By a single-vote margin, the Maryland Supreme Court has decided to continue conversations regarding the adoption of mandatory continuing legal education for Maryland attorneys. The 4-3 vote reached by the justices on Wednesday afternoon after an hour-long virtual meeting reflected the split nature of opinions on mandatory CLE held by attorneys and Maryland legal organizations who previously submitted written and verbal comments on the matter.

President Joe Biden has pledged to pay to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge and restart the Port of Baltimore, but the catastrophic collapse of the bridge early Tuesday morning after being hit by a cargo ship may still require state funding and complicate decisions about how Maryland will fill shortfalls in its long-term transportation plans. (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steve Helber)

As drivers search for new routes, the disaster is sure to increase congestion around Baltimore’s two harbor tunnels and westbound Interstate 695, transportation experts say. The bridge carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023 — nearly 34,000 trips a day — according to a Maryland Transportation Authority report issued last fall.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a massive container ship struck the Key Bridge, causing the structure to collapse in moments. But could it have been prevented? Engineering experts told The Baltimore Banner that this will be the main question for investigators in the wake of the tragedy and raised similar concerns about what little we know about the 47-year-old bridge and its subsequent collapse so far.

Frederick County could feel the effects of supply chain delays due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. Rick Weldon, the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, said everyone will be affected — from those with Amazon orders to manufacturing and construction companies waiting for materials to complete projects.

As multiple parallel projects seek to reimagine Druid Hill Park for a better future, Baltimore’s Department of Transportation plans to make it friendlier to pedestrians, cyclists and public transit by eliminating the highway-like characteristics of some of the roadways that encircle it.

The Washington County Division of Emergency Services Public Safety Training Center project has been selected for Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending funding by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The project funding, requested by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen and Congressman Trone, was included in the first FY24 spending package, recently passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, securing an allocation of $1,000,000.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) says he plans to use an additional $33 million in reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund resident services and programs, including food distribution and small business support funding. The county had already received $117 million in reimbursements for COVID-19 pandemic related expenditures, and has applied for a total of $280 million.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday after being hit by a cargo ship, with large parts of the bridge falling into the Patapsco River. At least eight people fell into the water, members of a construction crew working on the bridge at the time, officials said. (Photo Credit: Michael A. McCoy for The Washington Post)

A board tasked with reining in prescription drug costs is starting to narrow a list of medications that might be eligible for “cost review,” in hopes of finding ways to bring down expenses for Marylanders on the state’s health plan. The Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) is considering eight name brand prescription drugs that treat a variety of diseases, including diabetes, HIV, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), to see if those drugs pose an affordability challenge to consumers.