A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From the Baltimore Sun: Maryland Faces Days of Work to Dig out from Massive Snowstorm
"The cleanup will be monumental, too.
"Officials throughout Maryland marshaled plows, dump trucks, even Humvees to begin hauling out the weekend's snowfall, a labor that's expected to last days, and is likely to test the patience of snowed-in families.
"Some secondary routes remained covered in snow and ice. Officials warned driving conditions during the Monday morning commute would be dangerous after Sunday night's re-freeze.
"Preliminary measures rank the snowstorm as the largest ever to hit Baltimore. Officials recorded 29.2 inches at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
"Enough snow covered Maryland highways, State Highway Administration officials calculated, to fill 35-foot dump trucks lined up nearly twice around the world."
From the Baltimore Sun: postponements and cancellations in Baltimore City
From the AFRO American: Commission Rules on Baltimore’s Confederate Monuments
"One of the members of the Special Commission to Review Baltimore’s Public Confederate Monuments spoke to The AFRO about the group’s decision to remove two such fixtures.
"The commission on Jan. 14 voted in favor of removing two of the monuments: the Rodger B. Taney Monument in Mount Vernon and the Robert E. Lee and Thomas J “Stonewall” Jackson Monument in Wyman Park. The group recommended that two other monuments—the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument and the Confederate Women’s Monument—remain in place with the addition of some educational signage.
"Commission member Larry Gibson said that the group wanted the monument honoring Rodger B. Taney, the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, gone due primarily to his decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
“'Taney is most famous for his decision in the Dred Scott case, which advanced slavery in America and is tied to the Confederate cause,' the commission wrote on its website. 'What he said was that Black people aren’t really fully human beings,' Gibson said. 'He deserves a place in infamy.'
"Gibson said the remaining statues could be of value to the city less as an honor to the Southern cause in the Civil War, but as teaching tools. He said that many of the statues seen in Baltimore and throughout the southern states were products of the 'Lost Cause' movement, which took place in the early part of the 20th century—well after the Civil War. During this time, southern sympathizers looked to recast the Civil War as a conflict not about slavery or racism but one fought for Southern culture and values."
From the AFRO American: Md. Lawmakers Complete First Step to Expand Ex-Felon Access to Voting
"Ex-felons in Maryland are one step closer to gaining expanded access to the ballot box after the state’s House of Delegates voted on Jan. 20 to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto on legislation that would restore voting privileges to ex-offenders immediately upon their release from prison, even if they are still subject to parole or probation.
"Voting rights activists hailed the lawmakers for their action and urged the Maryland Senate to follow suit. The chamber is slated to take a similar vote on Feb. 5.
“'Today, the voting rights of an estimated 40,000 individuals are at stake,' Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement. 'The Lawyers’ Committee looks forward to a Maryland Senate vote that recognizes the importance of breaking down barriers to the ballot and increasing participation in our democracy. We look to Maryland’s elected representatives to fight for those citizens who are ready to re-engage in their society.'
"According to the Maryland Manual, a three-fifths vote of the elected membership of both chambers is necessary to override a veto. The House voted 85-56 to overturn Hogan’s veto on the voting measure."