Principal James Sargent beamed as he held up a large trophy before a packed classroom of students and staff. The prize recognized Success Academy, a small alternative program in East Baltimore, as the latest winner of Mayor Brandon Scott’s attendance challenge. The quarterly contest seeks to motivate students to be consistently present in school after the coronavirus pandemic severely impacted attendance.

Tuesday is primary day, the final day for Marylanders to vote for their party nominees for statewide and local seats ahead of November’s general election. Maryland voters can head to their assigned polling places to cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Over 2,100 polling places will be open across the state — 181 of which are in Baltimore City.

 

In the closing hours of her primary campaign for U.S. Senate, Prince George’s Executive Angela Alsobrooks rallied with fellow Black women to boost her potentially historic campaign and push her closer to the top of America’s political power structure. Nearly 1 in 3 of Maryland’s over 6 million residents is Black, living in the most diverse state on the East Coast — a typically blue electorate that has elevated Black people to key positions of power, but never to Congress’ upper chamber.

Nia Banks has felt this way before. Two years ago, she supported Wes Moore in his historic run to become Maryland’s first Black governor. Now she feels that same energy with Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive who is seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate. If successful, Alsobrooks would be Maryland’s first Black senator, and the fourth Black woman to serve in the chamber.

While the 2024 session was a bit more understated on new legislative protections for Maryland’s LGBTQ+ population compared to previous years, a nationwide policy tracker reports that the state is creating a more LGBTQ+ friendly state based off recent legislation. The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) follows the ever-changing policy landscape across the United States and how it affects the nation’s LGBTQ+ population.

Scooter companies, start your (electric) engines. The Baltimore City Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for its next dockless vehicle permit. The selected company will pay the city for the right to put electric scooters and e-bikes out for rental on Baltimore streets starting in July. The rentable vehicles have grown in popularity as an easy way to bop between city attractions and even to commute to work for some.

Voters in Maryland’s suburban, deep-blue 3rd Congressional District will head to the polls Tuesday to set the field for November’s general election to replace Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who is retiring. In the Democratic primary, 22 candidates are vying for the seat in a race that has been shaped less by policy differences than name recognition and an influx of millions of dollars in outside spending that escalated in recent weeks.

Last month, Gov. Wes Moore signed into law one of the most ambitious housing bills in Maryland history. It removed regulatory and zoning hurdles for desperately needed affordable housing across the state. Around the same time, the Baltimore County Council filed legislation to stop the construction of new units under the auspices of expanding the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, otherwise known as “APFO.”

St. John’s College, a liberal arts college in Annapolis, is one of 13 colleges in the U.S. to receive $3.275 million in funding from the Endeavor Foundation to address the pressing needs of college students’ mental health and well-being. The grant money, divided among the 13 colleges, is the first phase of the Endeavor Foundation’s “Enhancing Student Learning and Experience through Campus Wellness, Student Well-Being and Mental Health Initiatives,” a multiyear collaborative that focuses on developing shared pilot projects among smaller liberal arts colleges.

A Texas private equity firm completed its $350 million acquisition of one of Baltimore’s largest cybersecurity companies Monday, taking one of the region’s few public companies off the stock market. ZeroFox Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ZFOX) was officially acquired by Austin, Texas-based Haveli Investments Monday morning, ending a process that began in February.