At the end of a week bookended by threats and acts of gun violence, Senate President Bill Ferguson said Maryland and a the country has a “massive, massive problem” with guns.

A Baltimore City Council committee created to examine Mayor Brandon Scott’s new conduit deal with Baltimore Gas and Electric slammed the proposal at their first fiery hearing Thursday night, where City Council President Nick Mosby questioned the administration’s rush to proceed with the agreement.

Under the terms, Baltimore would stop directly charging BGE access fees in exchange for paying for $134 million in system improvements during a four-year period between 2023 and 2027. The company would also pay an annual occupancy fee of $1.5 million.

Baltimore and Maryland’s newest slate of top elected officials gathered Friday for the first time as a group to discuss their approach to fighting crime before an audience of students at Morgan State University.

A draft proposal written by BGE calls for the city to stop charging the company franchise fees in exchange for paying as much as $124 million in system improvements during a four-year period between 2023 and 2027.

Legislative services, the department responsible for writing the bills, confirmed receiving more than 700 requests in the last two days before the deadline — a new record.

Leach is best known to Baltimoreans as one of the chief architects of Scott’s squeegee collaborative plan, which has banned squeegee youth from interacting with motorists at six of the city’s busiest intersections. She also developed the city’s guaranteed income pilot, which gives 200 young parents $1,000 monthly cash payments.

“I just have to say it: If the county owns an alley, are we responsible to repair the alley if we deem it needs to be repaired?” Baltimore County Council chair Julian Jones asked before emphasizing: “We own the alley.”

The public critique from the mayor’s demonstrated allies is the latest chapter in a debate ignited last week about what role the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts should serve.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill said he wanted to hear arguments about the appeal itself at Tuesday’s hearing, but decided give city Board of Ethics attorneys more time to respond to a Dec. 27 filing by Mosby’s attorney, Robert Dashiell.

Citing the ongoing tension with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Scott said the appointment of Tonya Miller Hall will provide a bridge back to stability between City Hall and city arts.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the city will see a parade on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But staging a last-minute parade is no easy feat.

The bill follows a shooting last week at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center that left one Edmondson-Westside High School student dead.

Jason Mitchell cited family matters for leaving, but has faced intense criticism for matters such as recycling from some City Council members during his tenure.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has demanded the board of the public-private organization secure Drew Sawyer’s resignation by Jan. 15

City Council President Nick Mosby has selected attorney Robert Dashiell to represent him in his appeal of a ruling by Baltimore City’s ethics board, according to recent court filings.

In a "clarifying statement" released Friday afternoon, BOPA aid it did not have the authority to make "unilateral" decisions about canceling mayoral events.

Mayor Brandon Scott outlined an array of targeted policy reforms as well as several funding requests for addressing vacancy, supporting the Baltimore Police Department and bolstering public safety.

The announcement was hardly surprising to Baltimore’s political class — the 37-year-old was widely viewed to be considering a run for citywide office. His campaign has $240,882.56 on hand, according to the most recent campaign finance records filed in late November.

Mayor Brandon Scott is expected to lay out his goals and priorities for the legislative session Thursday afternoon, and Baltimore’s top lobbyist said City Hall will focus on painting the Moore administration an “overall picture of what Baltimore’s holistic need is.”