I am rarely in Thurmont. I live on the opposite side of the county. But recently, an issue has come up among the powers that be in my county’s far north neighbors. An issue that my own section of the country dealt with years ago, but feels just as fresh and controversial as if it were yesterday. An issue that threatened, and in some ways continues to threaten, the very fabric of what we call community in and around the Brunswick area. Or not.

In the 1980s, when Anthony DuBose set out to become a psychologist, he was told never to work with people with borderline personality disorder because they had high rates of suicide and intense emotional distress. They were considered untreatable. This is no longer the case. Today, an approach called dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can help patients struggling with suicidal ideation, self-harming behavior, addiction and mood disorders. It has become the gold standard for treatment.

Dozens of concerned parents met in Columbia Tuesday night to express frustrations with Howard County Public School System officials and their handling of new school start times, canceled bus routes, consistently late buses and other issues, three weeks into the new school year. Parents at the town hall, hosted by Neighbors for Buses, said their voices are not being heard by school officials, but at least two school board members attended Tuesday’s event.

Some potential cannabis businesses are criticizing the tight turnaround to obtain new licenses to grow, process or distribute marijuana, after the Maryland Cannabis Administration announced applications will open on Nov. 13, with distribution set to start just six weeks later on Jan. 1. The bill that legalized cannabis for individuals 21 and older in Maryland that took effect July 1 created a timeline for the recreational industry, including a two-round licensing process for new cannabis businesses that will initially prioritize applicants who qualify for social equity, an initiative aimed to remediate harm from the criminalization of cannabis.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) apologized Wednesday to a Baltimore man who was wrongfully imprisoned on an erroneous murder conviction after the man was awarded more than $300,000 in compensation by the Board of Public Works. “I am deeply sorry for the fact that our justice system failed you not once, but our justice system failed you twice,” Moore said to Demetrius Smith.

Baltimore’s spending board deferred decisions on contracts for two top public safety officials Wednesday, one day before both were due to be considered for confirmation by the City Council. A $285,000 annual salary agreement with acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley and a $218,000 agreement with acting Fire Chief James Wallace were both expected to be approved by the mayor-controlled Board of Estimates.

After Maryland Gov. Wes Moore cautioned state and local officials last month about impending budget woes due to a slowing economy, many are wondering what programs will be prioritized and how the newly elected Democratic governor will keep major promises he made to the state. The upcoming “season of discipline,” as the governor called it during his August speech at the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference, raises questions for lawmakers and other Marylanders: How will the next budget negotiations look?

 

Morgan State University has received a $3 million National Science Foundation grant that it plans to use to train future scientists. The federal dollars have been earmarked to help support research at the school related to climate change. Research is already taking place on the first floor of Spencer Hall. Students are training hands-on using water samples collected from local waterways and plants.

 

Under Armour’s new ‘The Stadium at The House,’ located at the company’s under-construction Baltimore Peninsula campus, is now the home to select Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) sports games. Tonight, Poly and City will have two soccer matches at The Stadium at The House as JV Boys Soccer squares off at 4pm and Varsity Girls Soccer kicks off at 6pm.