Just over four years ago, I received an unexpected phone call from then-Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis inviting me to consider the role of commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, which had lost the faith of the citizens it exists to protect and serve through the actions of rogue officers who defiled their oaths by engaging in unmitigated bias and blatant corruption. Freddie Gray’s death while in the custody of police officers was still an open and painful wound.

Jasmine Norton has spent the past few months preparing to open The Urban Oyster, her sit-down restaurant, in Hampden in late summer. Norton has relocated, scaled her business and adjusted concepts about a half-dozen times since beginning the Urban Oyster concept almost seven years ago. Believed to be the only Black woman in the state to own a brick-and-mortar, oyster-themed restaurant, Norton cited living in Maryland as one of the reasons she has been able to pivot and succeed.

Fast-moving thunderstorms rolled through parts of the D.C. area Tuesday afternoon, bringing heavy winds, reports of hail and “blinding downpours.” But smoke gets in your eyes Wednesday, when smoke from the Canadian wildfires comes back. Some of the strongest storms hit Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties in Maryland on Tuesday, where multiple Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued throughout the afternoon.

 

Former state Del. Neil C. Parrott (R-Washington) is hoping that the third time is the charm. Parrott, the GOP nominee for Congress in the 6th District in 2020 and 2022, announced Tuesday that he has created an exploratory committee ahead of a possible bid in 2024. “My wife and are talking and praying about whether to run in the 2024 election,” Parrott said in a statement.

The city of Frederick began work last week on a stream restoration project at Monocacy Village Park. The project, which is expected to be completed in summer 2024 according to a city news release, is currently in its assessment stage. Contractors are surveying the area around the stream to determine how the plans for the stream’s design should proceed, said Jenny Willoughby, the city’s sustainability manager.

 

Maryland may be later than many other states in legalizing cannabis, but those who wrote the state’s laws hope they’ve avoided the problems that have plagued other states: Lack of product, lack of diversity in the industry, and taxes so high that people kept buying on the black market. Maryland Del. C.T. Wilson will be watching Saturday’s rollout of recreational sales closely.

When yoga teacher Sarah Rehman guided her students through Squishy Tushy positions in a recent class, her lesson reached more than the five students lying on mats at her Flying Buddha Studio in Gaithersburg, Md. — two more watched through a video stream broadcast by her computer set up near the back of the studio. It’s all part of Rehman’s new normal. After being limited to virtual teaching for much of the pandemic, Rehman has seen students return to in-person classes since 2022 — but she believes there’s still an opportunity to get more hesitant students to return.

Maryland’s state school superintendent hopes to move the academic needle this summer for low-performing schools. The majority of those failing schools are in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. That’s where the superintendent plans to direct his focus. “This is my administration’s responsibility and our chance to revamp school improvement,” said Mohammed Choudhury. At Tuesday’s State Board of Education meeting, Choudhury suggested the obstacles to learning aren’t just about money.

 

State employees in one agency will split more than $13 million to settle allegations of wage theft dating back to the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The settlement is part of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into at least two agencies including the Department Public Safety and Correctional Services. The Board of Public Works is scheduled to vote on a more than $13 million settlement between the state corrections department and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Developers on Tuesday shared their vision for transforming Baltimore’s historic Car Barn, a structure that once was the base of operations for a long-gone cable car system that shuttled residents around the city. Renderings of the refurbished 43,000-square-foot building were released on Tuesday by Baltimore-based Cross Street Partners and Beatty Development Group. Two years ago, the firms were named as developers and announced plans for a $15 million renovation, according to The Sun.