The Maryland Department of the Environment held a public hearing Thursday along with the Maryland Transportation Authority regarding demolition work at the site of the Key Bridge collapse. The hearing and public commenting period are part of the MDE review process of an application, submitted by MTDA, to allow the demolition work.

The Montgomery County Council is considering a proposed bill that aims to reduce vehicular noise emissions by installing “noise camera” devices throughout the county. The bill is based on enabling state legislation passed earlier this year by the Maryland General Assembly session that was sponsored by Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Dist. 17), who represents Rockville and Gaithersburg and chairs the Montgomery County House delegation.

Cases of Islamophobia are on the rise in Maryland and nationwide, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Council on American Islamic Relations detailed what can be done about the disturbing trend. “Definitely, it comes in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks,” said Zainab Chaudry, director of CAIR Maryland.

Frederick County residents and business owners intensely criticized representatives for a proposed transmission line project across Maryland during a town hall on Wednesday, alleging they didn’t care about the project’s potential impact on communities. Linganore High School’s auditorium was packed by 6 p.m. on Wednesday for a town hall discussion organized by Frederick County’s District 4 delegation in the Maryland General Assembly on the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP).

Paul Whelan saluted as he emerged from the plane and walked down the steps onto American soil. Next came Evan Gershkovich, smiling and looking slightly disbelieving on the tarmac. Alsu Kurmasheva was last, seized in a tight hug by her two daughters and husband after greeting President Biden and Vice President Harris.

Vice President Kamala Harris ‘ campaign announced Friday that it raised $310 million last month, an eyepopping sum showing that donors who once seemed spooked about the prospects for November’s election with President Joe Biden are now offering mountains of cash to boost his former No. 2. The haul by Harris, the Democratic National Committee and affiliated entities far outpaced Republican former President Donald Trump, whose campaign and assorted committees said they took in $138.7 million for July.

Mayor Brandon Scott had the crowd right where he wanted them. He told a rapt audience in December what so many had waited so long to hear: Baltimore finally had a big plan to address the city’s vacant housing epidemic. To pull it off, the mayor and the city must convince the revenue-strapped state to do something unprecedented: contribute nearly $1 billion over 15 years and give Baltimore control of a portion of the sales tax collected in the city.

Over the past year, the Maryland Department of Commerce has awarded more than 100 small and midsize Maryland companies with ExportMD grants to help promote their products and services in the global marketplace. In Washington County, Cornerstone Genomics and Land Cruiser Heaven have been awarded grants.

A small but vocal band of conservative Republicans in the Maryland House of Delegates are about to gain some firepower — which they hope to use to increase their visibility and influence in upcoming legislative sessions and, perhaps, on the campaign trail. The leaders of the caucus-within-the-House GOP Caucus informally known as the Maryland House Freedom Caucus say their group is about to be officially recognized by the umbrella organization for conservative Republican lawmakers nationwide known as the State Freedom Caucus Network.

High school students in Montgomery County will have a new sport option this fall: pickleball. Montgomery County Public Schools will be adding pickleball as a varsity sport to 25 high schools following a successful pilot program. The program was offered in 11 high schools last fall, and its success led Dr. Jeffrey Sullivan, the director of system wide athletics for MCPS, to expand the program for the upcoming school year.