Council Defeats Restaurant Ratings Bill
The Baltimore City Council is saying "no" to a public restaurant ratings system. The measure, which would have required restaurants to post grades from the health department in their windows, failed last night by one vote. The Restaurant Association of Maryland was opposed to the legislation, but Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would have signed it, had it passed.
Raskin to Run for Congress
Maryland State Sen. Jamie Raskin plans to run for the 8th District Congressional seat being vacated by Chris Van Hollen. According to the Baltimore Sun, Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat, will formally announce a run in April. Van Hollen is leaving the U.S. House to run for the seat of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, whose announced retirement has brought about changes across Maryland’s political landscape. Rep. Donna Edwards announced earlier this month that she’s also running for Senate, and former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown will be running for Edwards’ 4th District seat.
Cardin, Law Enforcement To Call For National Blue Alert
Maryland Senator Ben Cardin will join law enforcement personnel in the nation's capital this afternoon to call for a National Blue Alert System to catch those who kill or seriously injure police officers. The Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015 is named for two NYPD officers who were assassinated in their patrol car. Twenty states have Blue Alerts, but there's no national program.
Virts Pleads Guilty To Killing Daughters's Mom
A Dundalk man who abducted his young daughter after stabbing the child's mother to death is going to prison for the rest of his life. Timothy Virts pled guilty yesterday to first-degree murder in the death of Bobbie Jo Cortez. Police say Virts killed Cortez in her Dundalk home last year, before fleeing with his 11-year-old daughter, Caitlyn. Virts and Caitlyn were found in a South Carolina motel after an AMBER Alert triggered a nationwide search. He agreed to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Diabetes Alert Day
The American Diabetes Association has called today “Diabetes Alert Day,” and challenges all Americans to take the diabetes risk test, which can tell you if you are at risk for developing type-2 diabetes. An estimated 30 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, and patients are often diagnosed as many as 10 years after the onset of the disease. Another 86 million people have pre-diabetes or high blood sugar levels. Those at risk for developing diabetes are overweight, sedentary and over the age of 45.
Terps Women Beat Princeton, Advance To Sweet 16
The University of Maryland women's basketball team is advancing to the Sweet 16 with an NCAA Tournament win over Princeton. The Terps Women brought down the formerly undefeated Tigers, 85-70 in College Park last night. Maryland will face Duke in Spokane, Wa., on Saturday.
Cosby Releases Video Ahead of Baltimore Show
Bill Cosby has released a video promoting his Friday night appearance at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. In it, Cosby says, "I will be there to talk to you, make you laugh, make you smile, and hopefully you will talk about it on the way home." Cosby is facing dozens of sexual assault allegations, and has canceled a number of appearances, but he has not been charged with any crime.
