After a rush of schmoozing and ceremony, a hush rolled over the Maryland State House mid-afternoon Wednesday as public officials trickled back to their offices and temporary apartments surrounding State Circle. One day down, 89 to go. We distilled the day’s events from offices deep in the State House basement.

City officials this week approved the return of Ocean City Jeep Fest. On Tuesday, the council voted 6-0, with Councilwoman Carol Proctor absent, to approve the return of Ocean City Jeep Fest Aug. 22-25. Live Wire Media’s Brad Hoffman told officials the event was a great fit for the resort. “Last year, we ran a very successful event,” he said. “The vendors we have, the participants we have, enjoy the event. It fits very well the end of summer, the weekend before Labor Day, and I’m excited to once again bring a great event to Ocean City. It’s well-run, it’s safe and it’s significant in its economic impact to the Town of Ocean City.”

 

Montgomery County leaders were the center of attention at opening day of the Maryland General Assembly’s 446th legislative session at the Maryland State House in Annapolis on Wednesday afternoon. “There’s going to be a lot of challenges this session, but I’m really excited to get back to work for our Maryland families,” Del. Joe Vogel (D-Dist. 17) told MoCo360 in the General Assembly lobby as legislators milled around after the House of Delegates adjourned.

Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez opened her remarks Tuesday at at a joint meeting with the Washington County Commissioners by recounting a list of projects she said would not have been possible without the collaboration of the county government. They included everything from the construction of the new parking deck on Antietam Street and the new field house project on the former site of Municipal Stadium to the Hagerstown Police Department’s “groundbreaking” drone program.

The 2024 Maryland General Assembly session presents exciting and important opportunities to continue partnering with a pro-public education governor and to build on the legislature’s commitment to public schools. Educators across the state are dedicated, passionate, professionals daily trying to navigate a historic educator shortage that not only has an effect on academic achievement but also emotional wellness and safety in our schools.

If you were to walk around downtown Baltimore today, you may feel a little uncomfortable. With foot traffic noticeably sparse and storefronts empty, many streets feel somewhat abandoned and unsafe. The environment is missing the level of activity you would expect in a dense urban setting, all of which is the inevitable result of decades of economic decline.

The state budget is likely to be foremost in the minds of Maryland lawmakers, as they head back to Annapolis for their annual 90-day legislative session Wednesday. Not simply because state lawmakers, unlike their counterparts in Congress, are required by law to approve a balanced budget, and increased spending is expected to outpace tax revenue growth, but because so many other popular initiatives are linked to the state’s fiscal health, including Blueprint for Maryland’s Future K-12 education spending and the state’s transportation budget (which faces a potential $3.3 billion imbalance all by itself).

Rowan Digital Infrastructure’s proposed data center for Quantum Loophole’s campus in Frederick County is estimated to generate about $7 million in annual county tax revenue and employ 100 people, according to a new economic impact study commissioned by the Maryland Tech Council. About $6.7 million of the data center’s generated tax revenue will come from real property tax, and another $200,000 will come from income taxes.

With just over a month to go before City Council members start holding hearings on a private company’s $500 million plan to redevelop Harborplace, a group of Baltimore residents has formed a citizens’ coalition to promote an alternative vision. The Inner Harbor Coalition is the name of a group that has been created to block MCB Real Estate’s plan to replace the existing Harborplace pavilions with two residential towers and other commercial development, and to show other ways the prime waterfront parcel can be revitalized.

Baltimore County agreed last week to move detainees under 18 charged as adults to a Baltimore City juvenile jail when space allows, months after the Office of the Maryland Public Defender criticized conditions for minors at the Towson jail. The Youth Detention Center on Greenmount Avenue, a facility operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services that houses Baltimore City minors charged as adults, can now hold county youth awaiting trial, according to a Jan. 1 memorandum of understanding.