Around Maryland

While a large recreational cannabis industry bill is taking up most of Maryland lawmakers’ time on the issue, a proposed pilot program would start allowing police to test drivers who officers believe are impaired by cannabis.

You don’t need to hop on a MARC train or fight the crowds in Washington, D.C. to see cherry blossoms this month. Fort McHenry, in South Baltimore, is the home of two groves of Yoshino Cherry trees, the very same kind that surrounds the Tidal Basin in D.C. Peak bloom — the time when 70% of the blossoms on the tree are open — for the cherry groves at Fort McHenry is estimated to be from March 24-28. It’s about the same timeframe as last year, when peak bloom was predicted to be from March 25-28.

A spike in sleep-related infant deaths in the Baltimore metro area is alarming medial providers and health officials and causing them to double down on safe sleep education efforts. Eleven babies have died in Baltimore since Dec. 1, according to preliminary data provided by Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa on Wednesday. For comparison, 14 babies died in 2020 and 16 died in 2021, according to data from the city health department.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police, which has faced criticism over a lack of diversity for decades, has halted hiring efforts while announcing plans to recruit from historically Black colleges and universities and through Spanish-language radio stations. The announcement comes less than two months into the administration of Gov. Wes Moore, the state’s first Black governor, and amid concerns expressed by Black officers that the agency’s past hiring and promotion practices — particularly under former Gov. Larry Hogan — limited the number of diverse candidates.

After promising the Baltimore Ravens up to $600 million worth of upgrades to their stadium if the team resigned its lease, the Maryland Stadium Authority is now exploring how to finance those renovations amid a difficult economic environment. Chief Financial Officer David Raith told the Stadium Authority’s board on Tuesday that the agency won’t be able to finance $435 million in planned improvements to M&T Bank Stadium with only tax-exempt bonds and is seeking the OK to find a bank loan or other financing to pay for up to $200 million of the project costs.

Speed cameras were installed Monday in a new work zone on a Maryland portion of Maryland Route 295, also known as the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The work zone, part of the state’s SafeZones program, is on the two bridges over the Amtrak railway in Anne Arundel County,  just south of Maryland Interstate 195. The speed limit in the new work zone is 55 mph. There is a 21-day warning period, during which civil citations and fines for speed violations will not be issued.

Carroll County continues to move forward with establishing its first Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. On Thursday, the Board of Carroll County Commissioners unanimously approved a contract with Digitech Computer, LLC of Chappaqua, New York, to handle billing for emergency medical treatment, ambulance transport services to a hospital or facility, and collections.