Maryland
Pride flag ripped down at Bethesda church
Police haven’t determined if incident was hate crime
An unidentified suspect was captured on a video security camera on Nov. 7 tearing up and pulling down part of a two-story tall LGBTQ Pride banner from the outside wall of Bethesda United Methodist Church in Bethesda, Md., according to Montgomery County police.
WTOP News and the online news site MOCO 360 report that one of the church’s ministers, Dennis Williams, was the first to discover the damaged Pride banner as he was leaving the church on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
“I’m a member of the LGBTQIA+ community,” MOCO 360 quoted Williams as saying. “It was gut wrenching,” he told the news site. “It made me emotional, because we belong to a church that is so welcoming and has embraced us as a family so well. It was really sad to see.”
WTOP reports that police said a preliminary investigation found that on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at around 9:35 p.m. an unidentified suspect walked to the church’s property, damaged the flag, and left the scene.
Williams told WTOP the video shows a person in a white hoodie initially trying to pull the banner down before using something to cut it. WTOP reports police have not yet determined whether the incident was a hate crime.
MOCO 360 reports the suspect’s features are not distinguishable on the video recording. It reports the incident took place about an hour after the last parishioner left the church following an event.
Williams told WTOP the church will be putting up a new Pride banner to replace the damaged one. He told MOCO 360 the church put up the Pride banner in June in recognition of Pride Month.
“It is important for our church to put [the banner] up so the LGBTQ+ community knows we’re a supportive church,” he told the online news site.
The church is located at 8300 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda.
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire from Congress
Md. congressman served for years in party leadership
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISA MASCARO | Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term.
Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, is set to deliver a House floor speech about his decision, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“Tune in,” Hoyer said on social media. He confirmed his retirement plans in an interview with the Washington Post.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Joseline Peña-Melnyk elected Md. House speaker
Family immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic
By PAMELA WOOD | Moments after being elected speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Tuesday, state Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk stood before the chamber and contemplated her unlikely journey to that moment.
Born in the Dominican Republic, the Peña family lived in a small wooden house with a leaky tin roof and no indoor plumbing. Some days, she said, there was no food to eat.
When she was 8 years old, the family immigrated to New York City, where Peña-Melnyk was dubbed “abogadito” or “little lawyer” for helping her mother and others by translating at social services offices.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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