As momentous as Monday evening’s 14-1 vote by the Baltimore City Council to approve a trio of bills authorizing the redevelopment of Harborplace was, the most important vote is still yet to come. Too often lost in the weeks of debate over the redevelopment plan proposed by P. David Bramble and his MCB Real Estate company is that the project requires a charter amendment, which will be put before city voters on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. In other words, the last word remains with the residents of Baltimore.

There is not enough affordable housing for low-income older adults in our state. Given that those 60 and older represent the fastest growing segment of Maryland’s population, more needs to be done to ensure no older adult is left behind. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 22% of Maryland’s population will be 60 and older by the year 2030.

Somehow, someone, through wire fraud, stole more than $280,000 from the city of Frederick. That’s about all we know for certain. The administration of Mayor Michael O’Connor has been mum about the crime, allowing speculation to fill in the gaps. The city said last month that it was the victim of wire fraud in connection with the $24.5 million renovation of the former Gov. William Donald Schaefer Building at 100 E. All Saints St. downtown to create a new police headquarters.

Three years ago, the grocery store chain Lidl tore down a beloved neighborhood market on Belair Road in Hamilton to open one of its locations, promising to serve surrounding communities with “high quality groceries and low prices.” It has been sitting empty for well over a year. The closing has upset residents who have many questions about what’s going on. It turns out a supply chain issue with the refrigeration system caused the delays to the opening Lidl’s 5950 Belair Road location, according to an email from Councilwoman Danielle McCray provided to The Banner by a resident.

He’s flown boxes of aid into Gaza, funded struggling restaurants at the height of the pandemic, and in yet another bid to feed the hungry, chef José Andrés has put his face behind what he calls “the future of farming.” On Wednesday, the culinary celebrity toured Bowery Farming, the largest vertical farming company in the country, to congratulate the business as it celebrates four years in Nottingham. The Maryland farming operation is the corporation’s second-largest venture, with layers of crops from strawberries to spinach growing in conditions managed by company software.

 

A West Baltimore neighborhood where the city’s violence intervention program, Safe Streets, has a location, is marking a significant milestone. The Penn North community has gone an entire year without a murder. It has been 478 days without a homicide investigation in the neighborhood. The Penn North neighborhood was once the epicenter of unrest in the city.  Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said this accomplishment is proof that his office’s anti-violence and crime initiative programs, including Safe Streets, are working.

Baltimore leaders hit pause on a vote for a program that would sell city-owned vacant properties for $1. The decision follows mounting pressure from a city council at odds over the policy. The Board of Estimates plans to put the program on the March 20 agenda. The decision would set a pricing breakdown for city-owned vacant homes on the “Buy into Bmore” website.

 

Maryland lawmakers are homing in on plans to raise some toll rates for the first time in a decade and to place a new fee on electric vehicles to start solving a roughly $3.3 billion transportation budget deficit in the coming years. Details of both plans — including who would be affected by the toll hikes and the amount of the vehicle fee — are up in the air as the General Assembly enters the final month of its annual 90-day session.

The lines between witness preparation and improper coaching are gray. According to the ABA, “[T]he task of delineating what is necessary and proper and what is ethically prohibited during witness preparation has become more urgent with the advent of commonly used remote technologies, some of which can be used to surreptitiously “coach” witnesses in new and ethically problematic ways.”

Joel Rubin, who was mayor of Chevy Chase from 2017 to 2023, announced Wednesday he no longer is running for the congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-6) “[A]fter much consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress,” he said. In the same announcement, Rubin wrote he is “proud to announce my endorsement of April McClain Delaney.”