Around Maryland

The University of Maryland Center for Environment Science has named Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm as the new president of the statewide graduate school, leading six research labs across the state. Miralles-Wilhelm joins UMCES on July 1 from George Mason University, where he served as the dean of the College of Science, overseeing 350 full-time teaching and research faculty and 160 staff, according to a news release Tuesday.

Ocean City officials have issued a resounding public rejection of offshore wind company US Wind’s Community Benefits Package offer. The Community Benefits Package, which was extended to various Delaware Coastal Towns as well, included up to $2 million disbursements to communities over a 20-year period. According to Ocean City, in exchange for the commitment, US Wind expects local government officials to refrain from commenting negatively or objecting to US Wind’s offshore project.

Officials announced Superintendent David Bromwell will be stepping down from his role. Dorchester County Public Schools (DCPS) announced in a Facebook post that The Board of Education and Superintendent Bromwell have mutually decided that Bromwell will step down effective March 1. The Board of Education will reportedly vote on an Interim Superintendent to serve the remainder of Bromwell's term through June 30. That vote will be held at a meeting tomorrow, Feb. 22.

The Frederick County Planning Commission on Wednesday will review a preliminary plan to build a combined agricultural and equestrian park near Thurmont that has piqued the interest of horse riding enthusiasts but drawn a rebuke from farmers in the area. In 2017, the 183-acre site was donated to the county by Richard W. Kanode, after whom the proposed park would be named. At that time, Kanode, who died in 2020, also contributed $1 million to the Community Foundation of Frederick County to establish an endowment fund for the proposed park.

The format of the SAT, a standardized test to determine high schoolers’ college readiness, is changing to a digital format this spring as colleges start to make standardized tests optional for admissions. The new format will allow students to get scores back in days instead of weeks, College Board, the nonprofit behind the test, said in January 2022 a news release. “The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of college readiness assessments at College Board, in the release.

This year’s Maryland State Fair is scheduled for three weekends during the summer with pop group Big Time Rush headlining the musical performances. The fair will be held Aug. 22 to 25, Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, and Sept. 5 to 8 in Timonium. During the last weekend of the fair, Big Time Rush will perform in the 2024 Live! ON TRACK! concert series on Sept. 7 with Crash Adams as an opening act.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates is remaining steadfast in the success of the citation docket, but there’s frustration that some of their partners aren’t on board and people could be missing out on services. Police issued 37 citations that have made it to court since the inception of the program, about half were rejected internally.

The Frederick County Planning Commission on Wednesday will review a preliminary plan to build a combined agricultural and equestrian park near Thurmont that has piqued the interest of horse riding enthusiasts but drawn a rebuke from farmers in the area. In 2017, the 183-acre site was donated to the county by Richard W. Kanode, after whom the proposed park would be named. At that time, Kanode, who died in 2020, also contributed $1 million to the Community Foundation of Frederick County to establish an endowment fund for the proposed park.

Sometimes people forget Deep Creek Lake was built to produce electricity, Dustin Droege said. He’s director of operations at Brookfield Renewable US, which owns and runs the lake’s dam that helps power the region. The hydroelectric generation station was built nearly 100 years ago and is permitted to operate by the Maryland Department of the Environment.