Mortgage rates have been dropping in recent weeks, but that’s only slightly improving affordability in many Greater Baltimore neighborhoods. Greater Baltimore — defined here as Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Harford and Howard counties — has 11 ZIP codes where it takes at least $200,000 in annual income to afford a median priced home, according to an analysis of data from Zillow Group Inc. and RocketMortgage by The Business Journals.

Lierman, the first woman elected to lead a state government office in Maryland, won more than 60 percent of the vote for state comptroller last fall. “I’m thrilled to have broken a glass ceiling, but also to be an elected official who can serve as an independent advocate for the people of Maryland,” she says. As chief financial officer of the state, she oversees every dollar into and out of its coffers.

Here’s the open secret about the plastic bag ban that took effect New Year’s Day in Anne Arundel County. It’s not a ban. “We actually were trying to get folks to call it the ‘bring your own bag bill’ to focus on the behavioral changes,” said County Councilwoman Lisa Rodvien, author of the measure. “And you know, the focus really is on the behavior change, getting people in the habit of bringing their own bags. … Bag ban rolls off the tongue much easier.

Krystal Gonzalez was preparing for an event recently when she opened one of her daughter’s journals to a page of self-affirmations written out by Aaliyah. I am important. I communicate clearly and effectively. I am not afraid to speak my mind and do it respectfully. I maintain my character. She read the lines in her 18-year-old daughter’s voice, and then “fell apart.”

Doug J.J. Peters, an influential former state senator who was popular among Democrats and Republicans, died Saturday. He was 60. In a statement, the family of the former senator said he died as the result of complications from multiple myeloma. “He was a tremendous public servant, and a remarkable businessman. More than anything, he was our rock, our north star,” the Peters family said in a statement.

 

The agreement on a plan to reduce the number of vacant and abandoned properties in Baltimore announced by Mayor Brandon Scott falls far short of the “landmark” status proclaimed in a press release. It includes unrealistic measures for financing the plan and no details on how the partnership to implement the plan — formed by the city, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) — will operate.

Following a year when youth crime was top of mind for Marylanders, key state lawmakers are aligning around adjustments to recent juvenile justice reform laws rather than the far-reaching reversals that opponents are seeking. “In terms of wholesale repeal? Not at all interested in that,” said Sen. William C. Smith Jr., who chairs the powerful Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

Leo Shorten, 18, dove into the Potomac River Monday afternoon, donning only a T-shirt, shorts and shoes. He dunked himself in the frigid river a second time and splashed water into the air. About 20 other people joined him for the 2024 Freezin’ for a Reason plunge in Brunswick, though not all of them were as keen as Shorten to submerge themselves in the frigid water.

Hundreds in and around the D.C. Metro area have reported feeling the effects of a small earthquake between Gaithersburg and Rockville, Maryland, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Here’s what you need to know. WTOP listeners throughout the region, including those living in Northwest D.C. and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Howard County, Maryland, reported shaking just before 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

As the head of the philanthropic arm of the NBA players union, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake attended the 2023 NBA draft at Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, in New York. As she watched 58 players get selected over two rounds, the 53-year-old Baltimore native felt something unexpected. “When I was at the draft and looking at all of these young people that were venturing into their lives as basketball players, I felt like a proud auntie because I realized that these young people could be my sons,” she said, adding that some of the athletes she saw in June were the same age as her 20-year-old daughter.