Around Maryland

A MARC station will close for weeks starting later this month as part of a project to improve pedestrian access at one of Maryland’s oldest commuter rail stations. Starting Aug. 21, Camden Line service will be unavailable at the Laurel station, the 10th-busiest stop on the 42-station system that ferries commuters from the Maryland suburbs to downtown Washington. Service will return Oct. 29, officials said.

Red tape is blocking off part of Greenspring Avenue where a utility pole appears ready to snap. It's one of several where homes remain without power. Residents in Liberty Heights said trees brought down a mess of cables during Monday night's storms. "I immediately called 311, was transferred to Baltimore Gas and Electric (and) told them there was a downed power pole that is so close to my house that if I reach my hand out, I can touch it," Jennifer Karner said.

The month before classes start, full-time social work students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore were told via email that their tuition for the semester will increase by more than $2,000. Classes start Aug. 21, and tuition payments are due a week later, according to the university’s website. Amanda Lehning, senior associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor for the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work, notified students of tuition changes via a July 28 email, obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

County officials are once again looking to develop the Cumberland Chase land along U.S. Route 220 after plans for a senior living complex at the site fell through. Dave Caporale, president of the Allegany County Board of Commissioners, and Jason Bennett, county administrator, gave an update on the property Wednesday morning during a State of the County presentation.

A federal judge in Maryland will deliver a ruling on Montgomery County schools’ requirement to include LGBTQ materials in elementary classrooms before classes begin Aug. 28. Judge Debra Boardman heard oral arguments Wednesday in a family-led lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools’ decision to revoke parents’ ability to opt-out of classes that teach young children about gay and transgender issues.

The life’s work of renown, prolific Baltimore artist Joyce J. Scott will be the subject of a special retrospective exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art next spring. “Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams” amounts to the most comprehensive exhibition ever of Scott’s five-decade career. The BMA and Seattle Art Museum will attempt to capture the full range of the versatile and prolific artist’s work, which includes soft sculptures, woven tapestries, prints, wearable art, and performance. 

ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system used by police in Baltimore and other major cities for years, is now in Baltimore County, and the county executive is wondering how much it might help. Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski spoke with WBAL's T.J. Smith on Tuesday. Olszewski spoke about the $738,000 test run on the detection system.

With our crowded roadways, taking away a lane of traffic would, intuitively, seem to cause enormous delays for drivers. And resistance to change seems baked into the human condition. So it’s unsurprising that the installation in December of 2022 of separated, buffered bike lanes along two miles of Montgomery County’s Old Georgetown Road, while removing lanes for cars, spurred virulent opposition.

The Board of Education will host a public hearing on the closure at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at Pikesville High School and make its decision Sept. 12. The early learning center is recommended for closure because of students being routed to other schools. As part of capital improvement in the school system, 1,200 more seats are being added to elementary schools in the Northwest area, according to Pete Dixit, the system’s executive director of facilities management and strategic planning, and Paul Taylor, director of strategic planning.