Local government

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has opened an office in Hunt Valley for its attorneys, a lawyer representing the property owner confirmed in an email to The Banner.

A new Ernst & Young report predicts a $1.3 billion annual impact on the local economy once the mini Sphere opens in Prince George’s County, a figure that combines tax revenue and anticipated growth for surrounding businesses.

Anne Arundel County is getting $3.1 million in federal funds to renovate another building at the campus of the historic Crownsville Hospital. The money comes a year after the county opened a nonprofit center at the 500-acre site.

Timothy Keane will also lead a six-month study into whether Baltimore’s housing and planning agencies could be combined.

The 43-year-old Towson resident joins a crowded race for the Democratic nomination with a platform centered on cost-of-living issues.

The legislation marks the latest attempt by local lawmakers to push back against Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign, which has come under heightened scrutiny after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens during protests in Minneapolis.

Discussions about Mayor Brandon Scott’s tax relief plan got off to a rocky start before a Baltimore City Council committee Tuesday.

Gavin Buckley’s retirement from politics didn’t last long. Just months after completing eight years as mayor of Annapolis, Buckley has filed to run for Anne Arundel County Council.

Anne Arundel County Councilman Pete Smith, a Democrat running for county executive, said a campaign volunteer was recently subjected to racist abuse while canvassing.

The Baltimore County Council is relocating temporarily from its chambers in Towson, so the site can be renovated to accommodate the council’s impending expansion to nine members later this year.

A Halethorpe woman charged with 328 counts of animal abuse wants to amend her sentence so she can sell some of the 80 animals seized and possibly reclaim some as pets.

County Council President Natali Fani-González told reporters during a media briefing Tuesday that “every idea out there needs to be explored.”

Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier is calling an emergency County Council session after reports that ICE will open legal offices in Hunt Valley.

COLUMN | If Mayor Jared Littmann picks acting Chief Amy Miguez, she would not only be the first woman to hold the job permanently but she would be the first chief to rise through the ranks since Bernard Kalnoske died of a heart attack in 1980. It is not a sure thing.

Days after a judge ordered ICE to allow unannounced congressional oversight, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin toured an “overcrowded” holding area in downtown Baltimore — and said the conditions he saw were a “bad situation.”

When performer costs went over budget, Baltimore City officials did not submit the new cost to the Board of Estimates for approval.

New research concludes the problem is likely a localized issue and that Baltimore is a “dramatic outlier” in Maryland.

Many of the more than 100 people who testified on the county executive’s capital budget proposal said it underfunds schools and parks.

IG Isabel Cumming said 104 of her 324 investigations would have been affected by new records rules put in place by Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration.

Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach said he regrets missing meetings, but added: “If I thought for one minute that I was shortchanging my constituents in my district, I would resign.”