Around Maryland

Baltimore’s Waterfront Partnership released its annual Harbor Heartbeat report card Thursday, depicting the stark increase in bacteria issues in the waters close to the city’s Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant. For several years, water samples collected by the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore found that the river near the troubled treatment plant’s outfall was safe to swim in 100% of the time — at least during dry weather. But during 2021 monitoring, testing showed the area was only safe 40% of the time it was sampled. At all of Blue Water Baltimore’s other sampling sites in the Inner Harbor and along its tributaries, that percentage either improved or stayed the same from 2020 to 2021, according to the partnership’s report.

The Major League Baseball playoffs begin this weekend. Next year, Orioles fans expect their team to be in them. The 2022 regular season concluded Wednesday, with the Orioles finishing 83-79 and missing the postseason for the sixth straight year — but far surpassing preseason expectations. And even as questions loom around the organization — the sons of 93-year-old owner Peter Angelos remain embroiled in lawsuits over control of the team and the club’s lease at Camden Yards has yet to be formally extended beyond next year — both fans and Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias are optimistic about the future. Elias said the team will spend more on its major league payroll in 2023, and fans look forward to cheering on playoff baseball in Baltimore for the first time since 2016.

The Maryland Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue team, based in Montgomery County, is halfway through its deployment to assist those affected by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. The search and rescue team, one of 28 task forces across the country, is led by Chase Fabrizio, a battalion chief with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, the host agency of the squad. The squad also includes members from Frederick, Howard, Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C.’s fire and rescue departments, as well as civilians.

The Carroll County Board of Education is working to create a strategic plan for the public school system’s next five years, focusing on growth in student success, family and community partnerships, and support for staff. The school board held its first work session Monday afternoon to create the new strategic plan. The current five-year plan is due to expire next year and a new plan is due to the state by March 15. “It’s a living document, and you constantly tweak it,” said Board of Education President Kenneth Kiler, “but we hope to learn from it and to use that information to improve.”

A Frederick-based nonprofit and a New York-based developer plan to build a 57-unit workforce and senior housing community on 7.5 acres owned by game show host Pat Sajak. Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development announced last week that the developers have been awarded $3,750,000 million in state and federal tax credits to build on Admiral Drive in Annapolis. The application submitted by the developer Conifer, in partnership with the Interfaith Housing Alliance, received high marks from the state because it “would create intergenerational housing opportunities” in the Baltimore region.