Last week, lawmakers shared how they’ll rework the juvenile justice system in an attempt to curb youth crimes, such as auto thefts and handgun violations. They’ve also justified the reasoning behind those choices. Their State House news conference, which included both chambers’ leaders and the governor, marked a reckoning for lawmakers who are paring back reforms they passed just under two years ago.

In his previous three bids for office, Baltimore mayoral candidate Thiru Vignarajah has run financially competitive campaigns, some costing upward of $1 million, fueled by donations from some of the region’s most well-funded business executives and community leaders. The families of local real estate leader John Luetkemeyer, Baltimore Sun owner and Sinclair Chairman David D. Smith and Baltimore Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos are among those who have backed his past efforts, in addition to over 100 more who supported with maximum contributions or donated to a PAC backing Vignarajah.

The Senate’s border deal and foreign aid package, released Sunday, would implement strict limits along the US southern border that have not been previously enshrined into law and would, in effect, severely curtail asylum at the US southern border, a break from decades-long protocol. If passed, the bill would dramatically change immigration law for the first time in decades. The package paves the way for a key vote in the chamber this week in which the legislation is at risk of failing and, if it does pass, setting up a clash with the House.

Service workers and restaurant owners who say tipped employees have been left behind in Maryland’s recent minimum wage increase renewed a fight this week to end the state’s $3.63 tipped wage. The legislation they’re backing — which stalled a year ago and faces an uphill battle again in the Maryland General Assembly — would prohibit employers from paying workers the special lower-tier wage, which is allowed as long as those earnings combined with customers’ tips match or exceed the $15 state minimum wage.

 

Brendan Dorr wonders what caused business at his Dutch Courage gin bar to fall dramatically this year and if the same thing could happen to his upcoming Remington spot. Blame it on Dry January, holiday fatigue, inflation, bad weather or just the winter blues, but Dorr isn’t the only one in Baltimore’s restaurant industry who saw sales drop last month. Some restaurateurs are wondering where the customers have gone, especially during the week.

The world’s largest library has launched a new campaign to record and archive millions of COVID-19 pandemic stories. The Library of Congress is calling for many different American voices to share their experiences for posterity. “You can read something in a history book, but to hear someone’s voice tell of their lived experience is immensely powerful,” said Nicole Saylor, director of the library’s American Folklife Center, which is leading the project.

 

The county’s agricultural character was front and center during Tuesday’s meeting of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, as they discussed land preservation efforts, mainly in the southern portion of the county, and approved a request for a zoning overlay near its northern border. They approved a request from Rural Preservation Administrator Chris Boggs to apply for $7.6 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for the Rural Legacy Program for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1.

Chants of “three, two, one…LEGO!” rang out repeatedly on Sunday in the Urbana High School gym, where 32 teams of students were participating in the Frederick County qualifier for the FIRST LEGO League Challenge. The FIRST LEGO League Challenge is an engineering competition for elementary and middle school students between the ages of 9 and 14. Each team has at least two adult coaches and can have anywhere from two to 10 members.

Baltimore County’s superintendent of schools proposed cutting hundreds of jobs, but the school board won’t know which ones until after it votes on the $2.5 billion budget at the end of February. That was by design. When Superintendent Myriam Rogers proposed her fiscal 2025 budget at the beginning of January, she highlighted $29 million in savings from eliminating around 500 positions, most of them vacant.

Instead of walking through the doors of a Montgomery County high school, I was a teenager walking through prison gates. I was called a menace to society and told I deserved to die in prison. I spent a decade in solitary confinement. Decades later, I’m now a husband, father and leader in community care initiatives. I stand among many others who, given a chance, have proven capable of leading a productive, fulfilling life.