Judge strikes down new Baltimore city political map
BALTIMORE — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Baltimore County from using its newly drawn map of County Council districts, saying the boundaries would diminish Black voters’ opportunity to elect their chosen candidates.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby ordered the county to adopt a new redistricting map that either includes two “reasonably compact” majority-Black districts or an additional district that meets the requirement of the federal Voting Rights Act and in which Black voters “otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.”
She said the new boundaries must be adopted by the county in two weeks — “on or before March 8.”
The case was filed by attorneys representing the Baltimore County NAACP and other civil rights groups.
With the backing of the ACLU of Maryland, the plaintiffs sued the county in December, saying that the map the County Council had voted unanimously to approve would violate the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race.
That map maintained one majority-Black district out of seven in a county where Black residents make up almost a third of the population.
The county is divided into seven single-member districts, which elect one council member each.
The plaintiffs support the creation of at least one more majority-Black district among the county’s six other districts, which are represented by white council members.
—Baltimore Sun
Madoff’s sister killed husband, then self in Florida, report says
NEW YORK — Bernie Madoff’s sister, Sondra Wiener, allegedly fired the shots in the suspected murder-suicide that left her and her husband dead last week.
Wiener, 87, shot husband Marvin, 90, then died by suicide, BocaNewsNow.com reported.
Police have not confirmed who shot who and a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office did not return a request for comment from the New York Daily News on Tuesday.
An official cause of death is still pending an investigation by the medical examiner’s office.
The Wieners were found dead Thursday at their Valencia Lakes home in Boynton Beach, about 60 miles north of Miami, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue responded to a call about a suicide attempt around 1 p.m., but found two people with gunshot wounds, according to BocaNewsNow.com. A gun was found at the scene.
The couple’s family has already invoked Marsy’s Law, which protects the privacy rights of crime victims and their families.
—New York Daily News
Convoy leader denied bail as Canada officials warn of unrest
OTTAWA — A key organizer of the trucker protest that besieged Canada’s capital city was denied bail Tuesday as police kept a strict checkpoint system in place to prevent demonstrators from retaking the downtown streets.
Tamara Lich, who was the public face of the convoy and helped it crowdfund millions in donations, was rebuffed by an Ontario Superior Court judge who concluded she was evasive during her testimony and was likely to reoffend if released, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and other news outlets. She was arrested last Thursday and remains in detention on a charge of counseling to commit mischief.
Though Ottawa has now been cleared of the semis and other trucks that blockaded the city for three weeks in protest against COVID-related public health measures, dozens of the vehicles used in the protest are still in the area, parked at private farms outside the city. One demonstrator told the Globe and Mail he and others left the city to “regroup,” not to give up.
The emergency powers invoked last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are still in place, having been approved by a majority of elected lawmakers in a vote Monday night. Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have said they still need the emergency powers in case the truckers attempt any more blockades, which not only disrupted daily life in Ottawa for weeks but shocked the Canadian economy and supply chains by bringing important U.S. border crossings to a standstill.
—Bloomberg News
Florida doctor convicted in addiction treatment fraud scheme
MIAMI — A South Florida doctor faces decades in prison after a federal jury found he unlawfully billed $110 million in drug tests that were deemed medically unnecessary for patients at a sober living facility.
In Feb. 10, Mark Agresti was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in addition to 11 counts of health care fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.
Agresti is set to be sentenced April 21, facing up to 20 years in prison for the health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy count, and 10 years for each count of health care fraud, the office said.
This is the second trial conviction that resulted from a Justice Department initiative cracking down on people suspected of exploiting vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug or alcohol addiction.
The fraudulent activity happened from September of 2011 through December of 2015 at the sober home and other addiction treatment facilities in the West Palm Beach area, according to authorities.
—Miami Herald
