Maryland is looking for its next State Superintendent of Schools, and the Maryland State Board of Education has retained Hazard, Young, and Attea (HYA) Associates to conduct the nationwide search. HYA will work with the state board to lead recruitment, stakeholder engagement, vetting of candidates, and outreach to assist in the selection and appointment process. The firm has conducted more than 1,600 executive leadership searches across the nation, and more than 350 executive school leader searches since 2015.

Starting next school year, Baltimore City students who rely on public transportation to travel to and from school will have a seat at the table with transit leaders. The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) announced the new Youth Transit Council in early November, with applications for the 20 student members closing on Friday. The panel of 14-to-18-year-olds will meet virtually with the transit administration at least six times next school year to “raise awareness and understanding of the topics most important to their transit experience,” the MTA website says.

Speed dating was the vibe that several attendees and candidates used to describe Saturday’s meet and greet with Democratic candidates for Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District in Gaithersburg. Attendees were divided into nine small groups that traveled around to stations featuring each of the nine candidates who participated in the event. The groups had 10 minutes with each candidate, who could choose to give a pitch on their campaign, ask questions of the group, or a combination of both.

Virginia has been known for having more Confederate memorials than any other state. After all, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, and the most major Civil War battles were fought in Virginia. The monuments were protected by state law until 2020, when a General Assembly controlled by Democrats passed a measure allowing localities to consider removing Confederate statues.

At 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, a man chucked a brick through the front window of the Subway on the 300 block of N. Charles Street; stepped inside and helped himself to bags of chips. The next morning, the same individual returned to the scene of his crime, according to a surveillance video I viewed. Apparently determined to recreate his success of the day before, the man chucked another brick at the carefully decorated, glass front door catty-corner to the window he smashed earlier.

Florida-based restaurant chain First Watch will open a new location in Hunt Valley on Thursday, and plans to open another in Owings Mills by fall 2024. The 4,000-square-foot Hunt Valley restaurant is able to seat more than 190 people, including outdoor dining under a covered patio. Located at 11495 McCormick Road Suite A in Hunt Valley, it is First Watch’s seventh location in the Baltimore area.

Garrett County and Maryland officials are “totally ignoring” regulations crafted to protect the state’s only Wild-designated river, Donald Sebold said. Sebold is chairman of the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board, which met Monday to discuss issues, including the Swallow Falls Road bridge project. The board wants to be notified before any actions are taken that could impact the Scenic and Wild Yough corridor.

The city of Frederick is seeking $11.8 million in funding for local projects in the next state budget, city officials said while meeting with state delegates and senators on Monday. The 2024 General Assembly session is scheduled to begin Jan. 10. Gov. Wes Moore must introduce his proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 to the General Assembly by Jan. 17. Aside from continued investment in the U.S. 15 widening project — which remains a top priority for city and county officials and the state delegation for Frederick County — the city’s largest request is $7 million for new amenities at Westside Regional Park.

 

Billions of dollars in collected operating and transportation budget deficits will present Gov. Wes More (D) with one of the toughest challenges of his nascent administration. Ever ebullient, Moore was sworn in earlier this year vowing to move quickly to rebuild state government, end childhood poverty and leave no one behind as he promised that the state would “win the decade.” Those ambitions are about to be tested against stark budget realities that will make Moore, as with all governors, pick and choose and prioritize.

Baltimore County legislators passed unanimously Monday a pair of bills enshrining the Office of the Inspector General into county law in a highly-anticipated vote after Council Chair Julian Jones Jr. announced he was withdrawing widely-criticized amendments that would have hamstrung the watchdog agency. The county council voted 7-0 to pass two bills that codify the three-year-old office into the county charter and require public hearings and written notice to justify any future attempts to shrink the agency’s budget.