The countdown to Election Day 2024 is on, and election officials in Baltimore County have been working for months to ensure a smooth voting process. Elections officials said this is like the Super Bowl for them. On Monday, the Baltimore County Board of Elections office was already abuzz with activity, counting mail-in ballots.

You’ve researched the candidates and the issues, you’ve blocked off time after work to go vote — but do you know how you are getting to the polls on Election Day? If not, the Maryland Transit Administration may have you covered. Core Baltimore public transit service will be free on Tuesday to help voters get to where they need to cast their ballots, the agency has announced.

Starting Monday in Baltimore County, drivers who pass a stopped school bus with red flashing lights will face a $250 ticket. “It’s a much-needed program so that we can protect our students when you consider the number of kids struck by motorists,” Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said. School buses in the county are equipped with four cameras that capture video and photos of license plates, allowing authorities to identify violators.

In election season, we are inundated with campaign messaging and rhetoric that is light on policy solutions to the most pressing issues facing small business owners like me. As the CEO of Strum Contracting, a family- and African American-owned business that my father founded in 1987, I have seen firsthand how the small-business landscape has shifted and evolved.

More than one in five Maryland voters are choosing not to register with a party — a 25% increase since 2012, according to an analysis of state voter data, as more voters express dissatisfaction with Democrats and Republicans. Those growing unaffiliated voters could be crucial in Maryland’s U.S. Senate race, in which Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, and Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan have told voters the race is a choice between the consequences of party control and independence.

Recently, the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that advocates for reduced imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults, issued a report that suggested that youth offenses are declining based on data showing that arrests in Baltimore City of juveniles have been on the decline since 2022. In an attempt to discredit the concerns I have expressed about youth offenders in our city, the report identifies me directly: Recently, the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that advocates for reduced imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults, issued a report that suggested that youth offenses are declining based on data showing that arrests in Baltimore City of juveniles have been on the decline since 2022.

The Maryland Energy Administration Monday announced the opening of the new Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Commercial Solar Grant Program, which offers major incentives to Maryland businesses and organizations to help pay the costs of solar energy systems that benefit Maryland’s low-to-moderate income, overburdened and underserved communities.

One of the most closely watched, costly Senate races in the country roared toward the finish line on Monday, with Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican Larry Hogan each making a final round of campaign stops in a scramble for votes. On Tuesday morning, Alsobrooks and Hogan will each head to their local polling place and cast votes for themselves.

Officials and medical professionals in Baltimore have become more wary of electric scooters and similar devices as more have appeared on local streets, increasing the opportunity for crashes that can prove fatal. Medical professionals advise that those who ride motorized devices like scooters, e-bikes and mopeds take precautions, like wearing a helmet and other safety equipment.

In the final days of her closely watched race for the U.S. Senate, Angela Alsobrooks spoke to a crowd of senior citizens in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Maryland, vowing to protect their financial future and help Democrats retain control of Congress’s upper chamber. A few hours later and a short drive away, members of a local police union drank beers and cheered the arrival of her opponent, former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, who cast Alsobrooks as an ineffective voice who would perpetuate the partisan divide in Washington.