It’s time for Disney parks to swap pumpkins for poinsettias. In the thick of its busiest season, Disney’s domestic theme parks have already begun to transition from Halloween decorations to Christmas colors. The transformation starts to take shape practically overnight, with warm autumn banners traded out for festive green garlands. The full metamorphosis takes about six weeks.

More than one-third of Maryland’s 4.2 million registered have already cast their ballots in advance of the Nov. 5 election, with nearly 1 million cast in early voting that ended Thursday and another 568,359 mail-in ballots returned so far. Those numbers do not include more than 300,000 mail-in ballots that were requested by voters but have not yet been returned, according to the most recent data from the Maryland State Board of Elections.

 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources issued a statewide ban on open-air burning Friday. Open-air burning – such as campfires and charcoal grilling – are not permitted under the burn ban, but state law does permit the use of propane grills. The ban comes amid a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service, which cited dry conditions, low humidity and strong winds making conditions favorable for the rapid spread of fires.

 

While many farmers across Delmarva have the resources to weather the drought, some small farmers aren’t as fortunate. Floyd Pugh of C.P. Farm in Westover, Md., says he does not have a working irrigation system, which is why a fourth of his planted seeds did not germinate. “We got a well drilled in,” says Pugh. “The well was pretty expensive to put in here, but the electric company wants $10,000 to run electric from the highway back to our well, and that’s a little too far out for me to reach.”

 

Right now, without getting up from your chair or leaving your house, you can search and review court records related to the 2020 Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Minnesota courts provide online access to a plethora of documents such as complaints, arrest warrants and jury verdicts. But in Maryland, it’s a different story.

 

Maryland has paid $5.4 million to the Internal Revenue Service after a rare IRS audit of the state found it owed millions of dollars in taxes in 2020. Rachel Sessa, deputy comptroller for law and oversight, said during a meeting of the state Board of Public Works Wednesday the IRS audit of tax year 2020 found the stated owed over $16 million, but “staff within the Office of the Comptroller and other state agencies worked tirelessly to provide and obtain documentation to the IRS to significantly reduce the amount the state owes.”

If you’ve tuned into any coverage of the election this year, you’ve probably heard references to something called Project 2025. It’s become a bit of a shorthand for a larger proposed presidential transition plan for the next Republican president. Many of the plans for the next “conservative administration” that have been talked about come from a 900-plus-page book titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.”

There is only one day left until election day. In this week’s episode, Damian, Candace, Don give their final predictions for tomorrow. Also, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman returns to give his prediction, as well as talk about what the party is doing in the final days.

A Maryland law passed earlier this year requires the Maryland Center for School Safety to study the effectiveness and the mental health impacts of active shooter drills and trainings on students and staff. Kim Buckheit, director of strategic initiatives at the Maryland Center for School Safety, explained that simulated sounds of gunfire or explosions, banging on classroom doors and having individuals posing as assailants or victims are banned under the guidelines for drills carried out during the school day: “All of those types of simulations are not allowed in Maryland.”

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy hosted the free Pharmapreneurship Summit Oct. 8, bringing together thought leaders to engage with the university community, to propose bold and innovative ideas to address challenges and opportunities for the pharmacy world and to celebrate its successes.