Around Maryland

A 60-mile pedestrian and cycling trail in Arkansas, an electric street sweeper in Oregon and truck parking facilities in Florida don’t appear to have much in common — let alone any similarity with a conversion of California highways to toll roads or a roundabout in Michigan. But all of the projects will be paid for by the Carbon Reduction Program, a five-year, $6.4 billion federal program to reduce the tailpipe emissions that contribute to global warming.

The Maryland Department of Health plans to ask the Board of Public Works next week to convert 144 contractual positions to regular ones — a move the department said won’t cost the state additional money if it also eliminates some contractual positions. The Board of Public Works, the body tasked with approving how the state government spends tax dollars, is authorized to create additional positions under the Fiscal Year 2024 budget bill so long as it abolishes 1.25 full-time contractual positions per new regular position, state health department spokesman Chase Cook wrote in an email.

The town is seeking input from residents as it begins the strategic planning process. Town of Berlin residents are being asked to complete a strategic planning survey that will be included with their next utility bill. “As part of our ongoing efforts for strategic planning, we invite you to participate in this Community Sentiment Survey,” the questionnaire reads. “The information you provide will play a pivotal role in guiding our town’s growth and development.”

Decades of data demonstrate that exclusionary housing policies have pushed people into neighborhoods where polluting facilities such as power plants hurt their health. Among other pollutants, fossil fuel power plants emit nitrogen oxides, which can make it harder to breathe in the short term or trigger an asthma attack, while increasing the risk of respiratory infections or exacerbating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments.

New details have emerged about the enhanced safety measures at college campuses in the aftermath of two shootings at Maryland HBCUs. The first was at Morgan State University, where five people were shot during homecoming festivities. Police have arrested a 17-year-old from Washington, D.C., and issued an arrest warrant for an 18-year-old.

A disturbing trend in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is now on the police department’s radar after Latino construction workers have been robbed at gunpoint of their tools and money on job sites. “These are individuals out here making a living. They’re out there working in the sun and in the cold, and you have individuals taking advantage of them,” said Capt. Saul Serpas with the Prince George’s County Police Department.

Several organizers, activists and artists in the Baltimore region are being recognized for their ongoing work to improve their communities.   The Baltimore Community Foundation has selected 10 recipients of their second annual Neighborhood Spotlight Awards. Each awardee is receiving $5,000. One of the winners is the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm.  The farm was started by Caribbean Americans in 2014, and over the years, the community asked for certain types of foods to be grown.

Along with billions of dollars to build roads, bridges and transit lines, the federal infrastructure law included funding to boost research into the future of the nation’s transportation system. The University of Maryland was awarded $10 million to launch a new research center, in partnership with teams at four other colleges, that will focus on some of the Biden administration’s top priorities. The Center for Multi-Modal Mobility in Urban, Rural, and Tribal Areas will examine how to build fairer, greener transportation networks, while promoting economic growth.

Allegany County will no longer be eligible for federal transportation planning assistance following a record 9.3% drop in population from 2010 to 2020. News that the county will no longer be required to be part of the federal Metropolitan Planning Organization was disclosed at a recent meeting of the Allegany County Board of Commissioners. The MPO is a part of the Federal Transit Administration. The loss of MPO status makes the county no longer eligible for certain planning requirements and assistance through the MPO.