New parents in Baltimore could receive a $1,000 “baby bonus” if voters approve a proposal that aims to help reduce childhood poverty from birth with a modest one-time cash payment. A group of Baltimore teachers is behind the effort. Organizers recently secured the necessary 10,000 signatures to bring the question to voters as a ballot initiative in November.

As hundreds of families gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday at a local park here, many sported patriotic outfits full of red, white and blue and expressed their excitement about seeing fireworks. But in interviews with over a dozen Latino attendees, hardly anyone shared that excitement about the presidential election that’s four months away.

A community in Prince George’s County is not content to throw in the towel to climate change. Instead, the Town of Fairmount Heights has converted a little-used public open space into an intentionally designed heat refuge to combat the heat island effect of surrounding urbanized areas. The park, which has no official name, and which most residents call “The Ravine,” used to be best known for occasionally flooding and for the cost of mowing the sun-scorched grass in the summer.

The Maryland pension system earlier this year issued its first report on efforts to protect state public pensions from the risks of climate change. It is also taking initial steps toward establishing an advisory panel of climate risk experts, as contemplated by Maryland’s 2022 Investment Climate Risk law, to ensure that pension investment decisions are informed by the “most current science and data available.”

JPMorgan Chase has made waves as it expands its retail banking presence in Baltimore, but it has also quietly been building up its private banking office. The J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Baltimore has hired six new employees at its Harbor East office this year, bringing the wealth management team’s total headcount to almost 30.

Gov. Wes Moore met on Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss business opportunities between Maryland and Canada. “I jumped at the chance,” Moore said in an interview after the meeting at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. “Whether it’s agriculture, whether it’s high tech and cyber, whether it’s construction work, Canada is a very important partner to the state of Maryland.

Much of Maryland — including Baltimore, Frederick, Columbia, Annapolis, Gaithersburg and Bel Air — is under a heat advisory from the National Weather Service from 12-8 p.m. on Monday. Heat indexes of around 105 degrees are expected around the region, according to the NWS. In Baltimore, temperatures could reach as high as 98 degrees with a heat index around 102, according to the forecast.

A new frozen dessert is soon coming to Taharka Brothers Ice Cream shops. The inspiration? Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. The politician pitched the idea of a vanilla, Berger cookie dough and peanut butter flavor over social media last month in response to a Ben & Jerry’s post that said Moore “got it right” in his pardoning of more than 175,000 people formerly convicted of cannabis-related offenses.

Maryland patients, particularly those living with chronic illnesses, rely on consistent access to treatments to manage symptoms and live healthy lives. Daily management of a chronic or complex condition can already place a significant burden on patients and their families, yet some Maryland health insurance companies are making chronic illness management harder by adopting policies that block access to timely care.

When I spoke to Dana Jones a few weeks ago, the state delegate mentioned with pride that she had been elected to represent her congressional district at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. I thought, OK. Who cares? It’s been decades since the Democrats hadn’t settled on their nominee months ahead of the convention. The gathering is just balloons with speeches and a predetermined outcome.