A new plan put forth by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority would significantly alter the landscape of horse racing in the state, consolidating racing at Pimlico Race Course in Northwest Baltimore and creating a state-run nonprofit to oversee day-to-day operations of the track, similar to the setup of the New York Racing Association.

At the beginning of this year, thousands of Marylanders saw a rise in the minimum wage. Despite the increase, advocates say that it remains insufficient for the state’s workers. As of Jan. 1, the state minimum wage increased to $15 an hour from $13.25 at companies with at least 15 workers and $12.80 at smaller companies. Minimum wage for tipped workers, such as servers and bartenders, remains $3.63.

Homeownership represents the ultimate American dream — success, safety, opportunity and wealth. Despite numerous legal obstacles and the longstanding history of racism, many families of color still managed to purchase homes, creating the largest source of wealth for their families. But homeownership has its challenges, which often intensify when determining how the government and commercial housing industry value Black-owned homes.

Parenting is one of the toughest jobs around. As a father to three daughters, I am constantly asking myself: Am I giving my girls enough space to be themselves? Are they safe from harm? Am I parenting enough, or too little? Now, add cellphones and social media to the mix, and it gets even harder. As parents, we understand the need to strike a balance between our kids fitting in with their peers, focusing on their education and realizing their dreams.

There are nights when Christopher Vucci doesn’t get much sleep, worried that a drunk driver might crash a car into his house again. Vucci wasn’t living in the house on 28th Street last year — his late uncle was — when a car careened into the home, but he dealt with the consequences long after the wreck. It took months to get the rowhome’s glass-paned sunroom rebuilt; as they waited on Baltimore Gas and Electric, the broken gas hookup forced Vucci and his partner to start the winter without working heat.

A panel of government officials is recommending that the state do more to streamline its hiring process as part of an effort to fill thousands of state jobs. The Task Force on the Modernization of the State Personnel Management System made nearly a dozen recommendations it said could make it easier to attract candidates and fill vacancies.

The Maryland Board of Elections has approved Frederick County’s polling place plan, which includes fewer Election Day polling places and more ballot drop-box locations compared to the 2022 gubernatorial election. The board’s approved plan includes 54 individual facilities designated as polling places for 66 precincts, down from 59 in 2022 for 83 precincts.

It’s a new year and time to consider new paths Baltimore could take over the next decade. The West Baltimore MARC rail station, at the western end of the Franklin-Mulberry corridor, the so-called Highway to Nowhere, is one such starting place. There’s now money to replace the 151-year former Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel under West Baltimore, which has been renamed in honor of Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist who escaped from slavery in Maryland.

With a mere two days until the next session of the Maryland General Assembly, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore has largely left his upcoming legislative priorities a mystery — keeping the specifics under wraps while teasing a few bills and hinting toward the themes of others. Still, those hints have offered insight into where the second-year governor appears to be headed in 2024.

The federal government denied Maryland’s request for a “fishery resource disaster” declaration amid the continued intrusion of invasive blue catfish and northern snakeheads in the Chesapeake Bay, and declines in native fisheries such as blue crabs and striped bass. According to the federal officials, Maryland’s commercial fisheries have not experienced a sharp enough revenue decline at the hands of invasive species to warrant a disaster declaration, and the accompanying federal aid.