It’s hard to imagine any political story, all the way from the fed level to the local government level,  that hasn’t been discombobulated by the announcements and events of Sunday. It's The Big Story, no mistake. As you’ll see, repercussions of that day are ricocheting in all states, cities and towns. Still, local legislative bodies and governments keep on plowing through their do-lists (or ignoring them), meaning lots of little stories,  and life goes on. Let’s have a look.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Maryland Pols Respond to The Big Story: Maryland Democrats, many of whom have stood on the sidelines as the debate raged for weeks over whether Biden should stay or go, praised the president's decision and called for party unity in the now-jumbled nomination process.

Gov. Wes Moore (D), who has been one of the strongest defenders of Biden in recent weeks, issued a statement praising the president as "a stalwart ally and tireless friend to the state." Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) called Biden "a friend, and ... a passionate public servant throughout his lifetime, putting the needs of this nation first time and again," before ticking off a list of Biden's accomplishments in office.  Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) called Biden's decision "a testament to his character and love of country." No leading Maryland Democrats had officially called for Biden to drop out before this weekend, and some had been among the president’s staunchest defenders, with Moore the most prominent. States Newsroom and Maryland Matters

EPA To Investigate Civil-Rights Complaint Over Baltimore’s Trash Incineration

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to investigate a civil rights complaint against Baltimore alleging that Black and Hispanic communities in the southern part of the city suffer disproportionate health impacts from a waste-to-energy plant that incinerates trash. Bay Journal

Clean Energy Projects Are Stuck in A Years-Long Queue. Maryland And Neighboring States Are Pushing for A Fix

The Moore administration supports a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order intended to help states achieve clean energy targets. The region’s grid operator [PJM] wants FERC to reconsider. Inside Climate News

Angry Patients Spur New State Watchdogs To Bring Down Drug Prices; Maryland Was First in line

Consumers have seen little savings yet as new boards struggle to get rolling. Maryland was the first state to create a prescription drug affordability board, in 2019. Democratic state legislators pushed for the law, which created a five-member commission appointed by the governor and other state leaders. The board has had a slow start due to funding setbacks [Gov. Larry Hogan declined to fund the bill after it was passed over his veto] and the administrative work it took to get a new agency up and running. But now, after several months spent researching more than 1,200 drugs, the board has narrowed its focus to six drugs that it’s currently putting through a cost review.

“It’s a chance for the board to do a deep dive on specific drugs and get the data they need to understand if [the drugs] are causing affordability problems,” York said. Four are diabetes drugs: Ozempic, Trulicity, Farxiga and Jardiance. The other two are Dupixent, used to treat asthma, and Skyrizi, which treats psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

Over the past five years, 11 mostly Democratic-led states have created prescription drug affordability boards, and the model is picking up steam nationwide. Just this year, lawmakers in 14 more states proposed legislation to assemble their own boards. Excerpted from Stateline Daily

THE OTHER 49

Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements have brought high costs, low enrollment

The state’s experience so far stands in stark contrast with that of North Carolina, where half a million people have signed up for Medicaid coverage in the first seven months of its expansion. Stateline Daily

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $4.3 billion in grants to fund projects in 30 states to reduce climate pollution. The money, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, will fund major projects in Pennsylvania, California, Nebraska, Michigan, New England and the Acela Corridor. (Associated Press) via Pluribus [The Acela Corridor: that’s us! Looks like a good way to get around the SCOTUS ruling that states can’t sue their neighbors for pollution that blows over the state line.

More on Rental price-fixing via algorithms

States are increasingly scrutinizing alleged price-fixing in rental housing. "The big issue has been that there's suspected alleged collusion amongst some of the big rental corporate companies," said Stateline housing reporter Robbie Sequeira. "And it's really the software that they're using." According to a ProPublica investigation, the algorithms collect lease transaction data from across the country on actual rents paid, versus advertised rates, using it to churn out daily price estimates for vacant units. The results, which are then fed to corporate owners, could offer suggested rent increases that often are far higher than what landlords might try on their own. Sequeira said "This seems to be the first time that not just federal but state governments are paying attention to this." Find out more here.

THIS WEEK’S “OFF THE WALL”: A series of thefts of shoes, flip flops and Crocs in Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have been solved after park rangers identified the culprits: Foxes. “[T]here are multiple thieves, and they have four legs and are adorable,” rangers wrote on the park’s Facebook page. (Detroit Free Press) via Pluribus

FEDS AND THE BIG STORY

Megan E from People’s Action reports the Big Story: Yesterday, President Biden announced the difficult decision not to run for President a second time and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. People’s Action’s press statement applauding President Biden’s record is available here. There are two paths forward. Harris will either consolidate Democratic party support or there will be some kind of competitive process before the Democratic National convention on August 19th…. It appears unlikely that someone will challenge Harris from the left. …As for what Tip O’Neill was fond of calling “the mother’s milk of politics,” Harris has access to the large bankroll of the Democratic National Committee, not to mention the record-breaking one-day donation haul ($50 million plus) that started flowing in as soon as Biden’s announcement hit X (former Twitter). And then, as Semafor reported, “Wall Street’s Democrats are lining up behind Vice President Harris “with a mixture of relief and genuine enthusiasm for a politician many of them supported in 2020,” Several donors said Sunday they were prepared to break out checkbooks after pausing donations following President Biden’s halting June 27 debate performance.

Megan E remarks “I thought I would be writing about the coverage of the GOP convention today but there is no time for that as so much has happened in the last two weeks! I have a lot to say about JD Vance but I’ll just leave you with one thing. Vance’s entire plan for our housing crisis is to deport all of our community members who don’t have immigration status to free up housing. Check out our press release.”

Last week, President Biden proposed that Congress introduce and pass a 5% rent cap tied to federal tax credits, called on state and local governments to invest in public housing and announced executive actions repurposing federal land for affordable housing unit construction and funding to rehabilitate distressed housing. People’s Action’s Homes Guarantee campaign has pushed the Biden administration to support rent regulation and investments in public housing. Support for rent regulation and public housing has not been a mainstream Democratic position so the President’s position is likely to grow support for both items across the party.

Punchbowl News: “The most optimistic take here is that Democrats can now refocus the debate back on Trump and his fitness to return to the Oval Office rather than fielding constant questions about their internal disarray.