Eight years after Noah’s Law went into effect, Maryland legislators have closed a loophole that allowed some drivers to repeatedly drive while intoxicated. Now, anyone caught driving under the influence will be required to install an ignition interlock device, which includes a camera. The updated law goes into effect on Tuesday.

Gov. Wes Moore approved the deployment of the Maryland Army National Guard to North Carolina to aid communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. Twelve National Guard soldiers from Maryland are assisting, along with two helicopters and three civilian firefighters, according to a Friday news release from the state’s National Guard.

A proposal that many advocates saw as a pivotal tool for fixing up thousands of vacant properties across Baltimore went down at Monday night’s City Council meeting with barely a fizzle. Councilwoman Odette Ramos has championed legislation to establish a “land bank” in Baltimore for well over a year, arguing that the specialized authority would be better equipped than City Hall to clear complex title issues and move blighted properties into the hands of responsible developers.

More Maryland teachers are working this year to attain national board certification and secure the $10,000 salary increase guaranteed by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. But teachers say the national process is confusing and time-consuming. Hood College in Frederick is trying to change that. The school has been offering a national board certification course to guide teachers through the process for the past four years.

Beneath a purple disco ball in a packed South Baltimore bar, Angela Alsobrooks launched into a stump speech with a quick nod to her past and — like most of her campaign for U.S. Senate — an almost singular focus on her future. It all started, she told supporters at Captain Larry’s in Riverside earlier this month, with public safety, when she ran for the Office of Prince George’s County State’s Attorney after realizing her 4-year-old daughter “was living in a place that wasn’t quite safe enough for her.”

For 13 years, Diane Kraus has parried her disease’s every blow with rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, some of them ineffective, all of them with a cost — nausea, confusion, vertigo, pain — which she also parried with more drugs. “I want to live,” said Kraus, who was diagnosed in 2011 with metastatic breast cancer. “I want to be around. There is fun to be had and people to see.”

 

“Entertainment Tonight” was on the TV over the drinks cooler at my local pizza joint, when the political ads started rollin’ like cannoli. Larry Hogan is weak on abortion, said one Angela Alsobrooks took tax breaks she didn’t deserve, said another. Vote this way. Vote that way. You can’t afford to get it wrong, said them all.

Tyree Davis IV is a recent arrival to Rockville from the Midwest. He moved to the city in 2022, but he already calls it home. “We are one of the most diverse cities in America,” he says. “The county has some good opportunities, the city has some good opportunities, so I don’t foresee moving, and I’ve enjoyed it thus far.”

Still more national money is coming into the Maryland Senate election. The Democratic National Committee will announce Friday that it is transferring $75,000 to the Maryland Democratic Party to help boost Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) in her race against former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The money is specifically being earmarked to support the state party’s mail program to engage Maryland’s Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community.

I went to bed on Sept. 24, 2023, knowing that something was not right. It was a Sunday, and our daughter had not called. The next day, one year ago this week, I received the worst phone call — one that any parent would hope they never get. It was from a Baltimore Police Department detective who informed me that our daughter and Nico’s sister, Pava Marie LaPere, was found deceased. We flew to Baltimore the next morning. (Photo: The Baltimore Banner)