On a day when thousands came to Crisfield for crabs and politics, the tide was an unwelcome guest. Ankle-deep water covered sizable portions of the black top at Somers Cove Marina, where crowds lined up for food and beverages. Crisfield Mayor Darlene Taylor saw an opportunity. “This is our opportunity to get that exposure, even from a political standpoint,” said Taylor, standing near a flooded parking lot awaiting the arrival of Gov. Wes Moore (D).

As Congress barrels toward another annual budget deadline without an agreed upon spending plan, thousands of Marylanders employed by the federal government are bracing for a halt to their incomes and a suspension of critical government services. The pause would be the first since the 35-day partial shutdown that ended in early 2019, the longest in history, which left about 300,000 workers furloughed and cost the country an estimated $3 billion in gross domestic product.

The Baltimore City Council plans to move aggressively this week to push through Baltimore’s new district maps in order to avoid an outcome that could allow Mayor Brandon Scott to bypass the body’s say in the redistricting process. That was the message Tuesday from City Council President Nick Mosby at an initial hearing on the mayor’s proposed redistricting plan. According to the city charter, the council has 60 days from when Scott introduced his map last Monday to act on the proposal — an already tight window.

Darlene Taylor was standing on West Main Street in Crisfield the other day and shouted a greeting to a woman she knew coming out of the Crisfield Discount Pharmacy. Seeing Taylor, the woman bolted across the street, to say hello and ask a question. “What’s going on with the pigeons?” she wondered. Taylor is not an ornithologist. Nor is she a hobbyist who keeps homing pigeons on her roof.

 

More than half of the 50 Maryland schools showing the greatest improvement on the state’s English language arts test are in Prince George’s County. The Maryland State Department of Education on Tuesday released school-by-school results of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, showing just how much — or how little — learning students have recovered since the pandemic.

This fall, Sonny Gwin and a few other Maryland watermen will trawl the coast of Ocean City for a new bounty: shrimp. Thanks, climate change. Pass the cocktail sauce. For the first time, a small group will be allowed to catch and sell the crustaceans from Maryland waters, as part of a pilot program. Fisheries managers suspect that warming ocean temperatures and changing currents could be drawing greater numbers of shrimp north along the Atlantic coast.

It was supposed to premiere last fall but was canceled due to unsafe weather from Hurricane Ian. Now, the Oceans Calling Festival is finally happening this weekend in Ocean City, Maryland. “I think the excitement from the last concert is still fresh in everyone’s mind,” city manager Terry McGean told WTOP last November.

Senate Democrats and Republicans announced a short-term funding deal Tuesday night in a show of force against House Republicans, who have largely abandoned passing a stopgap measure ahead of a possible government shutdown in four days. The Senate deal, reached days before the government would shut down on Sunday, cleared its first procedural hurdle Tuesday night, passing 77-19. If adopted, it would fund the government for six weeks while including additional money for Ukraine and domestic disaster relief.

Several months after opening its doors to the public, Frederick’s second food bank location held a grand opening ceremony Tuesday. The Frederick Food Bank at Trinity, at 6040 New Design Road, provides a second food option for residents in need. Tuesday’s event featured free flu shots and health screenings, and food collection and distribution, according to a city release.