Maryland

Per the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of six Attorneys General in submitting a comment letter in support of the Biden administration’s development of a national Ocean Justice Strategy. Certain communities (“ocean justice communities”) have been historically excluded from ocean policy decisions – including Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities as well as people with disabilities, low-income communities, and the youth and elderly – and ocean justice aims to address those disparities.

In submitting the letter, Attorney General Brown joins the Attorneys General of California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New York.

Per the State of Maryland: Governor Wes Moore today announced $4 million in grants to six jurisdictions for repairs that will enable nearly 300 homes to proceed with comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits. The funds will be deployed through a new pilot program that integrates the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s energy efficiency programs and rehabilitation programs, providing the repairs necessary to proceed with upgrades for homes deferred for health and safety reasons.

“Through this pilot program, we’re opening the door for more Maryland homes to meet their energy efficiency goals,” said Gov. Wes Moore. “Encouraging these energy improvements at the residential level—and ensuring that they can be made efficiently—is an important step in addressing our climate challenges.”

With Americans having increased their collective credit card debt by a record $179.4 billion last year, and the grand total at over $1.1 trillion, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Highest & Lowest Credit Card Debts, with Maryland coming in ranked 18th highest among all states.

WalletHub drew upon data from TransUnion, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Census Bureau and WalletHub’s proprietary credit card payoff calculator to determine the cost and time required to repay the median credit card balance in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Below, you can find a handful of highlights from the report. Credit Card Debt in Maryland (1^st Rank = Least Sustainable):

Maryland’s Community Parks & Playgrounds Program invests in the future of Maryland’s established communities by developing and revitalizing parks and playgrounds statewide. Another $2.5 million in Community Parks & Playgrounds grant funds is also available for 20 projects statewide to rehabilitate, expand, or improve existing parks; create new parks; or purchase and install playground equipment. To date, more than $87 million in grant funding has been approved for more than 852 park and playground projects.

The following Community Parks and Playgrounds projects received funding in the FY24 budget:

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from 31 states and the District of Columbia to enhance competition and protect consumers in food and agricultural markets, including in grocery, meat, and poultry processing. The new partnership will assist the coalition of Attorneys General in tackling anticompetitive market structures in agriculture and related industries that are raising prices and limiting choices for consumers and producers.