Around Maryland

Acting Howard County Schools Superintendent Bill Barnes proposed a $1.13 billion spending plan Thursday afternoon, setting up what is to be a “difficult budget process.” The school system must overcome a $103.8 million gap to balance the budget. “While difficult, we need to make significant changes now to put the school system on a more fiscally sustainable path, not just for the coming year but beyond as we continue to see mandated increases in the years to come,” Barnes said Thursday.

Montgomery County parents went to bed Tuesday night thinking they could sleep in later before sending the kids to school. But the next morning, the Maryland school system sent out another message that left some parents scrambling to find other arrangements. Montgomery County Public Schools announced around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday that instead of a two-hour delay, classes would be canceled, citing lingering ice on school sidewalks and parking lots.

Maryland roadways grew more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists in 2023, threatening to undo the state’s progress before the pandemic. Car crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists rose 9% in Maryland last year, the largest year-over-year increase post-pandemic, according to a Banner analysis of preliminary Maryland State Police crash data. By the end of 2023, there were just over 3,600 of these crashes, resulting in 152 deaths and over 3,000 injuries. State police say the data set is subject to change as crash reports are updated.

The new public park at the Baltimore Peninsula, the South Baltimore waterfront redevelopment project, has been renamed Elijah’s Park in honor of the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings on his birthday. Cummings represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District from 1996 until he died in 2019. A Baltimore native, Cummings was also a well-known civil rights leader. In a 2019 Baltimore Sun article about his life, his constituents regarded him as a civil rights icon, ranking him with the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

City officials discussed a proposal to help more residents understand the inner workings of their local government. Cumberland Administrator Jeff Silka at a mayor and City Council work session Tuesday proposed development of a Citizen’s Local Government Academy. The six-session learning program would expose participants to the city’s various departments, and could be up and running by fall.

Visit Frederick is expanding funding for its Tourism Reinvestment in Promotion and Products grant program by 67% for Fiscal Year 2025, the nonprofit tourism organization said Wednesday. There is now $500,000 available through the grant program, known as TRIPP, for Frederick County nonprofits and government agencies to apply for, a news release from Visit Frederick said. The funds are intended to help grantees promote attractions and tourism development in Frederick County.

On snowy road surfaces, road salt does the trick to provide better traction. “Road salt is mostly sodium chloride, just like the table salt you put on your food,” said Sujay Kaushal, a professor of geology at University of Maryland. “Ions in the salt — little particles — squeeze themselves in between the water when it’s freezing, so that the water has trouble forming a crystal of ice.” However, Kaushal and fellow researchers from Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences say the influx of salt in freshwater streams and rivers poses an “existential threat” to drinking water if current trends continue.

Snow has always been “polar”-izing in Maryland, and that didn’t change Tuesday. “Shoveling snow — that I really don’t like,” Baltimore resident Melvin Hines said. By noon Tuesday, the snowfall was done, freezing rain tapered off and frigid temperatures took hold. Baltimore residents were out and about cleaning off cars, sidewalks and driveways for the first time in years. “There ain’t no strategy. It’s nature. Nature is going to take over this. Just making a little path for people if they want to start moving,” Hines said.