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Around Maryland

Virginia built 86 miles of express lanes. Will Maryland follow?

The drive on Virginia’s northern stretch of the Capital Beltway can be painful. Approaching the chronically congested Potomac River crossing, drivers meet a construction zone with shoulder barriers, overnight lane closures and the cutting of trees to make way for new highway lanes and ramps. The temporary work is advancing a 2.5-mile extension of the 495 Express Lanes, a widening project that will bring the state’s growing network of high occupancy toll lanes to the foot of the American Legion Bridge. Those lanes, set to open in 2025, are planned to connect to an expanded bridge and a toll system in Maryland, providing congestion relief at one of the biggest traffic chokepoints in the Washington region.

Baltimore’s Planning Commission approves ‘Reimagine Middle Branch Plan’

A sweeping vision to revitalize south Baltimore’s shoreline and 19 adjacent communities has been officially endorsed by the city. Baltimore’s Planning Commission voted 7 to 0 on Thursday to adopt a master plan developed to improve 11 miles of shoreline along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River in south Baltimore. The commission meeting was the culmination of a multi-year effort led by a consortium of stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Its vote means the Reimagine Middle Branch Plan now has the formal backing of Baltimore’s government, affirmation that will assist in both funding and implementation. No other public body has to vote on the plan, and no legislation must be signed into law for it to take effect.

A trip to Maryland’s Eastern Shore lets you retrace the journey of Harriet Tubman

Summer may be the best time to visit the beach, but winter is my favorite time to visit Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Through the loblolly, many of them becoming spindlier by the day because of intruding saltwater, drivers can see the creeks, necks and rivers that define this landscape. They are the waters from which many men and women eked out a living, and which provided the tools to camouflage an escape to freedom. In 1850, Maryland had a split personality, with parts of the Black population enslaved and parts living in freedom. In Dorchester County, on the Eastern Shore, half of the population was enslaved, and half free. Through close family ties and alliances, they helped each other find paths through the water and the woods to freedom in Philadelphia and beyond.

What’s happening with project to connect Baltimore’s trails?

A trail expected to connect 75 neighborhoods throughout Baltimore needs more funding and community support before it can be completed. The 35-mile trail loop called Baltimore Greenway Trails Network will connect existing trails, including the Gwynns Falls, Herring Run and Jones Fall trails, by adding 10 additional miles. The extended trail will welcome biking, scooter riding, walking and other non-automobile travel. Many in the communities it will touch are excited about the recreational enhancement the trail will bring, but wonder how long it will take to complete. The simple answer: Nobody knows.

Eldergrow therapeutic gardening program allows Westminster Terraces senior living residents to get their hands dirty
Columbia Association names VP Dennis Mattey as interim CEO following contentious departure of Lakey Boyd

The Columbia Association board of directors announced that Dennis Mattey will serve as interim president and CEO beginning Monday, according to a Thursday news release. “I am ready to step up in this capacity in the immediate term to continue the incredible work that’s been started,” Mattey said in the release. “Particularly as we see a surge in community engagement and interest in CA, I recognize the importance of providing steady leadership to our team and our community in the months to come.”

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Family: Suspect in Baltimore power grid plot embraced racist ideology

A woman accused of plotting an attack on Baltimore’s power grid wanted to draw attention to the white supremacist ideology she embraced during years spent in prison, where she acquired a swastika tattoo and increasingly radical, racist views, her family said. Sarah Beth Clendaniel, who believed her days were numbered because of serious health conditions, is accused of conspiring with a Florida-based neo-Nazi leader, planning to shoot out several electrical substations around Baltimore and create chaos in the majority-Black city.

Maryland’s 20-year education reform journey from ‘the Bridge to Excellence’ to the Blueprint

About two decades before the sweeping educational reform known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, there was a different commission that laid the foundation. This was even before what was known as Kirwan. It was the Maryland’s Commission on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence also known as the Thornton Commission, named after chair Alvin Thornton. In a recent interview with WYPR, Thornton shared how the Blueprint’s funding formula was created.

Baltimore board to vote on $6M settlement to end Gun Trace Task Force lawsuit over man’s death

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates will consider a $6 million settlement next week to end a federal lawsuit over the 2010 death of a man who was struck by a driver being chased by members of the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. The settlement will close one of the most notorious incidents that involved the Baltimore Police Department task force, in which plainclothes officers pursued two men who fled in their vehicle and struck another car, killing the driver, Elbert Davis Sr.

Jen Corbin is telling the story of Anne Arundel’s crisis response system. Maryland is listening.

Jen Corbin and Steve Thomas drove into Washington on Tuesday. She got to see President Joe Biden deliver the State of the Union address and the unruly Republican response. Thomas, an Anne Arundel County police lieutenant, checked in on U.S. Capitol Police officers as part of a peer support group. Corbin, director of crisis response for Anne Arundel County, introduced herself to Maryland’s new governor, Wes Moore, also a guest in the gallery. She preached the value of the county’s collaborative approach to mental health, addiction and crisis response, which brings together judges, prosecutors, public defenders, police, firefighters, medical experts, hospitals and nonprofits.

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