A printing error is causing state officials to scramble to make sure local governments can collect all the property taxes they need to fund schools, police and other services in their budgets. More than 100,000 Maryland property owners did not receive written notices of their new estimated home values by a Jan. 30 deadline, an error that if left unaddressed could have major ripple effects on county budgets. Fixing the problem is likely to fall to state lawmakers, who would need to temporarily adjust the deadline.

The Frederick County Planning Commission on Wednesday will review a preliminary plan to build a combined agricultural and equestrian park near Thurmont that has piqued the interest of horse riding enthusiasts but drawn a rebuke from farmers in the area. In 2017, the 183-acre site was donated to the county by Richard W. Kanode, after whom the proposed park would be named. At that time, Kanode, who died in 2020, also contributed $1 million to the Community Foundation of Frederick County to establish an endowment fund for the proposed park.

 

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s bid for Congress got a boost Wednesday from two key endorsements. Retiring Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, who Olszewski is hoping to replace, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, who previously served as the House majority leader, traveled to Towson for an appearance announcing their support. Hoyer and Ruppersberger both said they’ve known Olszewski for decades, and that he was the right candidate to send to Congress.

 

If you filed your taxes early (good for you!) and have been wondering where your Maryland tax refund is, you’re not alone. The Maryland Office of the Comptroller stopped processing tax returns from Jan. 30 through Feb. 9 while it made software updates. The comptroller’s office didn’t make the upgrades as a surprise — it was announced ahead of time — but it still caused a delay. The state comptroller’s office on Wednesday said it had received about 530,000 returns so far, processed about 260,000 and initiated about 209,000 refunds. The office is expecting about 3.1 million returns total this year.

The format of the SAT, a standardized test to determine high schoolers’ college readiness, is changing to a digital format this spring as colleges start to make standardized tests optional for admissions. The new format will allow students to get scores back in days instead of weeks, College Board, the nonprofit behind the test, said in January 2022 a news release. “The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of college readiness assessments at College Board, in the release.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski is backing away from a controversial proposal to take some mixed use zoning decisions out of the hands of the County Council. That announcement came hours before the County Council approved the 10 year master plan which some council members said would drive unwanted development in their districts through the mixed use legislation. Olszewski and Council Chairman Izzy Patoka Tuesday announced a compromise which would keep mixed use zones but would give the Council the authority to create them in certain areas of the county that are targeted for development.

 

If you want to kill someone, do it with a car. So goes the maxim in the street safety community, which is outraged by the light penalties imposed on drivers when they kill pedestrians and cyclists on roadways across America. I am outraged, too. Eighteen months ago, my wife, Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, a U.S. diplomat and the mother of our two boys, was crushed when a driver for Beacon Building Supply swung his 50,000 pound truck into his parking lot without seeing Sarah, who was riding her bike in a clearly marked bike lane.

Each year in Maryland, an average of about 170 individuals — men, women and children — lose their lives in drunk driving crashes. Add to that terrible toll, the 3,000 who suffer injuries in those collisions, and you have a serious and ongoing threat to public safety. This is the reason Maryland and other states have pursued a range of policies to reduce drunk driving with one of the most effective proving to be Noah’s Law, the 2016 statute that requires Maryland drivers convicted of drunk driving to have an ignition interlock system installed in their vehicle.

We can all agree that our homes should be safe and healthy, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They should all be well-insulated and equipped with up-to-date appliances and heating systems that don’t pollute our indoor or outdoor air or harm our health, and ensure our energy bills are affordable. But too many low-income families across Maryland are trapped in unhealthy homes that suffer from extreme heat and extreme cold, with old, inefficient, costly appliances and heating systems.

The Maryland Transit Administration is getting a federal and state funding boost to modernize its aging light rail cars. The agency has said it urgently needs $450 million to replace its entire fleet of more than 50 rail cars dating back to the light rail system’s launch in 1992. MTA officials in early December abruptly shut down light rail service due to safety concerns in the Baltimore region following an Oct. 21 fire and explosion on a nearly empty rail car.