BIRD QUARANTINE: The Maryland Secretary of Agriculture has extended emergency orders to prevent high-path avian influenza from infecting Maryland poultry flocks. The quarantine order went into effect July 1 and will remain so until at least Dec. 31, Michel Elben reports in the Carroll County Times.”This highly virulent strain of avian influenza could be an economic disaster for our largest agricultural sector if we don’t take steps to protect the birds,” said Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder in a news release.
TEEN SERVICES FUNDING DELAY QUESTIONED: The leaders of the General Assembly’s two budget committees are asking for an explanation why Gov. Larry Hogan has delayed $600,000 earmarked for services to at-risk teens. The letter to the Hogan administration from Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, of the Budget and Taxation Committee, and Del. Maggie McIntosh, of the House Appropriations Committee, comes after The Daily Record reported that funding expected on July 1 for eight Youth Services Bureaus was delayed and is unlikely to be released, Bryan Sears of the Daily Record reports.
