Around Maryland

Baltimore’s 2024 summer season is going to be packed with music, diversity, fun and a lot of heat. Mayor Brandon Scott announced the official dates for the AFRAM, Artscape and Charm City Live festivals during a press conference Monday. AFRAM is a celebration of African American culture, honoring food, music, art and crafts that debuted in 1976. After celebrating the history of Baltimore club music at the 2023 festival, it will return on June 22 and 23 in 2024.

A bill that would require most new residential buildings in Anne Arundel to include affordable units failed to pass the Anne Arundel County Council on Monday night. The bill, which was voted down by the three Republicans and council member Allison Pickard, a Glen Burnie Democrat, would have mandated developers to allocate 15% of units in each large-scale building project to be affordable for renters earning around $62,000 or less and buyers earning about $83,000 or less.

Community colleges and four-year universities can work together to improve the transfer student experience, a data report from the U.S. Department of Education suggests. The U.S. Department of Education released data about the institutions where transfer students have the highest graduation rates in each state, with New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Maryland and Virginia doing the best. At the other end were South Dakota, Delaware, Indiana, New Mexico and Louisiana.

Maryland is looking for its next State Superintendent of Schools, and the Maryland State Board of Education has retained Hazard, Young, and Attea (HYA) Associates to conduct the nationwide search. HYA will work with the state board to lead recruitment, stakeholder engagement, vetting of candidates, and outreach to assist in the selection and appointment process. The firm has conducted more than 1,600 executive leadership searches across the nation, and more than 350 executive school leader searches since 2015.

Starting next school year, Baltimore City students who rely on public transportation to travel to and from school will have a seat at the table with transit leaders. The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) announced the new Youth Transit Council in early November, with applications for the 20 student members closing on Friday. The panel of 14-to-18-year-olds will meet virtually with the transit administration at least six times next school year to “raise awareness and understanding of the topics most important to their transit experience,” the MTA website says.

Virginia has been known for having more Confederate memorials than any other state. After all, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, and the most major Civil War battles were fought in Virginia. The monuments were protected by state law until 2020, when a General Assembly controlled by Democrats passed a measure allowing localities to consider removing Confederate statues.

Garrett County and Maryland officials are “totally ignoring” regulations crafted to protect the state’s only Wild-designated river, Donald Sebold said. Sebold is chairman of the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board, which met Monday to discuss issues, including the Swallow Falls Road bridge project. The board wants to be notified before any actions are taken that could impact the Scenic and Wild Yough corridor.

The city of Frederick is seeking $11.8 million in funding for local projects in the next state budget, city officials said while meeting with state delegates and senators on Monday. The 2024 General Assembly session is scheduled to begin Jan. 10. Gov. Wes Moore must introduce his proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 to the General Assembly by Jan. 17. Aside from continued investment in the U.S. 15 widening project — which remains a top priority for city and county officials and the state delegation for Frederick County — the city’s largest request is $7 million for new amenities at Westside Regional Park.

The Maryland Transit Administration offered a closer look Friday at the ongoing work to inspect and repair its fleet of Light Rail cars. “Teams have been hard at work to assess each rail car, identify any issues and undertake the repairs needed to ensure the system’s safety and reliability,” MTA administrator Holly Arnold said. As of Friday, MTA said it has inspected 41 vehicles for high-voltage conduit damage, 29 of which required repairs to one or more of the high-voltage cables. Workers have completed 17 repairs. They have also completed the replacement of inter-car cables on two vehicles.