A Baltimore County Police trial board found last week that an officer used reasonable force when, according to a county attorney prosecuting the case, he struck an unruly suspect in the head 15 to 20 times while the man was on the floor in 2020. Earlier last week, the same county attorney dismissed a separate use-of-force allegation against the same police officer, David J. Folderauer Jr., who struck a man in the head with a flashlight during an incident in 2021, according to the officer’s defense lawyer.

The Montgomery County Planning Department’s draft of the Pedestrian Master Plan – the first comprehensive countywide plan to improve the pedestrian experience – was approved by the county Planning Board. The May 25 approval sets the path forward for a County Council public hearing where the community will be invited to testify.

Attorneys with Disability Rights Maryland and Venable LLP Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Human Services, the state health department and other state agencies for “illegally and unconstitutionally” housing foster children in hospitals and restrictive institutions beyond medical necessity.

With just one more day to corral Republican support on a debt ceiling agreement, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faced growing opposition from far-right members of his party but remained confident as the bipartisan bill passed a key procedural hurdle late Tuesday and headed to the House floor. Roughly a dozen members of the House Freedom Caucus took turns in a Capitol Hill news conference slamming McCarthy and the deal he brokered with President Biden over the weekend.

As the school year approaches an end with a disturbing rise in youth gun violence, Mayor Brandon Scott, city officials and members of the violence-intervention program Safe Streets are promoting the third annual Safe Summer event series and calling for more community participation. “Safe Summer is about providing our residents — youth and adults alike — outlets for fun and opportunity during the summer months in efforts to keep our neighborhoods peaceful and a part of our Baltimore community violence-intervention ecosystem,” Scott said at the news conference.

On Thursday, the Greater Baltimore Committee held its annual meeting, the 67th such gathering since the advocacy group was formed by local civic and business leaders to help revitalize Baltimore. It was notable in several regards, not the least of which was the formal introduction of the new GBC President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas to the 700 or so people in attendance. The significance of that event goes well beyond mere change in stationery or the “About Us” link of the Greater Baltimore Committee website.

With the longer days now leaving more light into the evening, farmers are taking every opportunity to work later and get this year’s crop in the ground. This means greater activity on the roads from both farmers and the public as more events are held. It may be best to remind ourselves to be considerate of our neighbors and heed the additional traffic guidelines regarding slow moving vehicles.

For the first time, Maryland is giving small-scale farmers a similar financial boost for cover crops that larger-scale farmers have enjoyed for years. Starting this year, Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Small Acreage Cover Crop Program allows farmers who plant less than five acres of cover crops to receive a reimbursement of up to $1,500 per year for the purchase of cover crop seed.

The long-troubled Purple Line development is undergoing more change, as two key leaders, Executive Director Matthew Pollack and Communications Director David Abrams, are out at the Purple Line, a state transportation spokeswoman announced Friday. The 16-mile light-rail line will extend from Bethesda to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County. The line is owned by the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA).

 

Deputy Superintendent Myriam Yarbrough’s commitment to relieving overcrowding at Hampton Elementary School has convinced me that she is the right person to become the next superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools (”Baltimore County Public Schools addresses Hampton Elementary overcrowding during public meeting,” May 22). Unfortunately, the proposals from the school system’s facilities management and strategic planning staff are uniformly underwhelming.