Around Maryland

New police officers in Montgomery County, Maryland, are eligible for $20,000 in signing bonuses, officials announced Wednesday. The bonuses, which will be paid in installments, will be offered to the next recruiting class, which is scheduled to begin in June, according to a county news release. The announcement comes amid what county officials called a national police recruiting shortage, which is also affecting most law enforcement agencies in the region.

Baltimore will get $2 million to dismantle the so-called “highway to nowhere.” The money will be used by the city to figure out how to reuse the site. The U.S. Department of Transportation built the highway 50 years ago, but the mayor argues the project divided the communities and has called it a “poster child” for racial and economic inequities.

As antisemitic incidents have multiplied in Montgomery County Public Schools, officials are hoping stronger penalties for students and required sessions for their parents will help prevent further problems. Students who commit hateful acts now will have them documented in their file, Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight announced Wednesday, and their parents will be brought in for follow-up conversations. Community towns halls will also be conducted if the incidents persist.

The agency that oversees parks and planning for Prince George’s County recently acquired a vacant lot in Hyattsville, adjacent to the now-dissolved Beth Torah Congregation, as part of a larger assemblage slated to become a new “multigenerational” rec center. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which oversees those governmental functions for both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, bought the 2.1-acre wooded lot at 6710 Adelphi Road on Jan. 9 for $4.7 million.

Young people are emerging as advocates in the crisis of youth homelessness in Maryland. In Prince George’s, Baltimore, Frederick and Howard Counties, those efforts are focused at Youth Action Boards, which work to end young peoples’ homelessness. “This gives [us] the opportunity to come to have a seat at the table with stakeholders and providers so they can hear what is really needed in the community,” said DaeJanae Day, 26 co-chair of the Prince George’s County Youth Action Board, her full-time job with the Department of Social Services, who was among four formerly homeless youth interviewed for this story. Thousands of young people in the state experience homelessness.

For a few thousand dollars, avid concertgoers or corporate buyers can have the right to purchase concert tickets in reserved club seats at the newly renovated CFG Bank Arena. Los Angeles-based developer Oak View Group plans to officially reopen the arena this spring with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performing on April 7. For those looking to attend multiple concerts in the arena throughout the year, Oak View Group will be offering an annual concert membership program. The membership, which costs between $2,000 and $7,000 per seat, will give members priority access to three new clubs along with a right to purchase — for an additional cost — lower-level tickets within a 48-hour window, said Ryan Coyle, Oak View Group’s senior vice president of premium sales. Members can lease a seat each year, which includes access to the club with private bathrooms, concessions and VIP parking in the garage attached to the arena.

The town of Friendsville has declared its opposition to building a durable bike trail through one of the most pristine areas of the Youghiogheny River, dealing a potentially fatal blow to a controversial project that had already lined up millions in state funding. Friendsville Mayor Spencer R. Schlosnagle and its town council urged state lawmakers to consider an alternative route that would keep the funds in Garrett County but avoid a stretch of the river that has been designated wild and scenic since 1976. “We cannot in good faith destroy this wilderness area which is unlike any other to be found,” Schlosnagle wrote. Friendsville’s letter caught supporters of the bike trail off guard, with some saying the town has done a turnabout.