State Roundup: Primary care physicians join effort to get more Marylanders vaccinated
Chesapeake Bay Bridge panorama by Peter Peretz with Flickr Creative Commons License
PRIMARY DOCS TARGET HARD-TO-REACH MARYLANDERS: The state’s primary care physicians are poised to take a more active role in administering coronavirus vaccines following a Friday morning announcement by the Maryland Department of Health that it has expanded a critical program aimed at vaccinating the state’s most hard-to-reach residents, reports Bryan Renbaum of Maryland Reporter.
Gov. Larry Hogan Friday announced that the state of Maryland has opened up direct scheduling for mass vaccination sites. The state’s pre-registration system is closed, and all 831,872 pre-registrants have now been offered appointments, David Higgins reports for the Southern Maryland Chronicle.
State Roundup: Gov. Hogan lifts outdoor mask mandate for many situations
The replacement of the Nice Middleton bridge over the Potomac River from Charles County to Virginia is underway. Governor s Office photo
HOGAN LIFTS OUTDOOR MASK MANDATE: Due to declining coronavirus rates in the state and consistent with federal guidelines, Marylanders are no longer required to wear face coverings when outdoors, Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday, reports Bryan Renbaum for Maryland Reporter.
Hogan “strongly encouraged” those who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus to continue to mask up, Pamela Wood and Alex Mann of the Sun report. Masks still are required in Maryland at “large ticketed venues” that are outdoors, such as stadiums, as well as at indoor businesses and on public transit.
Redbud in spring. MarylandReporter.com photo
HOGAN LAUNCHES COVID VAXX PSA: Gov. Larry Hogan Friday touted the state’s launch of a 30-second public service announcement video that features six Maryland doctors who discuss the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, Bryan Renbaum of Maryland Reporter writes. “Research shows that people feel more comfortable getting a vaccine when they hear about the experience directly from someone they know and trust,” Hogan said in a statement.
POLICE REFORM ADVOCATES SPEAK OUT ON BILLS: Reform advocates like Fred Chavis of the Washington County NAACP say that they are cautiously optimistic to see that some of the change they sought became reality in the halls of the State House. But they emphasized the reform bills are just the beginning, and local activists will need to watch to ensure police accountability trickles down to their communities, report Madeleine O’Neill of USA Today Network and Kelly Powers of Salisbury Daily Times.
State Roundup: Legal pot, taxing wealthy among bills that might return in 2022; Hogan signs dozens of bills into law
Newly elected leaders of the House Republican caucus visited Gov. Larry Hogan in his office Tuesday. The new minority leader is Del. Jason Buckel of Allegany County, right, and the minority whip is Del. Christopher Adams of the Eastern Shore. Governor s Office photo
FAILED BILLS THAT MAY RETURN NEXT SESSION: The 2021 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly will probably be most remembered for the enactment of landmark police reform legislation but there were many other proposals championed by progressive lawmakers that failed to gain traction, such as marijuana legalization and changes to the way the state taxes its most wealthy residents. And those proposals are poised to return next session, reports Bryan Renbaum of Maryland Reporter.
Opening day at Camden Yards Thursday. Governor s Office photo
HOGAN EYES POLICE REFORM BILLS: Maryland’s lawmakers representing both sides of the political aisle said Thursday that they believe it is likely that Gov. Larry Hogan will veto all or part of a package of five landmark police reform bills that the General Assembly recently approved, Bryan Renbaum reports for Maryland Reporter. Should Hogan decide to veto the legislation, it is considered likely that the veto will be overridden given that Democrats have a near-supermajority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate.
As Democrats celebrated the passage of the sweeping reform bills, Republican colleagues, as well as Hogan, voiced concerns that the legislation adopted too much of the House’s strict limits and too little of compromises in the Senate approach to police reform, Steve Lash reports for The Daily Record.