Around Maryland

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates voted to approve a $16 million extension of the city’s contract for speed cameras Wednesday, including two on Interstate 83. The extension, which will cover the cost of the 160 cameras through May 2024, was approved by the board over the objections of Council President Nick Mosby, one of the spending board’s five members. Mosby argued the city should maintain the speed cameras along the interstate in-house with Department of Transportation employees.

Howard County is out with a report card that’s published every two years, showing some good signs about the declining use of tobacco products. The county’s report showed an almost 40% reduction in smoking among adults over that time period. The study also looked at other health indicators, like cancer. While the rate of newly diagnosed cases are stable, the county says cancer deaths are lower, although cancer and heart diseases are still the two most common causes of death in general.

Baltimore County has made it easier to find food distribution sites for residents struggling with food insecurity. The county on Tuesday launched its Food Pantry Locator, a new online tool that displays community partner food distribution sites across Baltimore County. The locator tool includes detailed information about community food access locations. Residents may enter an address or press “Use my location,” adjust the distance slider to view food pantries near them, and select a pantry’s entry in the list to view more information, including contact information, hours of operation, and special instructions.

The state that often leads the pack in areas like median household income and quality of schools is nearly failing when it comes to transportation, a local advocacy organization says. The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance just released its latest report card for the state, giving it a D+ overall, with failing grades in affordability and connectivity to jobs via transit. The policy analyst and advocacy organization dished out five C’s — the state’s highest grade this year — across 12 different areas.

Even as a small, skinny child, Dakarai Baldwin was brave. A funny and bright student, Dakarai talked easily to girls and adults. He carried himself with confidence and never shied away from a challenge, loved ones say. Marquise Williams, his best friend, said Dakarai, nicknamed “Bonk,” rarely expressed vulnerability. Until the 17-year-old believed he was going to die. He died in a triple shooting in May 2022, one of 20 minors aged 17 and under who were killed in Baltimore last year.

Mayor Brandon Scott said he wants to see the Ravens-Dolphins game on New Year’s Eve moved to a prime time slot on “Sunday Night Football,” swatting away a claim that he and Police Commissioner Richard Worley approached the team and the league about keeping the game in the afternoon because of “security concerns.” If the NFL were to use “flexible scheduling” to move the matchup between two top AFC contenders to “Sunday Night Football,” which typically kicks off about 8:15 p.m., the game would commence shortly after the start of New Year’s festivities at the Inner Harbor.

Town Manager Jared Schumacher has been on the job for about six months, but he's already worked through the biggest challenge he faced when he arrived. And now he's pumped about all the things that will be happening for Boonsboro in 2024. When he arrived back in June, there was good news and formidable news. The good news is that money had been secured for some major — and overdue — capital projects.

When Maryland hired a new state superintendent of schools in October, the reaction among education observers was one of excitement — mixed with a sense of relief. Carey Wright, who has been appointed on an interim basis to complete the term of outgoing Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury, is a top-tier recruit with deep ties to Maryland. She spent decades working as a teacher and administrator in some of the state’s largest school districts before serving a nine-year stint as schools chief in Mississippi, where she was credited with leading a highly successful overhaul to literacy instruction.

In West Friendship Park, where the Howard County Living Farm Heritage Museum recently closed, the more than 340 acres of land will now be home to the county’s new Office of Agriculture, County Executive Calvin Ball said Tuesday at a press conference. This will be the county’s first agriculture office and the state’s third, and it will promote farming in the county. “The Office of Agriculture will create a physical space where all our agriculture-facing functions can collaborate toward a common goal of supporting farms and farmers,” Ball said.