The Howard County Board of Education adopted a nearly $1.5 billion fiscal year 2025 budget Thursday evening that reduces the number of looming staff cuts and restores popular school programs. The approval comes after weeks of public hearings and work sessions, including one budget deliberation earlier in the week that a board member said was “like a bad dream.”

Mid-Shore officials are rallying behind their fishermen, expressing the opposition to recent rockfish regulations imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Kent County leaders have taken a stand by sending a letter to the state, explaining the detrimental impact these regulations could have on the local economy of the eastern shore.

Every single principal in Worcester County has come to the defense of district leadership. They are hammering home the point that their schools are safe after criticism from law enforcement. The principal at Snow Hill Middle School, Matthew Record, said they have proof that the schools have made progress. Record said the letter points out specific safety measures like vape detectors and protective shield.

Several county leaders called on state lawmakers Wednesday to ignore special interests and campaign donors and pass a proposal that would raise $1.6 billion in new tax revenue. A coalition of more than two dozen groups and progressive lawmakers want to implement combined reporting for corporations doing business in Maryland, which treats a parent corporation and its subsidiaries as one corporation for state income tax purposes.

Maryland lawmakers this session are debating their possible role in funding a high-speed rail project from Washington, D.C. to New York City, with some convinced the answer is clear: the state shouldn’t have any role at all. Those who back the project continue to push for the construction of the Northeast Maglev, a high-speed rail that would run through Maryland on its course through the northeast.

After two terms of rough negotiations with Maryland’s executive branch, unionized state employees flocked to the State House for the first time in nearly a decade Thursday to watch Gov. Wes Moore and Department of Budget and Management Secretary Helene Grady sign their new contract. “Gone are the days when you have state leadership that works in opposition to labor leadership,” Moore, a Democrat, said to a cheering crowd.

A group questioning the validity of state voting systems and election procedures across the country is asking a federal court to rule Maryland’s election board is out of compliance with state and federal elections laws. The lawsuit, filed by Maryland Election Integrity LLC and Missouri-based United Sovereign Americans, is the first of many suits United Sovereign Americans is planning nationwide, according to a spokesperson.

There are job openings at the top of two of Montgomery County’s public safety agencies: the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service and the county Police Department are both looking for new chiefs. Now, on the heels of the withdrawal of his pick for fire chief, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is getting a message from some council members that they want more information on how the search for the next police chief is going.

President Biden delivered a fiery State of the Union address Thursday night, making a forceful case for a second term while attacking former president Donald Trump as a threat to individual rights, freedom and democracy. Biden engaged in repeated exchanges with Republican lawmakers in the House chamber, at times, turning the address into a form of political theater as he seemingly taunted his opponents in an attempt to spotlight policy disagreements on the economy, immigration and abortion.

Hozier set his ticket price at $99 for his May 17 show at Merriweather Post Pavilion, but scalpers have skyrocketed the ticket price to more than $5,000. Tickets for Mitski’s Sept. 1 concert at the Columbia, Maryland venue were set at $125, but scalpers are reselling them for more than $12,000. Scalping is nothing new to the concert industry, but Merriweather is trying to eliminate it with new legislation in Maryland.