Around Maryland

In the next five years, Baltimore could see an extensive public safety complex developed at the brick building that once housed its daily print newspaper. City officials hope to relocate several communications and logistics operations to North Calvert Street, including CitiWatch, the 911 call center, 311 operations, police and fire dispatch, and Baltimore Police’s crime lab and evidence control unit.

No guts, as the saying goes, no glory. Baltimore’s cheekiest competition, the infamous Hampden Toilet Bowl Races, is set to return Sept. 14, ending a yearslong hiatus for the street race. The races last occurred in 2019. Participants and their porcelain thrones will convene Saturday at 1700 W. 41st St., Suite 420, near UNION Craft Brewing to climb atop their homemade commodes-on-wheels and whiz to the finish line.

The YIMBY movement is having a moment, and Maryland’s housing advocates are very here for it. Shorthand for “yes in my backyard” — a cheeky response to the better-known NIMBY movement — the pro-housing YIMBY lobby is swooning over national attention in recent weeks. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are pledging to bring home costs down if they win the White House this November.

Prince George’s County has long been known as an enclave for middle-class African Americans, a place of cul-de-sac neighborhoods and golf courses that is Maryland’s second-most-populous county. As the area becomes more diverse, a new population is on the rise: African immigrants. That community in Prince George’s has grown from about 41,200 residents in 2010 to about 71,335 residents today, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The Baltimore County Police Department is joining the FBI's Cyber Task Force as the first local agency to take part in the law enforcement effort. Police Chief Robert McCullough announced the new partnership at a news conference Friday morning. He said county police and the FBI are partnering to establish a new cyber investigative team in the police department.

Frederick’s Board of Alderman imposed new conditions on Thursday that could derail an affordable housing project at Wormans Mill. Bruce Dean, a lawyer representing the developer, said in an interview on Friday that the conditions “could very well destroy the economic viability of the project.” The Wormans Mill apartment project calls for 315 multifamily units and 5,000 square feet of commercial space near Md. 26 and U.S. 15.

A few dozen Howard County residents protested Friday afternoon outside the headquarters of W.R. Grace & Co. in Columbia in response to the chemical company looking to build a pilot plastics recycling plant close to their homes. They worry about the air quality and byproducts of recycling plastic, known as forever chemicals, finding their way into the water supply.

Anne Arundel County residents have been blown away by noisy leaf blowers, prompting the County Council to introduce a bill to leave combustion engine-powered blowers behind. The bill will be withdrawn Tuesday, however, due to pushback from small businesses. The bill was introduced in July by District 6 County Council member Lisa Rodvien.