Around Maryland

Baltimore County residents will begin paying more for their water this summer. The Baltimore City Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved a 4.9 % increase to water rates. For the average county family of four, the Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation estimated the rate increase to be about $1.15 per 748 gallons of water used, which roughly amounts of an increase of about $42 quarterly or $168 annually.

The Frederick County Division of Aging and Independence, formerly known as the Senior Services Division, recently announced that the preparation of the “Blue Book” Resource Guide is underway. For the first time, the division is hiring a vendor to produce this guide through a Request for Quotes. The resource guide will be printed in English and Spanish.

Baltimore County Public School’s Superintendent Myriam Yarbrough was clear about her priorities for the schools moving forward. “My hope is that we come together and service the students of BCPS, that we are taking care of staff members who take care of the students, and that we are back to top in the state, right back there again where we once were,” she said.

Taking issue with delays at two Baltimore projects to install underground storage tanks for treated drinking water, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the city to complete them by the end of the year. The projects, at Druid Lake and Lake Ashburton, will replace the uncovered reservoirs with massive tanks to protect the water from contaminants, including bird droppings, runoff and trash.

The National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI), in collaboration with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, has been awarded a research grant of $14.4 million by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with a goal to transform our knowledge of how much genetic variation there is in cells and tissues throughout our bodies.

A 19th-century-style baseball game, a host of live music acts and a petting zoo are all slated for Frederick County’s 275th anniversary jubilee celebration in June, according to a county press release. The event, which will be held on June 10 from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Utica District Park, is for all ages. Admission is free.

The mental health of students is a growing concern among parents and schools, and more and more focus is being put on social media platforms and the role they might play. Now another local school system is doing what others around the country have done: filing a lawsuit. Prince George’s County, Maryland, Public Schools has filed a federal lawsuit against Meta, Snap Inc., Byte Dance and Google alleging public nuisance, negligence and gross negligence.