The recent loss of Maryland’s decades-long and prized AAA Moody’s credit rating could have a lasting ripple effect on future local government budgets. Here’s why.

Maryland has lost its triple-A bond rating from Moody’s. Maryland has held this top rating since 1973, and state officials have long cited it as a sign of state’s strong fiscal stewardship.

Maryland long coveted the highest bond rating over decades. Not anymore. One of three credit rating agencies, Moody's Ratings, on Wednesday downgraded