Around Maryland

Bessie Bordenave said she cried in September when her beloved Harriet Tubman High School was reopened as a cultural center. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this is happening.’ Just thinking about it makes me emotional. I think about how great it turned out to be,” she said. “The children from the various schools come and get a taste of what it was like going to the school back then. … I think the children do need to know.”

A General Assembly bill that could transform how the Baltimore area’s water and wastewater infrastructure is operated will get its first hearing Wednesday. A few local politicians and water advocates are raising questions about the proposal, which would set up a task force charged with determining the best governance for the systems, which are largely owned by Baltimore City but also serve Baltimore County and others in the region.

Deputies in Frederick County, Maryland, will be wearing body cameras starting Tuesday as part of their duty uniform. Deputies will be outfitted with Axon body cameras, and the rollout to 180 officers will be phased in over the next 60 days, said Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Richard Balsley, in a Facebook post.

Baltimore County Public Schools educators wanting better compensation upgraded their public pleas to a rally outside the school board meeting Tuesday, the night the board is set to vote on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2024.

On the last day of Black History Month, Gov. Wes Moore appeared at two events: one to honor the legacy of Thurgood Marshall and another announcing funding for three Maryland HBCUs.

The new dashboard will offer the public a view of police and court data broken down by neighborhood, police district and crime types.

As the Biden administration prepares to defend its student debt cancellation program before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, data shows that Black borrowers have the most to lose should the justices strike down the policy. Black borrowers hold a disproportionate share of student loan debt, and many likely were recipients of Pell Grants, federal aid to help low-income students pay for higher education. Those federal student loan borrowers who received Pell Grants could qualify for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness under the administration plan.

Carroll Community College students will have an easier time accessing free funds for groceries and other necessities thanks to a new partnership between the college and Benefits Data Trust, a national nonprofit organization. Benefits Data Trust is helping the college to use student data the college collects to identify those most likely to be eligible for untapped support. About 820 students received texts and emails within the last month notifying them that they may be eligible for about $100 per month to help defray grocery costs. The organization Share our Strength, which works to address hunger-related issues, helped provide data analysis funding.

A top lawmaker in Montgomery County, Maryland, introduced a bill Monday that would put tighter regulations on some of the busiest intersections in the county. According to Evan Glass, the president of the Montgomery County Council, the legislation would impact intersections in downtown and town center areas. “Those are some of the most heavily-utilized areas of our county,” said Glass. “This will allow for people to cross those intersection in a more timely and safer manner.”