For many students in Montgomery County public schools, the bathrooms remain a no-go zone due to drug use and fighting. That’s according to testimony at the most recent Board of Education meeting on April 11. During the public comment segment of the meeting, David Gebler, an English teacher at Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, told board members that often, “the halls reek of marijuana.”

Tasha Gresham-James steers her black Nissan Rogue through Dundalk’s rush-hour traffic. Even with the windows closed, the pungent odor of diesel fuel is hard to miss, as are the single-family houses that sit cheek by jowl with truck parking lots, bars, manufacturing and transit facilities — even a driver training school. On and on, through main roads like Holabird and Dundalk avenues, and alleyways not much wider than driveways, trucks lumber through residential neighborhoods.

Abigail Diehl knew how crucial Wednesday night was to her long-shot campaign for Congress. Born and raised in Severna Park, she works in cannabis and owns popular produce stands that sprang from the one her dad opened 53 years ago. She talks about her ideas with anyone who will listen. Plenty of people recognize her in return — one person even sent Diehl a photo of them together in the second grade.

The members of the Maryland Delaware DC Press Association (MDDC) are deeply concerned about the potential consequences of HB1258 on local journalism. This bill, which is on the Governor’s desk now, would upend the longstanding practice of publishing public notices in local newspapers and their associated websites, threatening the vitality of Maryland’s communities and the essential role of the press in fostering civic engagement and accountability.

After months of a nationwide search and interviews, the Columbia Association has selected a new leader. Shawn MacInnes will start as the organization’s new president and CEO on June 17, according to a news release. The Columbia Association, a massive homeowners group that in many ways functions like a city government, has been without a full-time president and CEO since Lakey Boyd’s abrupt departure 15 months ago.

 

Youth advocates held a rally Thursday night calling on Gov. Wes Moore to veto House Bill 814, otherwise known as the Juvenile Reform Act. The Maryland Youth Justice Coalition, which works to try and stop children from being involved in the legal system, spearheaded the rally. “It expands jurisdiction for our youngest kids, 10 to 12-year-olds.

President Joe Biden’s top economic advisor said Thursday the White House will “make sure gas prices remain affordable” when asked whether the administration would consider tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “There are of course things that have been done in the past and we’ll continue to very closely monitor, make sure that gas prices remain affordable for so many American families going into the summer driving season,” National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said at Semafor’s World Economy Summit.

Child advocacy services are expanding into southern Worcester County. The Cricket Center provides counseling as well as medical and legal help to child and teen victims of violent crimes and other traumatic experiences. Before Monday, youth in need in places like Pocomoke City, Stocton, Girdletree, and Snow Hill had to make the trek up U.S. Route 113 to the Cricket Center’s Berlin, Md. facility for help, which may have discouraged some from getting the help they needed.

 

Garrett County commissioners appointed two new members to an advisory board they cut ties with two days later. At a commissioner meeting Tuesday, Chairman Paul Edwards said county officials convened the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board at the state’s direction after plans for the Swallow Falls bridge replacement project were presented last year.

Baltimore City is accepting applications from people interested in bringing vacant homes back to life. The city’s Buy Into Bmore Fixed Pricing Program offers city-owned vacant houses for as cheap as $1. Officials held a webinar information session on Thursday. Felicia Taylor was one of more than 150 people who logged on. “Just to see all the buildings and things that are unoccupied or uninhabitable and are just sitting there, it hurts to know that people could be living in those,” she said.