Traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge will be temporarily suspended late Monday morning as the Dali — a cargo ship that collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, leading to its collapse — makes its journey to port in Norfolk, Virginia. In a statement, the Maryland Transport Authority (MDTA) said that “out of an abundance of caution,” it would be holding traffic on the Bay Bridge on Monday between 11 a.m. and noon as the marine vessel Dali passes beneath.

With the city’s business hub shifting east to shinier quarters, and with larger trends pummeling metro centers nationwide, Baltimore’s historic downtown today finds itself in limbo. The conversion of commercial space to residential dwellings has turned Baltimore’s historic central business district into the city’s fastest-growing neighborhood, with 11,000 residents.

China said Friday it has banned a number of business units of Bethesda-based aviation manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. and three of its executives over arms deals the company has signed with Taiwan, the self-ruling island it claims as its own territory. The statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said the company’s cooperation with Taiwan had violated the country’s sovereignty, standard terminology in its discussions of any outside dealings that support the island’s government.

“Take it slow, Anne Arundel.” That’s the county’s new slogan as it places speed cameras in school zones for the first time, with more to come. A new Automated Traffic Enforcement Speed Program will begin using portable camera units to monitor and enforce speed limits as a way to increase roadway safety and reduce traffic fatalities and injuries.

 

As a governor-appointed member of the Maryland Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council, many of my colleagues have asked for my thoughts on what will happen next with the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III in the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). As a physician who integrates medical cannabis into my patients’ treatments, I do welcome this change as an important step forward, but the journey is far from over.

City school administrators began seeing teachers submitting 60 course credits — the equivalent of two master’s degrees — from Idaho State University this year to get an increase in pay. To the human resources department, this looked fishy. How could a full-time teacher have enough time in one year to do the course work to earn 60 graduate credits?

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court upended 50 years of abortion law with its Dobbs decision, Maryland has reaffirmed its position as an abortion-friendly state while other states have restricted or banned the procedure outright. Providers in Maryland say they have seen an increase in patients, including an influx from states with restrictive laws.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and 150 others, took a plunge into the Inner Harbor on a steamy Sunday. This historic day marked a new chapter on Baltimore’s iconic water. The Waterfront Partnership worked for more than a decade on making the Harbor swimmable and fishable, which led to the Harbor Splash, where participants jumped from a floating dock.

Maryland transportation officials just got a new partner in improving safety on the roadways, including a stretch of Route 1 in Howard County. Smart Growth America, a national leader in sustainable transportation and Complete Streets efforts, will provide technical assistance to the State Highway Administration as officials design, build and test three temporary safety installations across Maryland this summer.

 

Shaneka Henson wants to be the next state senator from Annapolis. Dana Jones does, too. Ellie Tierney is leaving the City Council early — or maybe she isn’t. The Anne Arundel register of wills resigned after being convicted of misconduct, and her replacement was picked in a virtual secret vote. It is a season of replacements in Annapolis, with political dominoes deeply lined up for a chain-reaction fall. As many as six political vacancies in Annapolis could be filled by early next year.