Around Maryland

Parents and students who attend a virtual learning program rallied outside Baltimore City Public School headquarters Thursday night in protest of the program ending for elementary students. Charm City Virtual — a program started during the coronavirus pandemic that some students and families have continued to use for its flexibility — relies on federal funds and will expire this summer.

It took 178 years, but a woman has taken the helm of the U.S. Naval Academy for the first time. At a Thursday ceremony, Vice Adm. Yvette M. Davids assumed command of the Annapolis military college from Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, the interim superintendent. Davids becomes not only the first woman but, as a Mexican-American, the first person of color to lead the school.

The Maryland Center for School Safety’s annual report found it got a lot more tips and reports to its anonymous tip line during the last school year than it did in the previous school year. But leaders in that small state agency said that’s not necessarily indicative of growing problems and safety issues in schools — but rather the success of its messaging and efforts to raise awareness of what the center does.

Transportation Security Administration officers stopped 20% more guns in 2023 at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport over the previous year. TSA released a statement Wednesday, saying officers stopped 105 handguns at airport security checkpoints in the Baltimore-Washington region last year, which is 16 more than the 89 guns caught in 2022. TSA said its officers discovered each of the firearms during routine screening of carry-on property at airport security checkpoints.

The unexpected shutdown of Maryland’s light rail system last month cut many commuters and sports fans off from downtown Baltimore, and left many with questions. The Maryland Transit Administration did not give a time frame when making the suspension announcement for safety reasons but resumed light rail services about two weeks later. Now, here’s what to know about the suspension, the resumption of services and how it’s affecting potential future projects.

Baltimore County will perform safety audits along 17 roads, many in the western part of the county, thanks to a $3.5 million federal grant, officials recently announced. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, or SS4A. A yet-to-be-determined external contractor will perform the audits. The contractor will not make infrastructure changes to the roadways but will develop proposals aimed at increasing safety for drivers and pedestrians.

With one in four Baltimore EMS positions currently vacant, the city’s spending board approved a recruitment and retention bonus of $7,500 per employee Wednesday. The bonus, which is expected to cost the city about $2.2 million, requires employees to remain with the city for three years in exchange for the payment. Eligible employees, who agree to remain with the force for the next three years, will receive the retention bonus over three installments in January, March and July.

Whether it’s a textbook or a library book, it won’t be allowed in Carroll County Public Schools if deemed sexually explicit by school officials. That’s thanks to a new policy passed unanimously by its school board Wednesday. The vote came after a monthslong campaign by the conservative parent group Moms for Liberty, whose members challenged dozens of school library books they say are inappropriate for students.