Around Maryland

Several elevated ramps will be temporarily closed on the Baltimore Beltway and the “Triple Bridges” interchange on I-70 in Woodlawn for four separate nights in August and September for inspections. The first closure is Wednesday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration advises drivers on I-70 and I-695 and near the interchange to plan for extra travel time and detours. All ramp closure and detour dates are weather-permitting, MDOT SHA said.

Poe Baltimore, with the support of La Cite Development, Monday announced it has received a major investment from Wells Fargo Bank to support the Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards, taking place Oct. 7-8. The commitment of $300,000 over a three-year period will provide for the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum’s largest program, keeping the festival a free community event and premier tourist destination for Poe-lovers from all over the world.

Baltimore Homecoming, an organization mobilizing a network of accomplished Baltimoreans based worldwide to spark new collaborations and drive new investments in the city’s future, Monday announced a search for new leadership following the forthcoming departure of its executive director. Robbin Lee, the organization’s executive director who joined as the organization’s first deputy director and founding team member in late 2017, announced she was leaving the group in December.

The Maryland State Fair will return for three weekends this summer with rides, games, food, animals and plenty of activities. The 142nd annual fair will be held from Aug. 24 through Sept. 10. The hours of operation are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. the other days. “It’s been a family tradition,” Andy Cashman, general manager of the Maryland State Fair said. “I always say its the best family tradition in Maryland that folks can come to and enjoy themselves and a lot of kids come back to and they grow up here.”

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board approved all 24 school systems’ initial plans as part of the state’s goal to reform public education. The documents approved Thursday are the first submission of Blueprint plans, summarizing the reform work that is complete, currently underway or that will be implemented through the 2023-24 school year.

Westminster officials are asking residents to use less water, echoing a similar July 13 request from Carroll County officials, and one from the Maryland Department of the Environment July 10. The state request was for residents of Carroll County and other parts of Central and Western Maryland. “We’re asking folks to conserve water, to help reduce consumption across the board,” Westminster Mayor Mona Becker said.

The morning after the worst mass shooting in recent Baltimore history, cleaners with red dustpans and brooms worked behind police tape on Elarton Court, sweeping trash. An hour later, a Baltimore Police Department employee began laying down evidence markers. Even casual viewers of TV cop dramas might be surprised by this order of operations — and forensic experts interviewed by The Banner were too. Cleaning a crime scene before police finish processing evidence goes against national standards, they said.

Roy McGrath, the onetime chief of staff to former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan who fled ahead of his federal corruption trial, died by two gunshots to the head — one was self-inflicted and the other came from a federal agent’s gun, authorities in Tennessee said Friday. Because the shootings happened simultaneously and because McGrath, 53, lived for another 30 minutes after being shot, the medical examiner wasn’t able to determine a manner of death, meaning either suicide or homicide, according to the autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

In case you were wondering what happened to the bridge on Washington Boulevard that was too short, delaying its opening long after construction ended, we’ll give it to you straight — just like the bridge ended up being. An investigation that began late last year at the request of the Maryland Department of Transportation found the contractor, Lane Construction, did not follow state designs that would have accommodated the curvature of Clarke Boulevard.