Around Maryland

Before leaders of Maryland’s 24 school systems meet deadlines this year to show how they will continue implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plans, they can seek assistance from certain scholars at the University of Maryland, College Park. The school’s College of Education released a teacher career ladder framework last month with recommendations on professional development, peer evaluations and job descriptions. The document also includes policy briefs from parts of the Blueprint legislation approved in 2021.

The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners unanimously approved a transportation contract Tuesday for two taxicab services that were investigated last year for potential fraudulent charges to the system. Richard Henry, the state’s inspector general for education, found taxicab vendor WHC MD, LLC, which does business as zTrip, billed city schools for over $631,000 in charges between 2018 and 2022 that did not match attendance records.

Recognizing growing community concerns about safety and discipline, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is considering new security and safety tools such as vape and weapons detection systems and mandatory student and staff IDs, according to a community letter from interim Superintendent Monique Felder.

Officials at the helm of salvage and recovery operations at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse have called the process a massive undertaking, which is now being highlighted from the perspective of a marine construction and diving company. The owner of Eastern Marine Services, Phil DePalo, has been in business for more than two decades.

A third channel will open this month at Baltimore’s port after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse two weeks ago, and Maryland’s congressional delegation will sponsor legislation seeking federal aid to pay 100% of the cost of a new bridge, Sen. Ben Cardin said Tuesday. Cardin gave the update after meeting with the state congressional delegation and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Capitol Hill in Washington.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office has launched an app to provide another way to inform community members and to receive tips in situations that aren't immediate emergencies, said Sgt. Carly Hose, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. "It does not replace calling 911," Hose said. Such an app would have been useful in late March when the sheriff's office put out a description for a homicide suspect authorities were looking for, Hose said.

Artificial intelligence is the future of technology, but the capabilities, and a lack of trust when it comes to Big Tech companies and their goals, means lots of people are wary. Will it take away our jobs? Will it be designed in ways that benefit people? Will it even consider the human impact? But with a recognition that the technology is moving ahead, and has the capacity for good, the University of Maryland has announced its new Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM).

The city of Frederick in a filing Tuesday asked a court to allow it to put a long-vacant building on North Market Street into receivership, turning the building over to a real estate company to sell to a new owner. The city has filed a petition in Frederick County District Court to start the receivership process for the building at 123-125 N. Market St., the former site of the Asiana restaurant, Mayor Michael O’Connor announced Tuesday.