Halfway through the 18-month downtown construction project, city officials remain opposed to grant support for struggling businesses. Construction began in April for the $16 million renovation project, designed to replace below-ground utilities and reinstall Baltimore Street through the pedestrian mall. The construction has created hardship for businesses, particularly in regard to access. Some businesses have taken to publishing pleas for help on social media asking for support with some seeing increased business or canceling of invoices from businesses as a result.

While traffic fatalities have been trending in the wrong direction across Maryland and much of the country, the Baltimore region has fared slightly better than the rest of the state, according to figures presented by the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board Tuesday morning. Over a five-year period, traffic fatalities rose statewide by just over 11%, from 512 deaths in 2018 to 566 in 2022.

A $63 billion budget proposed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) resolves short-term budget concerns but does little to address billions of dollars in projected budget shortfalls in coming years, legislative analysts said Monday. The outlook, which House Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel) called “frightening,” was part of an analysis delivered to House and Senate budget committees Monday. Billions of dollars in ballooning projected deficits over the next three years fed questions about possible tax increases.

The battle over speed cameras in Baltimore County continued Wednesday. A proposed bill would allow the expansion of speed cameras. House Bill 58 would allow the installation of cameras in certain neighborhoods. Police would decide where to put them, followed by approval from the Baltimore County Council. “They are a needed thing because a lot of times, I have seen drivers just bypass even the school guards sitting outside trying to keep the children safe,” resident Eddie Vinson said.

A federal appeals court has upheld an Anne Arundel County law requiring gun dealers to distribute suicide prevention and conflict resolution literature. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a gun rights group and four store owners of a 2022 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher stating the county could have the requirement.

The Annapolis City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday night eliminating some restrictions on where food trucks can park and operate in the city. The ordinance, O-29-23, maintains restrictions on parking in the city’s Historic District but allows food trucks to park in any other private, non-residential property if they have written permission from the property owner. The trucks also can be parked on public property if the owners have a permit from the city, county or other public property owner.

A lot has happened in the two years since Tim Regan went home to persuade his wife to let him buy the shuttered Target store at Mondawmin Mall in West Baltimore for a million dollars. The redeveloped 127,000-square-foot building now houses TouchPoint Baltimore, the nonprofit that Regan — CEO of the construction company Whiting-Turner — founded with Exelon CEO Calvin Butler following the death of Freddie Gray from injuries suffered while in police custody and subsequent protests.

Republicans are pushing to repeal a controversial Maryland law that prohibits police from pulling over and searching drivers simply because they smell of marijuana, but Democratic leaders say they aren’t interested in dramatic changes to the state’s cannabis legislation this year. Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City says Democrats are only considering what they refer to as “improvements” to Maryland’s cannabis law, following its legalization for adult use last year.

Nine Democratic governors, including Maryland’s Wes Moore sent a letter to President Biden and congressional leaders Monday, requesting federal aid and urging changes to immigration law as their states take in an overwhelming number of asylum seekers. “The sustained arrival of individuals seeking asylum and requiring shelter and assistance, due to lack of Congressional action on infrastructure and policies, can only be addressed with federal organizational support and funding to meet the public safety and humanitarian needs of our local communities,” the letter led by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul read.

Baltimore’s new city solicitor is planning to continue pursuing cases and issues that defined her work as deputy and acting city solicitor, including implementing blockchain technology to address the city’s vacant housing issues. The Baltimore City Council confirmed Ebony Thompson as Baltimore’s city solicitor on Monday, making her the first woman and first openly LGBTQ city solicitor to hold the role. The council confirmed Thompson as Baltimore City’s next city solicitor in a 6-0 vote, with one councilmember absent from the meeting.