The start of school is just around the corner and that means Maryland tax-free week is almost upon us. The state will waive its usual 6% sale tax on certain clothing items and shoes between Aug. 11-17 to boost back-to-school shopping. The annual event, which usually occurs during the second week of August, resulted from legislation the Maryland General Assembly passed in 2007. As prices continue to rise nationwide, Comptroller Brooke Lierman said she hopes the tax-free week will help consumers who feel like they’re paying more for less.

 

The US, UK and France are among several countries urging their citizens to leave Lebanon as heightened tensions in the region spark fears of a widening Middle East conflict. The US Embassy in Lebanon called on citizens to book “any ticket available to them.” Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his message for British citizens was “leave now.”

Two rallies. Two Americas. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump stood in the same arena four days apart, each looking over capacity crowds like concert stars or prizefighters. The competing events were staged three months before Election Day in the state that produced the closest margin of the 2020 race for the White House.

Fining unhoused individuals for sleeping in public spaces exposes a critical flaw in the U.S.’ approach to its most vulnerable. The recent Johnson v. Grants Pass ruling underscores the harsh reality faced by those without shelter, penalized for sleeping in public areas with no viable alternatives. This brings to light urgent questions about the broader impact of criminalizing homelessness—how will it affect housing shortages and shape state and national policies?

Last year, Ocean City rolled out a new slogan, “Somewhere to Smile About” with a smiley face logo incorporating its OC initials. It was perfectly fine for the mass market crowd, we imagine, especially those who love laying on the beach and perhaps a handful of Thrasher’s fries once in a while. But if you really want to capture the excitement of Maryland’s Atlantic Ocean resort, here’s the one that best applies this week: “The White Marlin Capital of the World.”

In medical training, we learn strategies to deliver bad news. One strategy is called “the warning shot”: words you say to signal to patients and family members that you are about to share tragic news, to give them a moment to mentally prepare and brace themselves to hear that news. In our pediatric primary care clinic, an email subject title “Sad News” has become that too-frequent warning shot informing us that one of our patients has died.

Welcome to episode 1 of Center Maryland’s The Trail podcast series leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election. Each week our hosts (Damian O’Doherty, Candace Dodson-Reed, & Don Mohler) will discuss topics about the campaign and beyond. In this week’s episode, the gang talks about the events leading up to Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, who the Vice President will pick as her running mate, and more.

A new league featuring a team from Baltimore is trying to take the very American sport of football to an international audience. The upstart International Football Alliance announced Friday that it will add a Baltimore team when the league’s inaugural season kicks off next summer. The team, known as the Baltimore Lightning, will make the jump up to the semi-professional ranks after playing in developmental leagues for the past three seasons.

In the months after the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, state and federal officials maintained a website that posted regular updates of the response to the catastrophe. Now, state officials are directing the public to a new site: Key Bridge Rebuild. “It’s a great website for everybody. We talk and we have information there for communities. We have information for industry.

Nearly 6,000 Maryland higher education employees will see increased salaries and enhanced benefits after a “historic” statewide union contract was approved Friday. The three-year agreement will cover about 95% of unionized employees at nine universities across the state, according to officials with Maryland Council 3 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.