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A former state senator resigned from the University of Maryland Medical System's board after it came to light that his insurance company benefited from contracts with the Baltimore-based health system, according to The Washington Post. Francis X. Kelly Jr. said in a June 14 resignation letter to the board's chairman that it "has been a tremendous honor for me to have served on the UMMS Board for nearly 35 years, under six different Governors. I have decided it is time to move on, and allow someone else the fantastic opportunity of serving." In the letter, Mr. Kelly said his two...

Four top executives at the University of Maryland Medical System have resigned amid investigations into accusations of self-dealing among the hospital network’s board members, the system announced Thursday. Those resigning are Megan Arthur, the system’s primary lawyer; Jerry Wollman, the chief administrative officer; Christine Bachrach, the system’s chief compliance officer; and Keith Persinger, the chief performance improvement officer. **SNIP** The resignations come as Nygren Consulting of Santa Barbara, Calif., works to finish its examination of deals worth millions of dollars that led UMMS CEO Robert Chrencik and Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign from their jobs. The consulting firm was...

Baltimore is about to be lit! Recently, the annual AFRAM Festival announced their lineup, which boasts headliners Rick Ross, Teddy Riley, and Dru Hill. The city has recently been going through some political tension since the mayor stepped down from office, so it seems the live music might help. The mayor’s office’s senior director of public affairs Tonya Miller-Hall states the scandal surrounding former Mayor Catherine Pugh will not threaten this year’s festival, slated to take place on August 10 and 11 at Druid Hill Park. “The festival is a huge deal to the city, it’s 20-plus years old and...

(CNN) — On Thursday, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigned just a few weeks after news broke of a no-bid book deal -- via a state agency -- for a book she had self-published. Pugh, in the wake of the initial reporting by the Baltimore Sun, had largely disappeared from public view and her resignation was more a matter of when, not if. **SNIP** I heard a lot of people expressing impatience and wondering whether Pugh was really the best we could do for mayor. Still, in January and February, with a new police commissioner in place, and close to $1...

Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh resigned Thursday, apologizing for the harm she has caused to the city’s image and the mayor’s office amid a growing scandal over her sales of a self-published children’s book series. Pugh submitted a letter of resignation dated Thursday. Her resignation is effective immediately, attorney Steven Silverman said at a news conference. She did not attend, and Silverman took no questions.

Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis drafted a resignation letter for Mayor Catherine Pugh and gave it Wednesday to her attorney, as city residents await her decision about whether to step down in the face of federal and state investigations. Her lawyer, Steven Silverman, is expected to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon at his downtown office. In a quick, curbside exchange outside City Hall, Davis gave a manila folder to Silverman about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. Slightly more than an hour later, Silverman arrived at the Democratic mayor’s house in the city’s Ashburton neighborhood.

**SNIP** "I imagine she is under tremendous strain which has only exacerbated her health problems. We have to take Mr. Silverman at his word, as he is an officer of the court," Carter said. But "at the very least, he should produce a statement from a doctor as to her actual medical diagnosis, mental and physical." **SNIP** "I'm assuming she's not mentally incapacitated and she's still fit to answer legal questions and stand trial if it comes to that," Bullock said in a phone interview. **SNIP** But Council member Ryan Dorsey disclosed that it's been "widely murmured" in City Hall...

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh’s attorney Steve Silverman said the mayor’s decision on her future will be made known at a press conference at his office Thursday afternoon. A prayer vigil is planned for later Wednesday evening for Mayor Catherine Pugh, who has been on leave for the last month.

BALTIMORE -- Juan Grant, who led protests across Baltimore demanding answers after the arrest and in-custody death of his best friend Freddie Gray in 2015, was shot dead on Saturday while driving to his grandmother's house in west Baltimore. The 33-year-old's murder came on the fourth anniversary of Gray's funeral and the citywide riots that highlighted the frustration and distrust with the police department and the deep divide that exists to this day in Maryland's largest city. A day after Grant's death, another gunman in the city's western district fired into a crowd of people enjoying an afternoon cookout, killing...

By the end of January, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh had amassed nearly $1 million in her bid to be elected to a second term - and there was no candidate yet running against her. **SNIP** Pugh’s campaign manager, Steven Sibel, said the campaign committee “is reviewing the options provided under the law regarding campaign contributions, and it will be making a determination in the near future as to whether and how funds may be distributed.” By Monday afternoon, the campaign had disabled the “donate” button on her website. Later Monday, the site was not functional.

BALTIMORE — The 11 News I-Team is raising new questions about Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's money trail, which helped fuel her campaign victory in 2016. This comes as Pugh remains on leave. **SNIP** A big donation was reported to have come from a man who lived in a second-floor apartment in Fells Point. Campaign records show he wrote a check for $6,000 on March 15, 2016. On Tuesday, the man told the 11 News I-Team by phone that he was a dishwasher for a restaurant in Little Italy, making minimum wage plus tips. When asked if he remembers making a...

**SNIP** Pugh told The Baltimore Sun on March 20 that she had not sold her books beyond those she provided to UMMS, which paid her $500,000 over several years for 100,000 copies. There was a problem with that statement, an official with health insurer Kaiser Permanente warned a top Pugh aide. It was not true. “Team - I got a nervous call from folks at Kaiser,” wrote Karen Stokes, a Pugh adviser and the city’s top lobbyist, in a March 21 email to three other senior administration officials. “...apparently the Mayor has said that she has sold her books to...

BALTIMORE — Two suspended aides to Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh are no longer employed by the city. A spokesman for Ex-Officio Mayor Jack Young said Bruce Williams, chief of staff, and Karen Stokes, who was director of government relations, are no longer with the city.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — New legislation is scheduled to be introduced Monday in the wake of the scandal surrounding Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh. Several members of the Baltimore City Council are looking to change the charter to make it easier to remove a public official and place curbs on the Mayor’s power. **SNIP** As of now, Mayor Pugh has not been criminally charged. Her lawyer said she’s still recovering from bronchitis and pneumonia. He said he will provide “clarity” on her situation Tuesday.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is sick and not “lucid” enough to decide whether to resign over a federal investigation into shady sales of a children’s book she authored, her lawyer said Thursday. The embattled Democrat was at her house during an FBI and IRS raid on the property earlier Thursday and met with a doctor there, said her attorney Steve Silverman. An earlier report from local outlet WJZ quoted sources saying Pugh had skipped town. But her lawyer — whose office was also raided by the feds — said he met with her for an hour at her Ashburton house,...

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to make a decision about whether to resign, but could do so next week, her attorney said Thursday evening. “She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” Steve Silverman, Pugh’s attorney, said. Silverman addressed reporters after emerging from an hour-long meeting with the mayor at her home on Ellamont Road in Ashburton, which was raided by the FBI and the IRS on Thursday. He said she met with her doctor at home Thursday and plans to do...

Representative Elijah Cummings said of Catherine: "I am convinced that Catherine Pugh will bring us together and make sure that every single one of us reaches our God-given destiny. She understands that our diversity is not our problem; it is our promise."

A year after Freddie Gray's death, Baltimoreans are eager for change. From the smallest neighborhood groups to the city's biggest institutions, people are clamoring for ways to address problems we have ignored for too long but which came painfully to the surface during last April's protests and unrest. What they need is a proven leader who can unite the city and channel that energy into a vision for a better Baltimore. That leader is Catherine Pugh. Ms. Pugh grew up in a family of seven kids in Philadelphia. Her parents could provide a love of learning but not the money...

The hits just keep coming for Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh, but the hits might also have trouble finding her. Baltimore’s CBS affiliate WJZ reports that Pugh was on hand when the FBI and IRS conducted a multi-location raid, including at the residence where she is supposedly recuperating from a bout of pneumonia. By the time the raids ended, Pugh might have felt well enough to go on the run: Where is Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh? It’s the question buzzing around the city as the FBI and IRS raid Pugh’s home, City Hall and several other locations tied to her...

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) is in poor health and is not "lucid" enough to make a decision on whether or not to resign amid a scandal over her business dealings, her attorneys said Thursday. Pugh's attorney Steve Silverman made the comment following FBI raids on her homes and offices. “She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” Silverman said, according to The Baltimore Sun.