A survey released Wednesday by Anne Arundel Community College’s Center for the Study of Local Issues reports an increase in residents concerned about housing costs, which local leaders say they’ve been working to combat. Of the top county issues assessed in the survey, housing costs recorded the sharpest rise in concern since the previous survey released about six months ago.

Earlier this month, Prince George’s County. Council President Tom Dernoga and Council Vice President Wala Blegay introduced a bill that would block new townhouse developments in most areas for the next two years. Townhouses would be allowed in three types of places identified in Plan Prince George’s 2035, the county’s comprehensive plan: “Regional Transit Districts,” which include places like Branch Avenue, Largo, and New Carrollton; “Local Transit Centers” like Capitol Heights and West Hyattsville; and “Local Centers,” basically smaller commercial areas like Riverdale Park or Brandywine.

 

Baltimore City leaders heard from the public about the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. “Taxpayer Night” gave residents a platform to share where they think money should go. The city’s proposed $4.3 billion budget focuses on youth initiatives and education, among other topics. “We need to prioritize and focus when it comes to our homeless community,” one resident said.

Listen to Tonya Aikens, President and CEO of the Howard County Library System, discuss the proposed Howard County Lakefront Library.

There is no truer test of the morality and integrity of a state’s criminal justice system than its commitment to exonerate individuals wrongfully convicted of crimes through a process that is fair and impartial. If we learned anything from the Adnan Syed case in Baltimore, it is that a process that relies on elected local prosecutors is far too vulnerable to politics to consistently satisfy that standard.

The death this week of Harry Belafonte, the iconic singer, actor and civil rights leader, brought a wealth of memories for everyone who has known or admired the man and his work. For former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening (D), the news of Belafonte’s passing at the age of 96, recalled a time when Glendening, then Prince George’s County executive, traveled to Senegal in the late 1980’s and ran into Belafonte on a couple of occasions. Each time, the meetings were fortuitous.

Our nonprofit news organization is made possible by subscribers and donors who value storytelling that impacts and uplifts communities. Thank you for supporting our journalism. The transfer of the Harborplace pavilions to Baltimore-based development company MCB Real Estate last week means a new set of hands can get to work on reviving the aged city landmark.

I am a grief expert. It’s somewhere on my LinkedIn page. I wrote a book about widowhood, have spoken internationally on the subject and even Hoda and Jenna and Katie Couric have been interested in what I had to say. But my grandmother, Emma James, died last week. I am experiencing what I now recognize as the unmistakable, unstoppable markers of grief. The shock. The sneak attacks of panic. The eye that just starts leaking out of nowhere.

In a video released early Tuesday, Biden framed next year’s contest as a fight against Republican extremism, implicitly arguing he needed more time to fully realize his vow to restore the nation’s character. “When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” he said in the video, which opened with images of the January 6, 2021, insurrection and abortion rights activists protesting at the US Supreme Court.

Offshore wind energy is getting most of the attention. The sector is rapid growing nationally, and Gov. Wes Moore (D) traveled to an industrial development in Baltimore County Friday to sign a bill that could expand the industry in Maryland. But beyond that legislation, Maryland lawmakers passed several bills in the recent General Assembly session designed to help the state respond to climate change.