Around Maryland

Rockville’s ReveraGen BioPharma Inc., a 15-year-old Children’s National Hospital spinout, is preparing for the launch of its neuromuscular disease drug — and sees an opportunity to advance it for other conditions. ReveraGen scored the Food and Drug Administration’s approval in late October for its treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, the most common and severe type of muscular dystrophy that plagues young boys with progressive muscle weakness and atrophy.

Fewer than 9,000 Marylanders lost Medicaid coverage last month, the lowest number of terminations since April, when the state began discontinuing coverage on a monthly basis in what’s called the “Medicaid unwinding.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were not required to reapply for the low-income federal health insurance program annually, with the goal to insure as many people as possible during the global health emergency.

The Frederick Planning Commission unanimously voted on Monday to reconsider its approval of the Brickworks master plan to review one specific condition for the developer. On Oct. 17, the Planning Commission approved the master plan 3-2 with nine conditions for the developer, Greenberg Gibbons, to meet. The ninth condition required that Greenberg Gibbons work with the Maryland Department of the Environment on a mitigation plan for possible environmental contamination on the property.

Principals of two West Baltimore public schools asked the Baltimore school board Tuesday to merge into one high school because of low enrollment and diminished funding. LaWanda Wilson, who leads Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy West, said the all-boys middle/high school has seen a 63% drop in middle school enrollment since 2019. The school, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and math, had just 42 middle schoolers and 98 high schoolers this year, a 37% decline overall.

The Anne Arundel County school board will vote on proposed redistricting plans on Wednesday, a move that would redraw attendance zones at 48 schools and establish them for two new schools in the northern part of the county. Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell proposed redistricting this summer, and the school board unanimously moved the process to public hearings. If approved, the plan would take effect next school year and result in a change of schools for approximately 6,400 students at some point in the educational process.

Resort officials this week got a better understanding of how long it would take to transition the town’s transit system from diesel to electric. In an Ocean City Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday, Transit Manager Rob Shearman presented members with an estimated timeline for transitioning its diesel fleet to electric. While a state committee has recommended local transit systems convert by 2025, he told the committee the town could not meet that mandate.

Whether you’re rooting for a Snowmageddon sequel or praying for a mild winter, weather experts say Marylanders should pay extra attention to forecasts this winter. The National Weather Service is expecting both above-average temperatures and rainfall in the coming fall and winter months, said meteorologist Kevin Witt with the Baltimore/Washington forecast office. Still, conditions in Maryland have the potential to bring about snow, ice or a wintry mix this season.

The state is advancing its American Legion Bridge and 270 Corridor Program–a project aimed at improving traffic congestion and transit in the region and replacing the American Legion Bridge–and Monday the Maryland Department of Transportation is hosting its first open house to gather public feedback on the project.

If you received an auto insurance renewal notice in July with higher rates, you weren’t alone. Car owners across Maryland saw their premiums soar. Rates in the state are going up, in part, because of a surge in car thefts. National data shows half a million vehicles were reported stolen in the first half of the year — a 2% increase compared to the first half of 2022. In Baltimore, the number of vehicles stolen this year has tripled to rates not seen since the mid-’90s.