Around Maryland

William F. Chaney has helped build statues for the Alex Haley-Kunta Kinte Memorial and a plaque honoring Malcolm X in Annapolis. He has also done the same for Robert E. Lee and another Confederate soldier. To some this might be strange mix. But for the millionaire, who has spent millions memorializing American figures of the past, the symbols are a reminder of this country’s history.

In a bid to combat the city's housing crisis, officials in Cambridge are spearheading an initiative that could mark a pioneering move in Maryland. The proposed program centers around the establishment of a land bank, envisioned as the first of its kind in the state. The concept behind the land bank is to address the commonness and amount of vacant properties and buildings that plague Cambridge. City leaders estimate that there are over 1,000 vacant properties, contributing to the housing shortage gripping the area.

Anne Arundel County is the latest jurisdiction in Maryland to publish a map showing residents whether they need to check their home service lines for lead water pipes. It’s not because officials  think pipes have lead in them. It’s because federal law requires utilities to inventory lead pipes in home service lines. “[T]he probability of finding lead in the County water system is low, with our water quality consistently remaining well above state and federal regulatory standards,” Anne Arundel County officials wrote on the county website.

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring 10 leaders from the Underground Railroad on new Forever stamps, which are being unveiled in a Saturday ceremony in Dorchester County. Many leaders of the Underground Railroad, the secret network of those escaping slavery and those who assisted them, remained anonymous. But the figures being honored on the stamp include Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, the Rev. Jermain Loguen, William Still and Harriet Tubman.

During their recent State of the City presentation, Hagerstown officials discussed benefits and concerns with the upcoming opening of a new downtown ballpark as well as issues developers of smaller projects are facing. The Washington County Chamber of Commerce hosted the State of the City on Tuesday morning in The Maryland Theatre ballroom. About 200 people attended the event, sponsored by Wright-Gardner Insurance.

For a lot of people, the term “organized crime” conjures up images of backroom mafia deals or highly structured street gangs dealing drugs and getting engaged in turf wars. But like everything else in the world, things are changing. “We are witnessing the emergence of smaller, more agile criminal groups that lack the hierarchical structure traditionally associated with larger crime syndicates,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy told a House committee in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday.

P. David Bramble doesn’t want to mess this up. The developer and West Baltimore native controls the city’s most intriguing piece of real estate: Harborplace. The Inner Harbor’s dilapidated pavilions with green roofs are the result of a controversial bargain struck nearly five decades ago. Under a plan approved by voters, the city ceded public land to a private developer. In return, Baltimore got a dazzling festival marketplace on a waterfront promenade a block away from the central business district.

Talks in the resort town over short-term rentals are heating up. Officials are eyeing possible regulations, especially for rentals located in residential areas. Right along 15th street, positioned near multiple homes is a short-term rental property. The sign out front proudly displays that the one story home "sleeps up to 10". While it may seem out of place, Joan Roache, who lives right near the rental property said it is right where it belongs.

With the costs of housing stretching budgets, some students in Howard County are getting a little help making ends meet. County Executive Calvin Ball announced a new student Rental Subsidy Program that offers Howard County community college students who already have housing, assistance with rent costs. To qualify, you must be a student enrolled in fall and spring semesters, be in good academic standing and make 60% less than the median income in the area.