By PAMELA WOOD | In a ceremonial room at the historic State House on International Transgender Day of Visibility, Lee Blinder stepped to a lectern and did something rare: They called out Gov. Wes Moore for failing to back up his words with action.

Over the course of five minutes, Blinder laid out how the Democratic governor has let down transgender Marylanders by not putting money in the budget and not backing needed policy changes.

“We know who you, Gov. Moore, can be for us. And I am begging you to do it,” Blinder said.

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By MEREDITH COHN | At least two dozen research grants at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University have been terminated by the federal government in recent weeks amid President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity efforts.

Alex Likowski, a spokesman for the University of Maryland, Baltimore, said on Tuesday that the combined value of its 12 canceled contracts was $5.87 million this year, with an anticipated future funding loss of $11.6 million.

“In nearly every instance, the reason cited for cancellation is that the grant involves gender identity issues or promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Likowski.

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Patrick Wojahn, the former mayor of College Park who resigned after law enforcement executed a search and seizure warrant and discovered a “very large quantity” of child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, has agreed to be disbarred in Maryland.

Wojahn, 49, a Democrat who served as mayor from 2015 to 2023, later pleaded guilty in Prince George’s County Circuit Court to 140 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison — plus five years of probation.

In an order on Friday, Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader granted a joint petition for disbarment by consent and noted that Wojahn agreed that his actions constituted professional misconduct.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.