Around Maryland

The Montgomery County Board of Education unanimously appointed an interim superintendent to replace Monifa McKnight, who parted ways with Maryland’s largest school system Friday following scrutiny into the school system’s handling of bullying and harassment allegations. The board appointed Monique Felder to the post Tuesday “to support the district during this period of transition as the board conducts a national search to identify a permanent superintendent,” said board President Karla Silvestre before introducing the vote.

Baltimore’s newly formed Police Accountability Board wants to explore having independent legal counsel, separate from the city’s lawyers. But it’s facing pushback from city government. Board members say they see a potential conflict in city attorneys representing both the Baltimore Police Department and the body overseeing that law enforcement agency. Some in Monday’s board meeting also highlighted early questions arising over budget allocations and differing interpretations of city ordinances around hiring staff.

For years, tensions have existed between the volunteer firefighters in Prince George’s County and the career firefighters paid by the Maryland county to provide fire and emergency medical system services. It has led to fist fights at fire scenes, arrests, lawsuits and other forms of complaints. In recent weeks, the condition of a volunteer firehouse in Beltsville has become a source of tension between the two sides. It’s one issue out of many.

University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), Tuesday took the next steps in transforming health care delivery in Harford County with the openings of UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen and the Patient Bed Tower at UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air.

Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) is trying a second time to introduce legislation to limit some police searches in an effort to curb racial disparities. Maryland’s attorney general had determined that his previous effort, the STEP Act, conflicted with state law. Jawando on Tuesday introduced the Freedom to Leave Act, which would prohibit consent searches of a motor vehicle or person by a police officer.

A batch of recycling trucks newly arrived in Baltimore and 20 additional pickup crews will allow City Hall to resume weekly recycling services the week of March 4, Scott administration officials confirmed Tuesday, marking the end of reduced curbside pickups that first became unreliable at the pandemic’s outset in 2020. The city received nine 2024 Peterbilt Model 220s last week — the order was placed in 2021 — and hired dozens of new drivers and crew members to reduce the vacancy rate on the Department of Public Works’ solid waste team to 8.5%, the lowest since before the coronavirus pandemic.

The FBI’s November announcement that it will be moving its headquarters from downtown DC to Greenbelt, Maryland, ended a long-running jurisdictional competition over the agency’s future and its coveted economic redevelopment potential (if a challenge fails to overturn the decision). Now, the move promises to bring 7,500 jobs to Greenbelt, along with 61 acres of mixed-use development for the site itself, plus an additional million square feet of nearby development, presenting a huge opportunity to close our region’s east-west economic divide. The project would be a joint development between WMATA, Prince George’s County, and the federal government.

Frederick County plans to replace about 21% of its vehicle fleet with electric vehicles, as well as use biodiesel fuel for other parts of the fleet, to help lower the county’s greenhouse gas emissions. At Mobilize Frederick’s climate summit at Hood College on Friday, County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced a plan to replace parts of the county fleet with electric vehicles (EVs), as well as a resource document and website for residents and businesses to consult when considering switching to EVs.