Around Maryland

Downtown Annapolis, Maryland, floods a lot. Sometimes the flooding, classified as nuisance flooding, is just that, a nuisance that might get your shoes wet. But there are times when the waters can rise several feet, surpassing sandbags set up in front of doorways on Dock Street, where business owners have to pump the water back out of their stores. “I’ve been in my kayak and I paddled up to those businesses where we’ve had these big floods and looked in the window to see how many inches of water are the on the floors of Storm Brothers or Armadillos or Dock Street,” Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley said

For the sixth straight year, more women than men are pursuing juris doctor degrees, a trend that is even more pronounced at Maryland’s two law schools. An American Bar Association report released today that profiles the legal profession nationally finds that men still outnumber women in the legal profession — but that the gap is closing because of the strong tilt toward women enrollment in the nation’s law schools.

Ocean City officials voted this week to transfer $6.9 million from its unassigned fund balance. On Tuesday, the Ocean City Council voted unanimously to transfer $6,943,000 from its unassigned fund balance to three reserve funds, a risk retention fund and a vehicle trust fund. City Manager Terry McGean said the transfers would put Ocean City in a better financial position in the coming years.

Last Christmas, Robin “Robbie” Young filmed a short video on her phone showing off an elaborate Christmas setup at her East Baltimore rowhouse: silver tinsel, bright string lights, a small tree perched on a dresser. With music humming in the background, she points the phone toward wall mirror, smiles and waves. A year later, Young’s holiday season looks different. She and her adult son, Curtis, 26, were evicted from their home in October and moved into a long-term stay hotel near the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Curtis, who is autistic and has other health problems, has not adjusted well to the disruption of his routine, Young said.

Narcan — the medicine that counteracts an opioid overdose — has been administered twice in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) as of three months into the academic year, according to the school system’s medical officer. The medicine was administered 18 times during the last school year, with no deaths, MCPS Medical Officer Dr. Patricia Kapunan said during a joint council committee meeting Wednesday. Councilmembers received an update Wednesday on youth safety and crime as well as substance use and overdose trends.

The installation of a video camera system has begun on the Harford County hiking trail where Rachel Morin’s body was found in August. Morin, a mother of five, was found dead off the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail the day after she went to the trail for a walk. Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly directed his administration to develop the security system, which will be able to quickly detect unusual activity and locate a specific person or vehicle of interest.

Test scores for Maryland students in grades 3 to 8 show English proficiency has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, while math scores for 2023 have shown some improvement and science scores have declined, state education officials say. The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program tests are administered annually in public schools to assist educators in understanding student progression so that they can better tailor their methods of instruction.

Students at five Baltimore County middle schools will soon be able to call a hotline for mental health services, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said at a news conference Tuesday. The 24/7 hotline, called the Cigna Student Support Line, is expected to launch later this month and be available for students at Franklin Middle School in Reisterstown, General John Stricker Middle School in Dundalk, Northwest Academy of Health Sciences in Pikesville, Perry Hall Middle School in Nottingham and Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex.