Around Maryland

A new resource is opening to tackle food insecurity in Baltimore. Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library cut the ribbon Wednesday on the new Pratt Free Market inside the Southeast Anchor Library in Highlandtown. The Pratt Free Market will be stocked with produce, dry goods, paper goods and more products available for free to those in the community who need it. Each customer will be allowed to fill one library-supplied bag per day.

In honor of Banned Books Week, Anne Arundel County announced the first book sanctuary in the state. The public library joins 12 other library systems across North America, offering access to banned materials. The Anne Arundel County Public Library hopes that by doing this, it ensures all stories and perspectives are protected.

A few winters ago, as a viral petition calling for a snow day circulated, Christian Pensiero recognized some of the names attached to it. As a fifth-grade teacher at Veterans Elementary School in Ellicott City, Maryland, Pensiero noticed that not only had she taught several of the students who signed the document, but several of her former students were among those who helped create it.

All Baltimore City School Police officers will wear body cameras by next academic year. At a school board meeting Tuesday night, school police officials said officers will record arrests, interviews, uses of force, and instances when officers stop cars, bicycles or people. “They provide clear documentation of our officers’ interactions. They play a crucial role in evidence collection,” Nick Smith, the director of school police systems, said at the meeting.

Baltimore’s long-stalled Superblock project on downtown’s west side is facing another delay, and city officials said Wednesday they are considering ending an agreement with the developer. The developer countered that it has made significant progress over two years, including building momentum to create “a truly transformative anchor in the Bromo Arts District and for all of downtown,” said Chris Janian, president of joint venture partner Vitruvius, in a statement.

“TREASURES!” My 3-year-old niece shrieked in delight at the chest filled with gems, Slinkys, bouncy balls and slime. Decked out in an eye patch, gold earring and black pirate hat, Addie collected her riches with a gaggle of children who’d successfully followed the treasure map, solved the clues and found the X that marked the spot.

Most Highlandtown residents do not live in a food desert, otherwise known as a healthy food priority area, where access to food and other basic necessities are stifled, according to Baltimore’s latest Department of Planning data. So why is the neighborhood’s library branch opening a grocery store where everything — from fresh produce and cereal boxes to tampons and baby wipes — is free of charge?

Seventy-five-year-old Argo Duenas stood recently in front of a parking garage on Calvert Street in Annapolis, recounting with emotion how her childhood home once stood on that very spot. “My great-grandmother in 1944, built that house on West Washington Street, a single woman with two little boys,” Duenas said. “She worked at the Naval Academy. That speaks volumes.

It has been six months since Baltimore lost its iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge. The 47-year-old span toppled in seconds after the Dali cargo ship lost power and struck a support pier. This week also was the deadline to file responses to the Dali operators’ petition to limit their liability in the disaster. There’s a lot to catch up on.