Some Maryland state senators were skeptical on Thursday about a bill that would make data center development easier, expressing concerns about environmental, economic and power consequences of the data center industry. Senate Bill 474, the Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act of 2024, was put forth by Gov. Wes Moore. It would alter the definition of a “generating station” to exclude facilities that produce electricity for onsite emergency backup power and for test and maintenance operations.

Last month when M&T Bank Stadium hosted the first AFC Championship Game, the Baltimore Ravens might have lost, but other records were set. It was the first conference championship game in M&T’s history, and the first in Baltimore since 1971, when the Colts were the home team. It also turned out to be the most-watched AFC Championship in television history, with CBS Sports reporting more than 55 million viewers.

The House of Delegates is preparing to vote later this week on a bill that would allow Maryland’s undocumented population to purchase individual health insurance plans from the state’s insurance marketplace. The so-called Access to Care Act would would prompt the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, the state’s insurance marketplace created as a result of the national Affordable Care Act, to file a federal waiver to permit undocumented Marylanders to buy and use individual health care plans.

More than 75% of Baltimore’s students rely on public transportation to get to school. The public transportation in Baltimore is a system that frequently necessitates traveling via one to three buses with commute times that range from 30 minutes to two hours. Reflecting on our own high school experience, commuting required a two-bus journey, demanding an hour in total for us to reach school, notwithstanding inconsistent bus times that would often extend this duration.

Small businesses and economic development organizations have the chance to receive a big financial boost thanks to $10 million in grants announced by Gov. Wes Moore through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The grants are part of DHCD’s Project Restore 2.0 and Business Boost programs. The funding is meant to enliven vacant spaces in business corridors, give small businesses start up or expansion money, create jobs, and boost local economic activity.

Two Greater Baltimore firms have joined forces to capitalize on a national trend gripping the troubled commercial real estate market. MacKenzie Cos., parent firm for MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate, and InspiRE CRE recently formed a “strategic alliance” to launch the Asset Adversity Group, which will shepherd distressed properties through court-mandated receivership as many continue to post defaults and losses totaling millions.

MGM National Harbor is locked in a vehement dispute with Prince George’s County about the hotel and casino’s 2019-2021 taxable assessed value — a disagreement with potentially sizable business and tax revenue ramifications. After a three-day hearing in 2023, the Maryland Tax Court ruled Jan. 2 that the assessed value of the property — the highest-grossing casino outside of Nevada — is just over $1 billion for the three-year assessment period that began 2019.

Baltimore Police officers chased a teenager in a stolen car in October through the leafy Loch Raven neighborhood, where they eventually caught him and found a beige handgun in a book bag: a Polymer80 with a 30-round magazine. The week after Thanksgiving 2022, then-18-year-old Dominique Edmonds shot and killed a man in an alley in the southwest corner of the city. When police arrested him at an apartment weeks later, they found a blue gun: also a Polymer80, this one with a 15-round magazine.

After a successful holiday shopping season at Harborplace, the Made in Baltimore store will reopen in the same location on Friday, Feb. 23. “Get ready to shop for unique and handmade gifts crafted by talented Baltimore artisans,” representatives announced. “This is the perfect opportunity to support local businesses and find one-of-a-kind goods. We’ve restocked the store with Spring and Summer merchandise featuring 70+ Baltimore makers.”

This summer, Maryland will begin training some nurses and physician assistants to perform abortions, in addition to doctors, with the goal of expanding access around the state. The $10.6 million state-funded program will be administered by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. “We’re working on our curriculum right now, as well as a mobile simulation unit,” said Dr. Jessica K. Lee, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences in the school of medicine and co-principal investigator on the training program.