Can you find the area of a cylinder? Add exponential numbers? Solve a system of equations? Eighth graders in Maryland are supposed to know how to do all of that and more. But the latest round of state test scores shows that very few of them do. Just 7% of test-takers passed the state’s eighth grade math test, part of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program.

A student group at the University of Maryland can go ahead with a previously planned event commemorating the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel after administration officials revoked their ability to hold the vigil, a federal judge said Tuesday. Students for Justice in Palestine introduced the lawsuit in federal court last month when the university — facing public pressure and citing safety concerns — allowed and then reversed course on a vigil the group planned for Oct. 7.

Most Marylanders say they support improvements to roads and transit systems in the state and may be willing to pay more, according to a poll released by a coalition of transportation industry groups. The poll released Tuesday by Together for Transportation Funding comes amid the ongoing debate over how the state should modernize the way it pays for transportation projects, and whether roads or transit should be the priority.

David Rubenstein didn’t get into the baseball business to make money, but to “make a great baseball team,” the 75-year-old owner of the Baltimore Orioles said Tuesday. Rubenstein was speaking at iMPACT Maryland, a regional thought leadership conference hosted by The Baltimore Banner. Rubenstein was interviewed by The Baltimore Banner’s Editor-in-Chief Kimi Yoshino. (Photo: Eric Thompson/for The Baltimore Banner)

Amtrak’s Frederick Douglass Tunnel project in West Baltimore faced delays due to a short-staffed team and had an ineffective management structure, an audit released Tuesday found. The issues with the $6 billion infrastructure project, in which Amtrak is replacing the 151-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, are being resolved as Amtrak develops a structure, the federal rail corporation’s Office of the Inspector General found.

Drug overdose deaths in Carroll County dropped 25.93% in 2023, from the prior year, according to the Maryland Department of Health. The downward trend started in 2022, when deaths from drug overdose dropped 8.47% from 2021. In 2021, the county saw a 28.26% increase in overdose deaths when compared to 2020. The isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic fueled a spike in overdose deaths nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services rolled out Tuesday new reforms to existing policies for children charged with or accused of crime and the launch of a statewide commission to review and report on the state’s facilities and programming. The department is adjusting its policies to mandate that children who have been accused of a violent crime but are not being detained are electronically monitored.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s apology last week for the state’s part in condoning slavery has reinvigorated conversations in Maryland about what can be done to atone for its role in enslavement and the subsequent discriminatory practices levied against Black Americans. The formal apology by Newsom was among several bills the governor signed as a way to atone for injustices against Black Americans in the state, including several dealing with reparations.

Crime and drugs are the most important issues facing the region, according to 41% of central Maryland residents, while another 35% think the economy and the job market should be the top concern of state and local governments. Those are among the findings of “The Pulse,” a wide-ranging survey of residents of Baltimore City and six surrounding counties, the first of what its sponsors hope will become an annual report gauging the attitude and perspectives in the region.

A South Baltimore steel company is pivoting from making baskets for restaurants to manufacturing medical devices. Marlin Steel Wire Products got certification this summer from the International Organization for Standardization, which will allow the company to serve health care clients who need custom parts that meet high levels of regulation. (Photo: Matt Hooke/Baltimore Business Journal)