have a shot?

If you haven't heard the name Jessica Scarane, you probably will soon.

The Wilmington woman announced Monday that she's fighting U.S. Sen. Chris Coons for his seat in the 2020 Democratic primary.

It's the first bid for 34-year-old Jessica Scarane, who says she's running because she doesn't feel represented by Delaware's Democratic leadership and wants to give voters another option.

"We don't do a lot of primary elections when we have an incumbent," Scarane said. "We sit back and we wait for that person to retire. It makes people feel disengaged."

Read more: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/18/millennial-progressive-woman-primary-delaware-sen-chris-coons/2580646001/

November 28, 2019

Supreme Court allows Penn State professor's defamation suit against National Review

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court refused on Monday to shield two conservative writers from being sued for defamation by a climate-change expert whom they accused of having “molested and tortured data in the service of politicized science.”

Over a dissent by Justice Samuel A. Alito, the high court cleared the way for Penn State professor Michael Mann to sue National Review and the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute for having compared him to the former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was imprisoned for sexual abuse. Both had been investigated by the university.

In his 2012 article, columnist Mark Steyn said that in Mann’s case, as with Sandusky and football legend Joe Paterno, who was also involved in the sex-abuse scandal, Penn State “declined to find one of its star names guilty of any wrongdoing.” His comment repeated the words of an online columnist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who first made the comparison between Mann and Sandusky.

The case involves a hotly disputed question that has split lower courts: When can statements of opinion form the basis of a libel suit? Ordinarily, the high court has ruled, a person can’t be sued for expressing an opinion. But when a statement mixes opinion with a claim about facts — in this case, the claim that Mann had misused data — courts have struggled to decide whether lawsuits are valid.

Read more: https://triblive.com/news/politics-election/supreme-court-allows-penn-state-professors-defamation-suit-against-national-review/
(Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

November 28, 2019

Pennsylvania Democrats don't just want to beat Trump in 2020: They want the state House back

A Democratic state senator who represents a northeast Pennsylvania district that voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016 dropped his party registration last week and declared he would caucus with Republicans in Harrisburg.

The next day, a veteran Republican state representative who represents a suburban Philadelphia district that voted for Mitt Romney and then Hillary Clinton announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2020.

The developments underscored trends that are cleaving Pennsylvania, and much of the country, along partisan and geographic lines. Even as Democrats have taken control of the once GOP-friendly suburbs, they’re ceding power outside major metropolitan areas, especially in rural and white working-class communities.

Democrats had considered both chambers of the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature to be prime targets for a takeover in 2020. Winning a majority in the state Senate now looks like more of a long shot, strategists in both parties said last week. Republicans are expected to have a 29-21 edge there by next fall.

Read more: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2019/11/26/Pennsylvania-Democrats-fight-regain-House-election-2020/stories/201911260127

November 28, 2019

Ursinus College cancels men's, women's swimming seasons for hazing violations

COLLEGEVILLE -- Ursinus College has canceled the rest of the season for its men’s and women’s swimming teams after an investigation found violations of the college’s anti-hazing policy and student code of conduct.

The college, which announced the cancellation Friday, also said swimming coach Mark Feinberg had been placed on probation following an investigation that began in early September.

College officials said the issue involved alcohol and underage drinking. Tom Yencho, a spokesperson for the college, said Sunday that the hazing occurred early in the semester but didn’t provide details about what happened.

“While the decision to cancel the season was difficult, the safety and well-being of every student at Ursinus are our greatest priorities,” officials said in a statement. “Ursinus College does not tolerate hazing or any action that is antithetical to our values and our mission.

Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/ursinus-college-swimming-season-cancelled-hazing-20191124.html