Around Maryland

Among the many bus agencies in the Washington region, obviously WMATA’s Metrobus is the biggest by any measure. But the second biggest, Montgomery County Ride On, is such a large agency on its own that it ranks alongside many a big-city operation from elsewhere in the country. If you rank US bus agencies by 2019 ridership, New York’s MTA, Los Angeles County’s MTA, and Chicago’s CTA came in 1-2-3. WMATA was 9th. Baltimore’s MTA 11th.

Mark R. Ginsberg, provost and executive vice president of George Mason University, will serve as Towson University’s 15th president, the University System of Maryland announced Wednesday morning. He will start work Oct. 30. “As a Maryland resident of more than 40 years, I’ve witnessed TU’s remarkable rise in becoming not only one of the most respected institutions in our state, but one of the best in the nation,” Ginsberg said in a statement.

Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley crisscrossed several community policing block parties Tuesday evening, a chance for the nominee to appear publicly as he prepares for a series of town hall meetings and a confirmation hearing later this month. At the annual National Night Out events around the city, part of a national community-oriented policing campaign, Worley shook hands with community leaders and heard their safety concerns, such as a desire for better lighting near Joseph Lee Park in Bayview.

If you are looking to save some cash on back-to-school clothes shopping, you’re in luck in Maryland. “Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week” returns on Aug. 13 and runs through Aug. 19. During that week, shoppers won’t have to pay the 6% sales tax on most clothing and pairs of shoes $100 or less. A full list of items that are included in the sales tax exemption are available through the Comptroller’s website.

Baltimore County has purchased the site of an historic armory in Pikesville. The Pikesville Armory sale was unanimously approved Wednesday by the Board of Public Works. The county purchased the site for $1. The armory was decommissioned in 2016, and the nonprofit, Pikesville Armory Foundation, has planned to redevelop it as a community recreation and arts hub.

In medical emergencies, house fires, or other dangerous situations, most Americans understand to call 911 for immediate help from a call specialist. The dispatcher will talk someone through a tough situation and may coordinate first responders to head toward the emergency. But according to a new report and a former 911 specialist, employees who take those stressful calls may experience significant mental health challenges that lead to depression, anxiety, and burnout.

State attorneys told a federal judge this week that Maryland’s corrections department won’t meet the court’s December 2024 deadline to fix health care and mental health in Baltimore jails. Instead, officials are targeting the end of 2025 to be fully compliant with the terms of a 2016 settlement. The shifting timelines come despite the fact that the judge already gave the state a six-month extension on the deadline two years ago.

Nine prisoners at the Jessup Correctional Institution in Maryland are working toward their college degrees, and the hope is that the positive change they’re experiencing will be contagious. At a gathering inside the prison library in Jessup, Maryland, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Carolyn Scruggs talked about what’s behind the Bowie State University degree program at the prison.