I felt terrified entering the McDonald’s. An armed guard in full military gear stood at the door, holding an Uzi — a fully automatic machine gun. It was 2004, in Tel Aviv, Israel. The second intifada, or uprising, was ongoing and there had been a recent bombing at a restaurant popular with Americans. The guard was hired to make patrons feel safer, but his presence had the opposite effect. It felt like a war zone. Empty tables told me I was not alone in this feeling. I just left.

Every Sunday morning, Dennis Slaughter’s cousin sets him up to sell copies of The Baltimore Sun on a concrete median near a traffic light in Southwest Baltimore. Neither Slaughter nor his cousin, an independent contractor, work for the newspaper; the choice of sales location is theirs. In Slaughter’s case, it’s the four-foot-wide median on the stretch of U.S. 40 known as Edmondson Avenue.

Anne Arundel Superintendent Mark Bedell is recommending that the Board of Education adopt a redistricting plan that will “put students first” and leave no school in the northern part of the county over its state-rated capacity. Bedell’s recommended redistricting plan was announced Wednesday afternoon — the same day the school board voted down a controversial proposal to ban flags that do not “promote national, state, and local government pride.”

Less than six months after her son was killed in the 800 block of Gretna Court, Donna Bruce watched with horror on Instagram Live as the Brooklyn Day event she knew well devolved into a chaotic shooting on that same street, without a police officer in sight. Bruce, who grew up in the neighborhood but moved out more than a decade ago, said she was not shocked to see the event go unpoliced and turn violent.

All’s well that ends well. Baltimore City Department of Transportation officials restored the street sign in the 1000 block of Orleans Street back to its intended spelling Thursday, one day after a Facebook user poked fun at an error: “Orelans.” Baltimore is known as the “city that reads,” after all. The transportation department owned up and apologized, chiding itself in good fun along the way.

The Montgomery County District Court announced July 6 that they rejected a challenge to Bill 21-22, a county law signed in November that prohibits carrying firearms within 100 yards of places of public assembly, including a park, church, school and public buildings, according to a press release. “It was a good day for public safety in Montgomery County,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in the release.

 

The Baltimore City Council wants to know from police leadership and city agencies what they knew and when as it relates to the July 2 mass shooting at Brooklyn Homes. The Baltimore City Council Public Safety and Government Relations Committee is meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday for a hearing to dig into the police response to the mass shooting.

Johns Hopkins HealthCare has a new name — Johns Hopkins Health Plans — as it has expanded its business, grown its member base and broadened its geographic footprint across the Mid-Atlantic in recent months. Johns Hopkins Health Plans said it will offer Medicare Advantage plans, an employer group plan for Johns Hopkins Medicine employees, a Medicaid managed care organization and a health plan for active-duty family members, military retirees, and their families in its expanded footprint throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

 

While Tonii Gedin has only officially held the role of Anne Arundel County health officer for about two weeks, she already has some lofty ambitions. Gedin took over as acting health officer in March when Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman was tapped by the state’s health department to serve as deputy secretary for public health services. She was approved to be his permanent replacement last week in a unanimous vote by the County Council.

Autumn Lake Healthcare, a New Jersey-based operator of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, has purchased 12,000 tickets for Sunday’s Orioles game against the Marlins. The purchase reserves the entire upper deck at Camden Yards for the company’s employees. An Orioles spokesman confirmed the purchase to The Baltimore Banner and that it’s the largest group the team has ever hosted at Camden Yards.