Around Maryland

The selection process for a new suburban FBI headquarters campus appears to be in its final stretch, and Virginia and Maryland lawmakers are making their final pitches for the massive project. As required by the federal 2023 omnibus spending bill, the General Services Administration will hold "separate and detailed consultations" with representatives from both states in late February and early March as it determines the best location for a new consolidated FBI headquarters, a multibillion-dollar development that could house as many as 7,500 employees. This could be the final set of reviews before the feds make a decision on what promises to be a titanic economic development win.

A Harford County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday morning that County Council member Jacob Bennett may not serve on the council while employed as a Harford County Public Schools teacher. Judge Richard Bernhardt delivered the ruling following a Tuesday hearing in which he stated a quick decision was needed on the matter. Before delivering the ruling, Bernhardt said no matter the outcome, “No doubt, there’ll be future review.”

Four infants have died in Baltimore County in the past two months due to unsafe sleeping conditions, according to the county health officer, who called on health care providers to step up safe-sleep education efforts for new parents and other caregivers. “Over the last two months, we have seen four preliminary findings of sleep-related deaths in infants. While one such death is cause for sounding an alarm, four is what we normally see over the course of an entire year,” said Dr. Gregory Wm. Branch, the health officer, in a statement.

Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, are handing out 10,000 more free laptops to low-income county residents over the next three months. The laptops will be handed out, while supplies last, at distribution events hosted by the county. The next event is Feb. 16 at the Executive Office Building cafeteria in Rockville from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The county has already handed out more than 40,000 free laptops, mostly to low-income households, officials said.

Baltimore youth experiencing homelessness will be eligible to receive thousands of dollars each through a new program. GreenLight Fund Baltimore, the local arm of a national nonprofit that focuses on inclusive initiatives, invested in youth homelessness nonprofit Point Source Youth to scale its Direct Cash Transfer program to Charm City. Young Baltimoreans will get a one-time $3,000 cash transfer, as well as $1,000 monthly over the course of two years. "As leaders and members of our community, it is our responsibility to support the young people who are the future of our city. By demonstrating that their struggles are our own, we can provide the guidance and resources needed to ensure their success,” said Mayor Brandon Scott in a news release.

The Baltimore County Public Schools system is proposing to cut over 160 vacant teaching positions to save millions. Staff from the budget office say it’s to match declining enrollment numbers, but union leaders and the school board chair still find it concerning. The proposed cuts were explained in a 62-page document in which district staff answered dozens of board members’ questions about the district’s budget for fiscal year 2024. The answers revealed ways the system aims to save money in a spending plan the county executive called “unrealistic,” but also points to areas where they may invest more, such as all-day pre-K.

“The Boss” is coming back to Baltimore. A few months after he plays an April show at the newly renamed CFG Bank Arena in downtown, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at Camden Yards on Sept. 9. It will mark the ballpark’s third major stand-alone concert ever, after Billy Joel in 2019 and Paul McCartney last year, as the Orioles and their landlord, the Maryland Stadium Authority, seek to bring more non-baseball events to the park. Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos said in a statement that “as a lifelong fan of Bruce Springsteen and of my hometown, it’s an honor” to announce the concert.