Around Maryland

It’s 2 1/2 hours before sunset, a drizzle is falling under gloomy skies, and the cars are lined up by the dozen in the parking lot of the Islamic Society of Baltimore. Drivers and passengers, many wearing headscarves or skullcaps, wait in minivans, luxury sedans and old beaters for a signal to move forward. On reaching the entrance to the mosque, they’ll be handed fresh, boxed meals to take home to their families. It’s a coronavirus-era version of the communal ceremonial dinner known as iftar, a nightly observance for Muslims during Ramadan, a holy month that began Monday.

For the third day in a row, Maryland health officials reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases, while more than 1,200 people remained in hospitals across the state fighting the disease. The state added 1,444 coronavirus infections, bringing the state’s pandemic case count to 431,795, according to health department data.

All detainees at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore will be offered coronavirus vaccines by May 1 and the facility will undergo monthly independent inspections, ending a federal lawsuit and providing a level of protection from COVID-19 that inmates and their supporters sought. The settlement between detainees and the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services requires officials at the facility to take steps in line with state and federal guidelines, and with what much of those outside the prison walls have been allowed.

Board of Education members called on the county commissioners to reconsider their stance on how much funding they will give to the school system next fiscal year. The current recommended operating budget plan for the county calls for the school system to receive $204.6 million, sticking with an agreement to increase funding by 3.13%, which works out to $6.2 million. The Board of Education is proposing a budget in which the county funds an increase of $11.4 million or 5.7%, to be at the level in fiscal 2022 that was agreed upon in 2020.

After a visitor to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Performing Arts & Humanities Concert Hall tested positive for COVID-19 last week, Mike Pound wheeled a lab cart carrying a printer-sized device with a large megaphone-like attachment into the room. The BioFlash, a Maryland-made technology, sucked in an air sample, which passed over a compact disc-like biosensor containing a COVID-19 antibody. In a matter of minutes, a small digital panel on the side read: “Test complete — No agents detected.” The room was cleared for class to take place the next day.

Baltimore officials rolled out a new online tool Thursday to help residents keep track of city spending. Known as Open Checkbook, the web-based database offers information on the city’s spending and allows users to break down information by agency and vendor. Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott, who made the tool part of his goals for his first 100 days in office, announced the program during a news conference at Morgan State University. Flanked by Democratic Comptroller Bill Henry, City Administrator Chris Shorter and Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz, Scott said the database is “just the beginning” of his efforts to make city government more transparent and accountable to the public.