Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel), right, using protective glasses to look at the partial solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Photo by Danielle J. Brown.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed. Joe Biden became a one-term president and Donald Trump became a two-term president in a resounding victory that, again, left pollsters flat-footed and Democrats shell-shocked.
Violent crime was down, but the cost of eggs was up. A quarter of the way through the 21st century it was somehow still news that a Black woman could win election to the U.S. Senate, much less two Black women, one of whom was elected from Maryland.
The king of Jordan came for a visit and longshoremen briefly walked out. There was a solar eclipse and a ferocious hurricane season that mostly spared Maryland. Former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was sentenced to home detention and accused murderer Adnan Syed was freed after years of doubts about his prosecution.
The carousel of elected officials continued to spin at the local, state and federal levels, with some expected departures and some surprising ones. To no one’s surprise, Maryland voters gave overwhelming approval to a measure adding a reproductive rights amendment to the Maryland Constitution.
Before we move on to 2025, here is a look back at just some of the stories from 2024, as seen through the lenses of cameras wielded by Maryland Matters reporters and a few others. There is no particular rhyme or reason; some are here for news value, some are just here because we liked the photos and hope you do, too.
January
Del. Anne Kaiser and her daughter AJ before the opening of the 2024 Maryland General Assembly session. Photo by Bryan P. Sears. Maryland Budget Secretary Helene Grady and Gov. Wes Moore (D). Photo by Bryan P. Sears. The Maryland State House after a snowstorm Jan. 19 left several inches across various regions of the state. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
February
House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) testifies on a juvenile justice reform bill in a rare appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 8, 2024. Jones is sitting beside Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore), chair of the committee. Photo by William J. Ford. In a similarly rare appearance, Gov. Wes Moore (D) goes over notes ahead of his testimony in support of his affordable housing legislative package on Feb. 20, 2024. Photo by Danielle J. Brown
March
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) criticizes the Senate’s reluctance to act on corporate tax bill — drawing a rebuke on the floor the next day from the Senate president. Photo by Bryan P. Sears. The cargo ship Dali sits in the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which it hit on March 26, 2024, killing six workers who were on the bridge and severing a key route for East Coast truck traffic and about 30,000 motorists a day. The crash also cut off access to the Port of Baltimore for a little more than two months. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images. Gov. Wes Moore (D) speaks during a Capitol Hill news conference about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Also pictured are U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, left, and members of the state’s congressional delegation. Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom.
April
Left to right: Sens. Mary Washington, Benjamin Brooks and Mary Beth Carozza gaze into the sky watching the solar eclipse outside the Maryland State House on April 8, 2024. Photo by William J. Ford. Balloons and confetti litter the Senate chamber floor following the close of the 2024 Maryland General Assembly session. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
May
Congressional candidate, and former U.S. Capitol Police officer, Harry Dunn addresses a house party in Severna Park. Photo by Josh Kurtz. Police were called to the State House in response to a bomb threat on afternoon of May 14, one of several in 2024 that led to the evacuation of the building. Photo by Steve Crane. Former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby with supporter Ben Crump outside the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt after Mosby’s sentencing May 23, 2024. Photo by Bryan Sears.
June
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, left, raising her hand with Vice President Kamala Harris who traveled to Alsobrooks’ jurisdiction June 7, 2024, to officially endorse the county executive for United States Senate. Photo by William J. Ford. Sen. Sara Love (D-Montgomery), center, receives a group hug from her mother, Marcie Love, and son, Kenneth Love-Fabrizio, following a Thursday swearing in ceremony in Annapolis. Photo by Bryan P. Sears. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reproductive rights supporters on June 24, 2024, the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Photo by Danielle J. Brown
July
A standing-room-only crowd filled a room to attend Harford County Board of Education meeting July 15. The majority of people who spoke requested the board to reverse a previous decision to get rid of an Advanced Placement African American studies course for the 2024-25 school year. Photo by William J. Ford. Del. Andre Johnson (D-Harford) calls the meeting of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland to order July 25, the first time the caucus had ever met in Harford County. Photo by William J. Ford. Zach Cole, a member of the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians Inc. performs a smudging ritual following the unveiling of a new highway marker recognizing the last colonial-era reservation for Indigenous people in Maryland. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
August
Gov. Wes Moore (D) called for refining the state’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education plan in a speech to the Maryland Association of Counties in Ocean City. The governor also offered a somber assessment of the state’s fiscal picture to local officials in attendance. Photo by Bryan P. Sears. Gov. Wes Moore (D), in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) enjoy a Chicago-style hot dog Thursday as Illinois first lady Mary Kathryn Muenster looks on. Photo by Josh Kurtz.
September
Gov. Wes Moore (D) and his wife Dawn Moore watch the final moments of the 2024 legislative session from the Senate gallery. Moore got good news in September, when he saw a bump in his job approval numbers in a Sept. 3 poll released by Gonzales Research & Media. Photo by Bryan P. Sears. Maria Del Carmen Castellón, widow of a construction worker who died in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, called for better working conditions for workers on Sept. 17, 2024. Photo By Danielle Brown. Catherine and Isiah Leggett arrive on a golf cart to the building named after them at Montgomery College. A ceremony took place Sept. 19 outside the newly named Catherine and Isiah Leggett Math & Science Building. Photo by William J. Ford. Two Maryland Capitol Police officers stand guard in front of the State House doors in Annapolis before the king of Jordan arrives Sept. 25. Photo by William J. Ford. His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and Gov. Wes Moore sit at a roundtable discussion in the Maryland State House on Sept. 25, 2024. Photo by Danielle J. Brown
October
Longshoremen walk a picket line outside the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore on Oct. 1, 2024, the first day of a brief International Longshoremen’s Association strike against East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The walkout was called off after a few days, but no contract has been reached and a January deadline looms. Photo by Danielle Brown. University of Maryland Medical System President Mohan Suntha, Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Johnny Mautz, Sen. Steve Hershey and Shore Regional Hospital President Ken Kozel take part in a ground-breaking ceremony for a new hospital facility to serve the Mid-shore region on Oct. 21, 2024. Photo by Danielle J. Brown. Voters line up outside the College Park Community Center on Oct. 24, 2024, waiting for the doors to open at 7 a.m. so they can get inside and vote during early voting for the Nov. 5 elections. Photo by William J. Ford. President Joe Biden (D) visited Port of Baltimore to announce federal grants totaling $3 billion for clean energy updates to America’s ports, including the Port of Baltimore, on Oct. 29, 2024. Photo by Danielle J. Brown.
November
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrook gives s thumbs-up next to her daughter, Alex, second from right, and fellow Democratic officials to celebrate her election night victory to win the U.S. Senate seat and defeat former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). Larry Hogan (R) speaks to supporters in Annapolis following a speech in which he conceded the U.S. Senate campaign to his opponent, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D). Photo by Bryan P. Sears. A fan of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) at her Nov. 5 victory celebration. Photo by Josh Kurtz.
December
Maryland’s presidential electors are sworn in on Dec. 7 prior to officially casting the state’s 10 Electoral College votes for Vice President Kamala, the Democratic presidential nominee who won the state but lost the election to Donald Trump. Photo by Bryan P. Sears. State Center in midtown Baltimore, with the Fifth Regiment Armory in the background on Dec. 3, 2024. State Center offices continued to be plagued by Legionella bacteria this fall. Photo by Danielle J. Brown. A holiday season look down Maryland Avenue at the State House dome. On to 2025. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
