Maryland state lawmakers on Tuesday announced $111 million in grant funding for child-serving organizations across the state to help them bolster their behavioral health service offerings, including counseling, early intervention and parent encouragement programs. The grants, which were awarded to 129 Maryland community organizations — including 11 in Baltimore City and eight in Baltimore County — represented the culmination of a months-long process by the state Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports to gather proposals and decide which ones to fund.

In Maryland, a new legislative proposal could change how schools and law enforcement deal with student misconduct. The bill, supported by more than a dozen lawmakers from the Western Shore, aims to prohibit the charging of students for disrupting school activities. Back in November, a 14-year-old student at Bennett Middle School was charged with assault and “disruption of school operations” after allegedly assaulting someone with a pair of scissors.

The county school board has approved — without making any changes — a $991.5 million budget request for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the same as what Superintendent Cheryl Dyson proposed. The board voted 6-1 to send the budget request for the school system to County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. In a budget of almost $1 billion, the members of the board found nothing to cut, add or revise. That is rare. After all, the request is about 9% larger than the current year, an increase of about $81.3 million.

The Orioles and Washington Nationals have feuded for nearly two decades over the 2005 television rights agreement that created the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, and, according to language in the agreement itself, it is designed to continue indefinitely. Even in the event of a sale — which the Orioles are in the midst of — parties are “unconditionally bound” to the deal, it states.

This year’s Maryland State Fair is scheduled for three weekends during the summer with pop group Big Time Rush headlining the musical performances. The fair will be held Aug. 22 to 25, Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, and Sept. 5 to 8 in Timonium. During the last weekend of the fair, Big Time Rush will perform in the 2024 Live! ON TRACK! concert series on Sept. 7 with Crash Adams as an opening act.

 

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates is remaining steadfast in the success of the citation docket, but there’s frustration that some of their partners aren’t on board and people could be missing out on services. Police issued 37 citations that have made it to court since the inception of the program, about half were rejected internally.

 

 

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball describes the county’s economic outlook as “strong,” and says it is a critical time for the county, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are facing a pivotal time for Howard County’s future,” Ball said. “This post-pandemic era has left us with an uncertain global economy, but here in Howard County we are embracing a brand new day and setting a strong foundation for the future.

Over the past 10 years, Tradepoint Atlantic has worked to clean up the infamous remnants of the Bethlehem Steel Days to bring back new reimagined glory days to the Port of Baltimore. “This is the next major phase of redevelopment and clean up at Sparrows Point,” said Aaron Tomarchio, Executive Vice President of Tradepoint Atlantic.

Fans of fresh bread, rejoice. Kneads Bakeshop, the Harbor East bakery and cafe, plans to open a second location at the Village of Cross Keys later this year, according to a press release from Caves Valley Partners. The Cross Keys location will be a 1,300-square-foot grab-and-go bakery and coffee shop, significantly smaller than the 17,000-square-foot flagship.

 

The Baltimore County Council approved on Tuesday the 2030 Master Plan after a four-year delay and months of intense discussion between the council and county officials. The 2030 Master Plan is a charter-mandated document that strategizes where development in Baltimore County should occur in ten-year cycles. Its passage has become a point of contention between the council and administration after planning staff informed the council last month they would not help council staff amend the plan.