The town is seeking input from residents as it begins the strategic planning process. Town of Berlin residents are being asked to complete a strategic planning survey that will be included with their next utility bill. “As part of our ongoing efforts for strategic planning, we invite you to participate in this Community Sentiment Survey,” the questionnaire reads. “The information you provide will play a pivotal role in guiding our town’s growth and development.”
The Washington region just had its most intense September heat wave on record, and climate disasters fill our news media. If you’re looking to turn your anxiety into productive and empowering action, there are many effective local- and state-level opportunities that Washington region residents can tap into. This post provides a list of action opportunities rooted in the fact that making our cities, suburbs, and towns more livable, inclusive, and vibrant is one necessary area of climate action.
Recent reporting from Fox45 on math proficiency at Baltimore City’s top high schools is not only misleading to the public, but also a gut punch to the administrators and teachers who work tirelessly every day to ensure their students are prepared for what lies ahead after graduation. The sensationalized headline read: “At Baltimore’s five best high schools, 11% of students tested proficient on state math exam.” That would be horrifying — if it were true.
Gino Palma’s longtime dream to open a restaurant in Baltimore will soon come true. The owner of Facci Ristorante, which has locations at the Maple Lawn development in Fulton and Ellicott City’s Turf Valley, signed a lease last week at 414 Light St. for a third location, with plans to open next year. The Italian restaurant will replace the shuttered vegan eateries from California chef Matthew Kenney, Double Zero and Liora, which closed earlier this year.
City Council President Nick Mosby put forward Monday a counter proposal for rewriting Baltimore’s district lines and a timeline where City Council would vote on the proposal this week — drawing objection from Mayor Brandon Scott. In some key areas, Mosby’s map resembles the one introduced by Scott nearly a month ago, but aims to resolve complaints raised in recent weeks by numerous community groups about plans to divide their neighborhoods between different districts.
Decades of data demonstrate that exclusionary housing policies have pushed people into neighborhoods where polluting facilities such as power plants hurt their health. Among other pollutants, fossil fuel power plants emit nitrogen oxides, which can make it harder to breathe in the short term or trigger an asthma attack, while increasing the risk of respiratory infections or exacerbating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments.
There were “glimmers of hope” in the White’s Ferry talks in the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environmental Committee meeting Monday, MoCo Council President Evan Glass (D-At-Large) said. “From here, I’m hopeful that we can make meaningful progress,” Glass said in a Monday press conference. He declined to give a more specific timeline. White’s Ferry, which transported commuters across the Potomac River between Poolesville in Montgomery County and Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, has been closed since December 2020. White’s Ferry has operated since about 1786.
In an open field on a hilltop overlooking industrialized South Baltimore, city officials plan to build a glossy, $14-million-dollar recreation center. The proposed, 20,000-square-foot complex — which could include a gymnasium, fitness center, patio and gathering rooms — would replace the modest brick structure down the hill, Curtis Bay’s longtime rec center. Erected in 1950, the old building’s yellow paint is chipping away in places and the “A” in “RECREATION” hangs slightly askew.
Several organizers, activists and artists in the Baltimore region are being recognized for their ongoing work to improve their communities. The Baltimore Community Foundation has selected 10 recipients of their second annual Neighborhood Spotlight Awards. Each awardee is receiving $5,000. One of the winners is the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm. The farm was started by Caribbean Americans in 2014, and over the years, the community asked for certain types of foods to be grown.
When Lynnette and Eric Dodson opened Cuples Tea House on North Howard Street three years ago, in a block that now boasts a plant-based creamery, a vegan juice bar and a couple of art galleries, they hoped customers might find their way four blocks north from events at the CFG Bank Arena or even Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor. But few do. The walk from the arena or elsewhere downtown can be less than inviting.