By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“When we tell families that we are concerned about measles, obviously we are concerned about the virus itself and the acute illness – high fevers up to 105 degrees, inflammation of the eyes. And then long-term complications that we don’t really understand very well related to brain swelling and inflammation that could happen years after the infection… I would really love for people to understand that measles is not just a cold.” — Dr. Esther Liu, chair of pediatrics at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
If high vaccination rates aren’t high everywhere that can be a problem, Republicans win round one in a whirlwind legal fight to block redistricting changes, and the Key Bridge rebuild takes another step forward. Here is your Thursday news.
Maryland has a relatively high measles vaccination rate, which has helped shield it from the disease, but vaccination rates differ from county to county. That’s a concern for health officials, who declared a measles outbreak in three counties this week. Danielle J. Brown has that story.
With a ballot certification deadline looming Monday, a GOP challenge to a proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting won the first round in court Wednesday. But the fight’s not over yet, as an appeal has already been filed with the Maryland Supreme Court, which could take up the case as early as Friday, as Bryan P. Sears reports.
After parting ways with the first contractor on the Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement over cost concerns, the state this week put the first of four contracts on the rest of the bridge project out to bid. The goal is to have contractors selected by late spring and a new bridge open by 2030. Christine Condon has that story.
The state also stands to gain $327 million in Meta’s $17.1 billion settlement of a lawsuit over its social median platforms, and we legitimately get to use the word “eponymous” in out political notes column. Exciting. Those stories, plus headlines from the week are below. Enjoy!
Vials of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are displayed on a counter at a Walgreens Pharmacy in Mill Valley, California, in a 2015 file photo. (Photo illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
By Danielle J. Brown
Despite Maryland’s relatively high measles vaccination rate statewide, those rates are slipping and varying coverage by county can leave community members exposed to potentially severe or deadly infection.
That’s the concern for public health experts and data analysts amid the recently announced measles outbreaks in three counties that have lower vaccination coverage than other counties. The Maryland Department of Health this week declared measles outbreaks in Cecil, Carroll and St. Mary’s counties and reported dozens of new cases detected since mid-July among unvaccinated individuals.
State officials and others urge Marylanders to check their immunization status and get vaccinated if they are not protected – or else risk the health of vulnerable populations and young children. The measles outbreak announced Monday in the three counties was the newest development in what’s already an active measles season this year. But state health officials say that there is “currently no evidence of widespread community transmission” and that most cases identified so far occurred among household contacts.
That said, the health department reports 31 confirmed measles cases in Maryland, with 27 of those cases identified since July 15. Those 27 cases were among unvaccinated residents. It’s a steep jump from the total of three cases identified in Maryland all of last year.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in Annapolis. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
By Bryan P. Sears
Maryland Republicans challenging a proposed state constitutional amendment on how congressional districts are drawn won an initial courtroom skirmish Wednesday, when an Anne Arundel County Circuit judge found multiple legal problems with how lawmakers passed the bill and the wording of a proposed ballot question.
The 10-page decision Wednesday from Judge Robert J. Thompson comes almost 24 hours after the conclusion of a daylong hearing in Annapolis that focused on process and whether or not lawmakers erred as they rushed a constitutional amendment to Maryland voters.
The ruling represents an initial win for a set of plaintiffs that included the president of the the conservative Project Oversight, members of the Maryland Freedom Caucus and leaders of the Senate Republican Caucus. Republicans in their lawsuit argued that the General Assembly was constrained by law that established both a timeline and deadline for ballot questions. The law also mandates that the language of the question be simplified for voters to understand. In their challenge, the plaintiffs argued that the Democrats in the General Assembly were bound to follow that law and its July 1 deadline.
Thompson’s ruling has already been appealed to the Maryland Supreme Court, and a separate challenge is scheduled to be heard today in Dorchester County Circuit Court.
A worker descends a stairway Wednesday at the construction site for the Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement. Crews continue to drive piles into the Patapsco riverbed for the new bridge as the state seeks new contractors for the bridge's construction. (Photo by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters))
By Christine Condon
After parting ways with the contractor once expected to build the new Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland is aiming to select four replacement contractors by late next spring.
Disagreements over cost compelled the state to break ties in April with the Kiewit Corp., the large Nebraska-based firm that designed the new bridge, and split the construction project into four separate parts.
So far, the state has put two of the four contracts out to bid, including the largest one, which will cover the main span of the bridge running over the Patapsco River. The state isn’t expecting to award that contract — which has an estimated value between $3.5 billion and $4 billion — until next spring. The state advertised another, much smaller contract Tuesday, for the demolition of several remaining bridge structures, both in the water and over land, which is valued at $50 to $100 million. That work could start before the end of this year.
The final two contracts will cover the portions of the bridge that will be built over land, approaching the river from the north and south sides of the river. Both are currently valued between $200 and $400 million. In the meantime, construction continues under the first contract with an eye toward 2030 opening.
IN OTHER NEWS
Meta agrees to pay states $17.1 billion: Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay 47 states up to $17.1 billion over claims that its social media platforms are addictive and a danger to children. Maryland could get $327 million in the deal.
Fed unions sue, again, over civil service reforms: Federal labor unions have sued the Trump administration over recent rules overhauling federal employee suitability standards and performance evaluations, moves the unions say exceed OPM's authority.
Political notes: Politicians opposed to data centers should not look to Steamfitters UA Local 602 for support, Larry Hogan dips a toe in academia, the Congressional Black Caucus is star-struck and the Legislative Black Caucus wants your input, in political notes.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Redistricting challenge: The Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge overseeing a legal challenge to a constitutional amendment on redistricting said there are a "couple things that trouble me about this case," raising hopes of Republicans who brought the suit.
Supreme Court rejects Malvo appeal: The Maryland Supreme Court declined to hear Lee Boyd Malvo's attempt to withdraw his guilty plea to six counts of first-degree murder in the D.C. sniper attacks that terrorized Washington for three weeks in 2002.
First U.S. measles deaths in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Health officials confirmed two measles-related deaths in Lancaster County, the first two such deaths in the U.S. this year, according to the CDC. Both people, who lived in the county, were unvaccinated.
Math requirement delayed: The Maryland Board of Education voted to delay a requirement that all school districts include 60 minutes of math instruction a day in kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools will have until fall 2028 to make the change.
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