Frederick County’s Board of Education on Wednesday considered ways the school district can cut costs — such as athletics and extracurriculars, class sizes and transportation — to address a nearly $49 million budget deficit. The board also discussed and debated potential changes to how much charter schools could receive out of the funds they’re eligible for, which could slightly decrease Frederick County Public Schools’ budget.

Baltimore City’s comptroller said water customers in the city and Baltimore County may need to brace themselves for higher water bills in the years ahead. His remarks come after 11 News Investigates revealed Wednesday that the lead pipe replacement program in Washington, D.C., is estimated to cost almost $2 billion, raising questions as the Baltimore area begins its own replacement program.

Republican voters in Maryland head to the polls with an opportunity to choose a candidate to represent the party in what could be one of the most competitive Senate campaigns in recent memory. Despite a field of more than a half-dozen candidates, the Republican primary has lacked the heat of its Democratic counterpart. Even so, the state’s minority party by registration has a puncher’s chance of claiming the seat come November.

Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels is calling on protesters to end their encampment on the campus. The president wrote in a letter that the university will “take additional steps as necessary,” including disciplinary and legal actions. The Hopkins Justice Collective, among other organizations, has taken responsibility for leading the charge in calling on the university administration to divest from Israel as the death toll in Gaza rises, according to the Health Ministry.

Baltimore Water Taxi season is underway, and for people looking for a way to get around the Inner Harbor, there’s a new route and more options. “It’s a good enhancer to anyone’s experience in Baltimore,” said Michael McDaniel, the president and CEO of Baltimore Water Taxi. The company that owns the water taxi also operates the Charm City Circulators Harbor Connector, which is the city’s free maritime public transit option.

BWI Marshall Airport has the lowest parking rates among the D.C. region’s three airports, but those rates are going up this summer. Long-term parking will go from $8 per day to $11 per day after July 1, which is the least expensive parking option at BWI Marshall. It’s the equivalent of economy parking at Dulles International, which is $14 per day, and economy parking at Reagan National, which is $19 per day.

Rockville-based Emergent BioSolutions is eliminating 300 jobs and will not fill 85 current job openings, as part of a broad restructuring that also includes closing manufacturing facilities, including one in the Maryland city. Emergent also reported quarterly revenue of $300 million, almost double revenue in the same quarter a year ago, and a $9 million profit, compared to steep losses in the first quarter of 2023.

A group of Reservoir Hill residents are seeking to halt the construction of a proposed Amtrak tunnel that would curve beneath the historic West Baltimore neighborhood in a new civil rights complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The complaint claims the placement of the $6 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel would harm Black and low-income communities disproportionately and that Amtrak has not done enough to gather community feedback.

Maryland Democrat and U.S. Rep. David Trone has lent more than $54 million to his U.S. Senate primary campaign against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, according to new Federal Election Commission reports. Trone, the co-founder of the Total Wine & More retail chain who represents Frederick County and Western Maryland, has lent his campaign $54.1 million and spent about the same amount, said the report, which covers a period through April 24.

 

The Social Security Administration is responsible for one of the largest and most important challenges involving the federal government: getting Americans their Social Security checks on time and in the correct amounts. One in six Americans receives a Social Security check, so the challenges before SSA are substantial. Fortunately, there is for the first time in years a Senate-confirmed commissioner to lead SSA. Martin O’Malley was confirmed in a bipartisan vote in December 2023. (Photo: Social Security Administration)