The Red Line isn’t the only new transit coming to town. The Maryland Transit Administration has completed a feasibility study that evaluated seven potential options for a new transit line between Towson and downtown Baltimore, eliminating some options but committing to further study of light rail, heavy rail and bus rapid transit (BRT). The new line would aim to build upon and improve transit service in one of the busiest corridors of the region for public transportation.

Maryland community associations are finding themselves squeezed by a 2022 law intended to ensure maintenance of condominiums and similar housing, but which is resulting in thousands of dollars in surprise fees and assessments that are leaving some residents struggling to make ends meet. The law in question requires all Maryland housing cooperatives and condominiums, and homeowners associations with more than $10,000 in common area assets, to conduct reserve studies every five years analyzing what portions of shared infrastructure, such as a roof or boiler, might need to be replaced.

Five guns have been found inside Baltimore City Public Schools in the last two days. “It’s very concerning that someone would bring an armed weapon where children are supposed to learn,” said Devera Ruff, who has a granddaughter at Baltimore’s KIPP Harmony Academy. On Thursday morning, an employee at KIPP Harmony Charter School was arrested for having a gun on the property.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell has proposed a $1.7 billion fiscal 2025 budget that would continue to fund the implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, provide pay increases for teachers and bus drivers and compensate for the Elementary Secondary School Emergency Relief funding that will end next year. Bedell’s request represents a 3.71% increase over the current budget, which is the lowest increase in the last nine years. Nearly 61.5% of that increase would go toward compensation and benefits enhancements for employees.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) announced Terence Clark as the new acting director for the Department of Corrections on Dec. 14. Clark has nearly 40 years of experience working in Philadelphia prisons, and served as the deputy commissioner of operations at the Philadelphia Department of Prisons for five years. “We are excited to welcome Mr. Terence Clark to serve as our new director of our Department of Corrections,” Alsobrooks said.

Despite prior warnings, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future will not require Carroll County to move large numbers of teachers from some schools to staff others, Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Blueprint Coordinator Jon O’Neal told the county school board on Dec. 13. Superintendent Cynthia McCabe previously had said to expect teachers to be shifted to schools with higher concentrations of students who receive free or reduced-price meals and those deemed to have special needs to help recover from COVID-19 pandemic learning losses.

A Rockville grocery chain known for selling organic produce will open its first Anne Arundel County location by early 2025. Mom’s Organic Market signed a lease for 11,893 square feet at Park Plaza in Severna Park. The upcoming location at 550 Ritchie Highway will be its 11th grocery store in Maryland and fifth spot in Greater Baltimore. The organic grocery chain expects to open the location in late 2024 or early 2025, according to a release from Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp., which owns Park Plaza.

“It’s been a pretty productive year,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said Friday at the Committee for Montgomery legislative breakfast, a yearly event that is seen by many as the unofficial kickoff to the 2024 General Assembly session. A few hundred gathered at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center to network and hear from state and county leaders about priorities in local and state politics in the new year. Speakers included Elrich, Rep. David Trone (D-Dist. 6), Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), Sen. Ben Kramer (D-Dist. 19), Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Dist. 17) and Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1).

 

Allegany and Garrett counties will receive a combined $1 million in grant awards through the State Revitalization Program, including $750,000 for the Prichard Building renovation project in Frostburg, according to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Gov. Wes Moore said the program, which includes additional funds for other projects across the state, is designed to promote community development and economic growth.

Frederick County has launched more resources about strokes and stroke symptoms in Spanish as part of the county’s stroke awareness efforts and educating more community members on the signs and dangers of strokes. In addition to a Spanish version of the county’s public service announcement video on strokes, the county has also created a Spanish mnemonic, “AHORA,” for people to remember where to look for stroke symptoms.