By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
"It is estimated to create over 7,500 jobs and add approximately $4 billion to the GDP of the County and State. If you look at the history of economic development in the Metro DC region, landing a major federal agency like the FBI has been the catalyst for significant economic development. Prince George’s County simply wants the opportunity to reap the economic benefits that would flow from locating the FBI HQ in Greenbelt." – Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy (D), on the benefits of having the next FBI headquarters in the county, after a federal court overturned Trump administration plans to keep it in Washington, D.C.
The summer doldrums are not what we were promised.
A second group of Republicans, backed by firepower from a national law firm has filed suit to block the proposed constitutional amendment on redistricging that was approved by lawmakers in special session two weeks ago. (Yes, it was just two weeks ago.) This second lawsuit, filed in Dorchester County, claims the proposal violates the Maryland Declaration of Rights. One or both of the suits could get a hearing next week, as Bryan P. Sears reports.
The 15-year fight over the next home of the FBI headquarters took another turn Monday when a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration decision to drop the selected site of Greenbelt in favor of a D.C. site was unlawful. It was a big win for state and Prince George's County officials, but it's almost certain not to be the last word on the project.
Those stories, plus headlines from the week, are below to get your Tuesday off to a start. Enjoy!
Maryland's current eight congressional districts could be redrawn as early as next year if voters approve an amendment to the Maryland constitution later this year. Two Republican lawsuits are hoping to derail that effort. (Maryland Matters illustration)
By Bryan P. Sears
A national law firm that advised Louisiana lawmakers on a redistricting effort that later resulted in the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upending the landmark Voting Rights Act is representing a group of Maryland Republicans seeking to block a proposed amendment to the state constitution.
The lawsuit, filed in Dorchester County, is the second by filed by Republicans aiming to block the proposed amendment. It's not immediately clear, however, who is footing the bill for the costs of the latest suit, which one lawmaker said could be "considerable." The proposed amendment passed earlier this month would set new standards for how Maryland draws its eight congressional districts. The latest suit, filed last week, focuses in part on claims that the proposed amendment undercuts key portions of the Maryland Declaration of Rights.
"It makes the strongest argument and, I think, the winning argument," said Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore and Carroll), one of five Republicans who are plaintiffs in the Dorchester County suit. Others include Lindsay Wheatley, a member of the Dorchester County Republican Central Committee; Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore); Del. Chris Adams and Sen Johnny Mautz, Republicans who represent the Middle Shore.
West said the case was likely filed in Dorchester County because attorneys were "trying to find a judge they thought would give it [the case] a fair shake." An attorney representing the state election board has filed a motion to have the case moved to Annapolis where an earlier lawsuit on the same constitutional amendment is scheduled for an Aug. 25 hearing.
The current FBI headquarters at the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
By Steve Crane
A federal district judge in Maryland Monday overturned Trump administration plans to build the next FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., restoring Greenbelt as the likely next home for the agency.
The 47-page ruling and two-page order from U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang said the abrupt decision last year by the FBI and the General Services Administration to say they would move the headquarters into the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington exceeded their authority and was "unlawful." Chuang's order vacated the decision by the two agencies, which tossed out years of debate and study that led to the selection of Greenbelt site in 2023, and ordered them to reverse their plan to reprogram $555 million of Greenbelt funding "to relocate, to renovate, build-out, and furnish" the Reagan Building as the next FBI headquarters.
The White House referred requests for comment to the FBI, which did not immediately respond to a request Monday evening. But Maryland officials were tripping over themselves to cheer the ruling. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who was first to report the decision late Monday afternoon, said that by blocking the Trump administration attempt to move the project and divert the funds, "the Court has cleared the path back to Greenbelt."
Monday's ruling is the latest turn in a 15-year saga to replace the current facility, the J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. The brutalist, concrete building, which opened in 1974, long ago outlived its usefulness and has been literally falling apart for years, with pieces of concrete falling off the building at times.
IN OTHER NEWS
Menhaden harvest: A plan to slash the commercial harvest of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay later this year could help starving osprey chicks and other struggling fish but could hurt workers in a Virginia fishing village.
Sins of the children: When children and teens get in trouble, the question comes quickly: Where were the parents? That question is being raised across the country, as local lawmakers look for ways to respond to youth crime and disorder.
Three Mile Island restart nearer: Monday's arrival of a 500,000-pound transformer signaled "outward, visible progress" toward Constellation Energy’s plan to restart nuclear energy generation at the old Three Mile Island plant.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
A long wait at City Jail: A decade-old settlement requiring the state improve medical care at a Baltimore jail was extended for the third time this June after the federal court found the state remained noncompliant in several areas.
Cox and Moore appear at forum: GOP gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox said at a forum that he would call a statewide moratorium on data centers, what he called a "big difference" from Gov. Wes Moore who wants tight regulation and local input.
Never hurts to ask: Data centers aren't going away anytime soon, state officials said at the Maryland Association of Counties conference, so counties should start drawing up a list of demands for when they do come calling.
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