The Howard County chapter of Moms for Liberty wants sexually explicit books off school library shelves, and they’re enlisting the “mastermind” behind Carroll County’s successful book-ban campaign to help it do that. Howard’s chapter of the conservative parents group announced its campaign to challenge school books on its website in an advertisement for a Feb. 26 event featuring Jessica Garland, the vice chair of Carroll’s Moms for Liberty chapter, as the guest speaker.

The “decency agenda” championed by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), one of her main priorities for this year’s 90-day legislative session, was formally released Thursday. While the bills that are part of the agenda have all been introduced in recent days, their common thread is being amplified with a video message that Jones released Thursday. “To me, decency is about respect,” Jones said.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller is a dog person — so it should be no surprise that she and her family have just welcomed a new puppy into their lives. Poe, an about 4-month-old Australian shepherd, came from Whiteford in Harford County about two weeks ago. She was the last of the litter, Miller said. In the Miller household, Poe joins Hachiko, another Australian shepherd who is about 2 years old, Miller said.

 

After dozens of dangerous street racing incidents in the past year, Maryland lawmakers are driving a bill to stop it. Maryland Senator Pam Beidle, who represents Anne Arundel County, says there have been at least 139 major street racing incidents in the past 12 months in the state. “It’s happening across the state,” Beidle said. “Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Howard, Montgomery, just to name a few.”

 

A Columbia alternative medicine company is going public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a deal that could be worth up to $320 million. Nava Health announced an agreement on Tuesday to be acquired by blank-check company 99 Acquisition Group Inc., which is based in Gaithersburg and exists to purchase firms that are looking to go public. As part of the agreement, 99 Acquisition (NASDAQ: NNAG) will be renamed Nava Health and expects to remain listed on the Nasdaq. The two firms expect to close the deal in the second quarter.

With the deadline to obligate $641 million in American Rescue Plan Act money now less than a year away, Baltimore officials said Thursday that they are creating contingency plans to substitute projects that are in danger of not meeting the deadline. The federal money, distributed to jurisdictions across the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, must be obligated by Dec. 31, meaning the funds are assigned to a contract, purchase order or invoice that’s been approved by the city. Cities have longer to actually spend the funds before they risk forfeiture, however.

One measure currently before the Maryland General would close a gap in the state’s criminal record expungement eligibility. The bill, HB0073, would change the definition of terms in the Maryland code, clarifying that the timeline for expunging an eligible state criminal record begins at the completion of the sentence — meaning the “time when a sentence has expired, including any period of probation, parole or mandatory supervision.”

As part of Maryland’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action last summer, the House of Delegates Thursday voted across party lines and in overwhelming support of prohibiting colleges and universities from considering legacy status in admissions. If the state Senate passes and Gov. Wes Moore signs the measure in the coming months, schools would also be barred from making admissions decisions based on a prospective student’s relationship to a donor.

 

Mt. Vernon Marketplace has added two new vendors to its lineup, marking the latest changes at the food hall. The market has added barbecue vendor SmoQ-N-Meat and Mediterranean vendor Mercy Seat Kitchen so far this year. The new offerings are part of a larger trend for food halls that see stalls come and go at places like Mt. Vernon Marketplace, which saw two longtime vendors leave last year and will soon see Cheezy Mike’s Food Emporium close after four years.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Thursday announced more than $2.8 million in awards to public housing agencies and PBRA owners in Maryland as part of $128 million in grants through the 2023 Renewal and New Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program. The FSS program is a voluntary initiative offered to families in HUD-assisted housing. Participants receive coaching, referrals to services, and establish a family escrow savings account.