The Baltimore County Fire Department will contract with an outside consultant to help it comply with a new oversight agreement it reached with the federal government this fall after settling for $275,000 with 11 female firefighters over sexual harassment claims. The Baltimore County Council voted Monday to approve a $430,250 contract with Progressive Management Resources, a Pasadena, California, company that specializes in helping companies comply with employment, fair housing, public accommodation and consumer protection laws, according to its website.

Authentically Hype, an apparel brand founded last year by a Prince George’s native, has leveraged their social media to better connect with potential clients both in the local area and beyond. Brand founder Alexis Harvey became an entrepreneur during her time studying marketing in Chicago and hasn’t looked back since. “I wanted to develop a brand that not only encouraged me in my pursuit as an entrepreneur, but others as well because it is such a unique journey.

Mark Anthony Thomas has basked in the limelight of Baltimore winning a federal tech hub designation long enough. The CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee says there’s plenty of work to do before Baltimore can capture the millions of dollars in federal investment the program can generate for the region’s economy. Thomas got a taste of the national spotlight as he introduced President Joe Biden at the White House during an Oct. 23 tech hub announcement in which the president gushed about how $10 billion in federal grants could impact cities like Baltimore.

Liquor connoisseurs and retailers might have a reason to be thankful if they claim one of the limited whiskey lotteries available from the Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS). ABS, the sole source of retail liquor sales in the county, will open registration Dec. 3 for the opportunity to purchase highly sought-after spirits, including Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year, Old Forester 2022 Birthday Bourbon and several rare releases from the Willett Distillery.

Acting 17 months after Baltimore’s inclusionary housing law expired, the City Council tonight passed a successor bill designed to provide 10% affordable housing in new, rehabbed or converted apartment buildings that receive public subsidies. The legislation, spearheaded by Councilwoman Odette Ramos, is envisioned to create about 150 affordable units a year and would fulfill the city’s commitment to a fair housing plan, whose non-compliance at present threatens the flow of future federal housing dollars.

For those who may not be attuned to the state of offshore wind energy, the fledgling industry has hit a patch of rough seas in recent weeks. Sharply rising costs for such essential components as giant turbines and cables caused the cancellation of two large New Jersey projects by Ørsted, the Danish multinational company that just so happens to be developing one of two coastal Maryland wind farms.

For the second year in a row, Travel & Leisure has ranked Annapolis 15th on its annual list of the top 25 towns to visit for Christmas. The website, frankly, is late to the party. Annapolis has been a Christmas town for a long, long time. “If you want the city to have a Christmas tree, if you want to engender the spirit of ‘Peace on Earth: Goodwill to men,’ meet the mayor at half past 8 o’clock in the Council Chamber. Let a large number of people turn out.”

“Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you.” Nellie Connolly, the first lady of Texas, turned around and spoke those words to President John F. Kennedy. He was sitting behind her in the open-top 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, and he agreed: “No, you certainly can’t.” These were among his last words. Then as the car entered Dealey Plaza and passed the Texas Book Depository, three shots rang out. A bullet hit Kennedy, flung him back, then to the left, as he slumped into Jackie’s arms.

Since the federal government slashed pandemic-era food assistance in March, Tahjae Pitt has been skimping on laundry. “I’ve got three bags of dirty clothes because I had to spend money on groceries,” said Pitt, 26, a single mother in Southeast D.C. “I had to make sure my son had food.” Cutting the assistance, which had bolstered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments, affected over a million households like Pitt’s in the D.C. area, according to a report from the nonprofit Food Research & Action Center.

Nearly a year ago, a Christmas weekend storm blasted across the country, forcing utilities to cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of people in parts of the southeastern U.S. after temperatures plunged, demand spiked, large numbers of power plants failed and natural gas supply was strained. As the anniversary approaches of Winter Storm Elliott, a pair of reports released this month reveal how much worse the situation almost became and the continued vulnerability of the U.S. energy grid to frigid weather.