The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) has been awarded a $150,000 Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) grant under its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program. The grant will help the MPA develop a thorough flood and storm vulnerability assessment and improve overall coastal resiliencies at the six state-owned public marine terminals of Maryland’s Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. The study will also include the World Trade Center Baltimore, which houses the MPA’s executive offices as well as adjacent communities to the public terminals in Baltimore city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties.

Brick Oven Pizza of Fells Point, a longtime restaurant nicknamed B.O.P. that helped introduce wood-fired pizza to Baltimore before it was trendy, is on the market. Owner Zion Gavriel bought the 30-year-old pizza shop a year ago but said he has decided he doesn’t want to stay in the restaurant business. He said he purchased it because of the key Fells Point location and foot traffic at the corner of Broadway Square. The restaurant sits directly across from Bertha’s, the famed mussels bar and restaurant that is in negotiations to sell before it closes at the end of the year. The B.O.P. building at 800 S. Broadway, owned by 800 S. Broadway Associated L.P., is not for sale, Gavriel said.

Hunger is often likened to a wolf at the door — ravenous, dangerous and ever-present. Such a foe can be held at bay for a short periods but often not for long. People who woke up today without the benefit of stocked holiday cupboards, who do not have refrigerators brimming with the makings of Thanksgiving dinner from ready-to-roast turkeys with giblet gravy to green bean casserole, who lack even a few dollars in their pocket to buy enough to tide them over know the wolf lies in waiting. In the field of public health, this is described more exactly as “food insecurity” or the lack of access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutrition. In Maryland, a state of 6 million people, it is estimated that one out of three people, or 2 million total, qualify as food insecure.

Governor-elect Wes Moore spoke to C4 and Bryan Nehman Tuesday morning and said Marylanders don’t have to worry about him raising taxes once he’s in office. Moore says he plans to move forward with being fiscally smart in Maryland, which does not include raising taxes. “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Moore said about raising taxes. He said Maryland needs to invest in things like transportation infrastructure and schools and focus on business growth in Maryland to become more competitive and equitable. Moore said the state already has money from the private sector and federal dollars earmarked to achieve those goals.

Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) book-ended his week with announcements of top staffers who would be joining his administration when he takes over on Jan. 18. Moore on Friday named three deputy chiefs of staff and an assistant chief of staff. This comes on the heels of Monday’s announcement about his chief of staff, his chief legislative officer, his chief counsel, and his nominees for Budget secretary and Appointments secretary. Appointed as deputy chiefs of staff: Jonny Dorsey, Shaina Hernandez and Lucinda Ware. Andy Parker will serve as assistant chief of staff.

This map shows the precinct-level results for the 2022 gubernatorial election in Maryland. Hover over the various voting blocs to see how each area voted. To see results from your local precinct, type your address into the search bar at the bottom left of the map. The map will zoom in on your precinct. Percentage results will not always add up to 100% because we list results only for the Republican and Democratic candidates. Precinct shapefiles were provided from the Maryland Department of Planning.

Across the country, states are inking agreements with neighbors or striking out on their own to pursue billions in federal funding to set up “hydrogen hubs,” clustered centers for production, storage and use of the gas that many see as a crucial piece of the puzzle for decarbonizing the U.S. economy. How broad a role it should play, however, is a matter of debate. The U.S. Department of Energy is looking to dole out $7 billion from last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law that could fund up to 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs, defined as “a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers and connective infrastructure located in close proximity” to be sited across the country.

Summoned once again to civic duty in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, I found myself this time one of six jurors faced with the following question: Was that a hack or just a friend giving a senior citizen and her son a ride to the Giant in Reisterstown Road Plaza? If a hack, then the ride constituted a violation of the driver’s insurance policy, and the insurance company would not pay for medical expenses incurred by Mom and Son from injuries sustained in an accident that occurred during said hack. Before I go on, some of you might be wondering what a hack is. Kristen Johnson, a native of Baltimore, described it a few years ago in a peer-reviewed journal as “Baltimore’s unique informal transportation system.”

Teachers see some wild behavior in their classrooms. I hear about it all the time — students getting into fights, cursing and smart-mouthing authority figures. Recently, I got to chat with Joyce Abbott, the Philadelphia teacher who is the namesake for the ABC hit TV show “Abbott Elementary,” which was written and produced by Philly’s own Quinta Brunson, who also stars in it. Abbott was Brunson’s sixth-grade teacher. The mockumentary-style comedy series is about life in Philly’s public schools but often ends on a heartwarming note. The reality, of course, is often different. In Philadelphia, the teacher shortage has reached dire proportions; at the beginning of the school year, hundreds of positions were unfilled.