Growing strains on the state’s ability to pay for transportation projects across Maryland could result in changes to how local projects are prioritized. The Maryland Department of Transportation lays out funding for projects around the state in a rolling six-year plan that is updated annually. A new commission tasked with reimagining how the state prioritizes and pays for projects could recommend changes to a system that is both familiar and not always transparent.
Nearly 60 years after the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a Howard University professor said his students still find the address relevant — once they read the entire speech. Marcus Board Jr., associate professor of political science at Howard University, points out that the first part of King’s speech was a sharp critique of the nation’s treatment of Black Americans.
Lillie Ellis has lost trust in Maryland schools. Fresh from the funeral of a 16-year-old shot to death in Annapolis last month, she asked the Anne Arundel County school board Wednesday to approve a new charter school, hoping to reach more brown and Black students. “As an active and involved community member, it has been a painful journey over the last 15 years watching former students go to jail or die in the streets where they live,” Ellis said, reading carefully from her written statement.
Most Maryland students will return to school Monday morning, so 11 News asked Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises about her agenda for 2023. Santelises said she spent the better part of the summer making investments in school safety. The district put more money into the paychecks of school police officers. They were often the first to leave for jobs outside of the school district.
The Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) will host a buyback event Saturday where gun owners can receive gift cards in exchange for functional firearms. RCPD, in partnership with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office and Montgomery County Public Schools, will host the event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at RedGate Park at 14500 Avery Road in Rockville.
The number of students receiving free and reduced-price meals across Frederick County Public Schools is on track to rise again this year. Officials hope that confusion arising from the end of pandemic-era subsidies has passed. At the start of the last school year, FCPS leaders said they were bracing for logistical challenges because families had to apply to receive free meals for the first time since COVID-19 hit.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office will soon use driving simulators to train recruits to navigate high-speed chases, emergency response calls and other real-world situations police encounter regularly. On Thursday, The Board of Carroll County Commissioners unanimously approved acceptance of a grant in the amount of $126,400 to purchase seven law enforcement driving simulators, including accessories and a four-year extended warranty.
The words mergers and acquisitions — or M&A as it’s affectionately called — conjure up images of corporate moguls sitting around a conference room in cutthroat negotiations. Think “Succession,” “Barbarians at the Gate” and other classic Hollywood takes on mergers and corporate takeovers. But M&A doesn’t have to be about billions of dollars, evil private equity investors or corporate intrigue.
Last spring, the Prince George’s County Council passed emergency legislation capping rent hikes at 3%, in part moved by complaints from seniors and other residents that some apartment complexes were increasing rents by hundreds of dollars per month. In some cases, the rent hikes were increasing faster than Social Security and other forms of income. In the immediate aftermath, there were reports of some apartment complexes trying to impose other new fees that aimed to get around the actual rent, while others began looking for other loopholes.
The Montgomery County Council whiffed this week on a chance to pressure the school board into a truly independent investigation of the sexual harassment allegations against longtime principal Joel Beidleman, several council members told MoCo360. Five councilmembers reported feeling blindsided and rushed by a letter circulated Monday by Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) calling for a higher-level investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Beidleman and the school district’s handling of those claims.