Around Maryland

Despite rising rents and home prices, the Baltimore metropolitan area is on target to build fewer homes than at any point since the Great Recession. An analysis of census data shows Baltimore and its outlying counties issued permits for about 6,600 new housing units last year — the fewest in a decade. Rising interest rates and materials costs, as well as global supply chain issues, have made construction more expensive.

Four Baltimore institutions that anchor the area where this year’s Artscape festival is expected to take place issued a joint statement to The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday raising the alarm about the “potentially crippling immediate and long-term impacts” that could result if officials allow poor planning to derail the event or significantly interfere with the organizations’ operations. “We feel obligated to express our growing concern for the evolving plan — or lack thereof,” reads the statement, which was issued by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Lyric Baltimore, the Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Baltimore.

It will be another hot and hazy day in Maryland on Tuesday, where there is a code orange for poor air quality with temps in the low 90’s. High temperatures and extreme heat can cause children to become sick. It can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, chair of pediatrics, Dr. Esther Liu said its important for parents to watch for symptoms of heat illness.

A federal judge on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to separate the trials of Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and local firearms business owner Robert Krop on charges of conspiring to acquire machine guns. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher said she wanted more information about how audio recordings of each defendant’s interview with federal agents could affect the other man’s defense if played during a joint trial.

When Jim Stowe’s adult daughter was exiting his Rockville neighborhood in her convertible one day, she was stopped by someone asking what she was doing in the area. Even when she said she had been visiting her parents, she was asked where her parents live. In another instance, when Stowe’s son was visiting from college and took the family dogs for a walk, he was stopped by a community member who also asked what he was doing in the area.

The U.S. Women’s National Team is across the Pacific Ocean, looking to win their third consecutive FIFA World Cup. The tournament begins Thursday with a match between New Zealand and Norway. That’ll be at 3 a.m. East Coast time. The United States’ first game is against Vietnam at 9 p.m. East Coast time on Friday. Maybe, like me, you’re new to soccer fandom. Or maybe you’re a long-time fan of the world’s game, but have no idea how to watch matches that are being played in New Zealand and Australia.

I was about halfway through my group Zoom video interview with Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer and a trio of young D.C.-area stage folks who have not won a Tony (yet), when Mayer said, “Can I ask them a question?” Sure, I said. “When we did ‘Head Over Heels,’” he began, “we had all the principals and then we had eight in the ensemble. How many do you have in your ensemble?”

The delivery of Maryland’s long-awaited Purple Line has been pushed back again, while cost overruns have ballooned the light-rail project’s price tag to more than $9.4 billion. The Maryland Transit Administration said Friday it has requested the state Board of Public Works approve a contract extension with Purple Line Transit Partners, the consortium of contractors overseeing construction.