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Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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By John Fritze, Oct. 1, 2015, Baltimore Sun
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley said Thursday he would require companies to disclose their political donations and would advocate for other changes to the campaign finance system as his rivals for the nomination reported raising huge sums over the past three months.
The former two-term Maryland governor, who has been lagging in early state polls, said he would direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to require the publicly traded companies they regulate to disclose political spending to shareholders -- echoing an idea proposed by Hillary Clinton last month.
He also vowed to appoint commissioners at the Federal Election Commission to "assertively" enforce existing law.
O'Malley unveiled the ideas as his rivals, Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, pointed to major fundraising efforts in the third quarter. Clinton raised $28 million and Sanders brought in $26 million, according to the Associated Press.
O'Malley did not release figures, but his haul is likely to be significantly lower.
By Kristen Wyatt, Sept. 17, 2015, Baltimore Sun
DENVER (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O'Malley met with Colorado marijuana regulators Thursday and vowed immediate change on marijuana policy if he takes office — even as he laid out contradictory plans about how he'd do that.
The former Maryland governor repeated his pledge to reclassify marijuana under federal drug laws if elected. He sat down with state pot regulators, along with marijuana activists and a few representatives from the industry.
Reclassification could open the door to doctors being able to prescribe marijuana, which currently has no accepted medical use under federal law. Such a change would place the drug under control of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, not the states.
O'Malley said he would take a different approach than President Barack Obama — who has executive authority to reclassify marijuana but has repeatedly said he'd leave the question up to Congress.
By John Fritze, Jun. 21, 2015, Baltimore Sun
Promising to "rebuild the heart of America's cities," former Gov. Martin O'Malley used an appearance at a meeting of the nation's mayors on Sunday to call for a federal ban on assault weapons and stricter regulations on gun purchases.
O'Malley, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, told the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors that the massacre at a black church in South Carolina last week demanded action from Washington.
How many senseless acts of violence do we have to endure as a people before we stand up to the congressional lobbyists of the NRA?- Former Gov. Martin O'Malley
"I heard some elected officials say this week, 'laws can't change this,'" O'Malley told the group in San Francisco.
"Actually, they can," he said. "How many senseless acts of violence do we have to endure as a people before we stand up to the congressional lobbyists of the NRA?"
More: www.baltimoresun.com
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By Luke Broadwater, May 27, 2015, Baltimore Sun
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday she and Police Commissioner Anthony Batts are "examining" whether a sharp decrease in arrests is contributing to May becoming the deadliest month in Baltimore since the 1990s.
Through the first half of May, police made 828 arrests — fewer than half the 1909 made during the same time last year. This month, 36 people have been killed in Baltimore, the highest total for a month since 1999.
Batts has said police are struggling to stop violence in West Baltimore, where officers have been routinely surrounded by dozens of people, video cameras and hostility while performing basic police work since the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who died after suffering a spinal cord injury while in police custody. Six officers are charged criminally in Gray's death. Some police officers have said they feel hesitant on the job under intense public scrutiny.
The mayor said Wednesday "a lot of reasons" are contributing to the crime spike, but she believed Batts would get it under control.
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| Arrest of Freddie Gray |
By Mark Puente and Meredeth Cohn, May 9, 2015, Baltimore Sun
When Baltimore State's Attorney Maryliyn Mosby charged six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, she said they had ignored Gray's pleas for medical care during his arrest and a 45-minute transport van ride.
Records obtained by The Baltimore Sun show that city police often disregard or are oblivious to injuries and illnesses among people they apprehend — in fact, such cases occur by the thousands.
From June 2012 through April 2015, correctional officers at the Baltimore City Detention Center have refused to admit nearly 2,600 detainees who were in police custody, according to state records obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request.
In those records, intake officers in Central Booking noted a wide variety of injuries, including fractured bones, facial trauma and hypertension. Of the detainees denied entry, 123 had visible head injuries, the third most common medical problem cited by jail officials, records show.
The jail records redacted the names of detainees, but a Sun investigation found similar problems among Baltimore residents and others who have made allegations of police brutality.
