Around Maryland

The field is set for an intriguing Ocean City municipal election next Tuesday with four candidates vying for three open seats, including two incumbents, meaning there will be at least one new face joining the council. Mayor Rick Meehan is unopposed and will remain in his position. Councilman Lloyd Martin did not file for re-election, ending a two-decade run on the council including a long stint as council president.

A Maryland student’s dream of working as a nurse became one step closer to reality following an event that announced the opening date of Montgomery College’s East County Education Center. During Wednesday’s presentation in Silver Spring — where school officials detailed plans to offer for-credit and non-credit classes at the new center — student Nneka Ndubisi met Anthony Stahl, the CEO of Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center.

About 5,000 more Howard County households will soon be able to take advantage of the Aging in Place Tax Credit, thanks to rule changes passed last month by the County Council and signed by the county executive. The tax credit was enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in 2017 to encourage older adults to “age in place” in their longtime homes. The state law requires that a resident age 65 or older reside in the same home for a number of consecutive years in order to apply for a 20% property tax credit.

Baltimore’s supply of a chemical needed to treat the city’s drinking water became dangerously low earlier this year as a result of a dispute between the city and a vendor, putting the city’s drinking water at risk of being undrinkable, according to a report released Tuesday by the city’s inspector general. According to the report, an unnamed vendor threatened to halt deliveries of the unspecified water treatment chemical to the city in June due to a disagreement about a proposed price increase. At the time, Baltimore owed more than $77,000 to the company in unpaid invoices, according to the report.

Residents, local leaders and politicians crowded the church pews and walls of Asbury United Methodist Church in Annapolis Tuesday to recognize the city’s history as a slave port. The standing-room-only event, held on the 158th anniversary of emancipation in Maryland, was a celebration of Annapolis being designated as a “Site of Memory,” one of five locations in Maryland and 42 across the United States where enslaved Africans first arrived in the Americas. Residents, local leaders and politicians crowded the church pews and walls of Asbury United Methodist Church in Annapolis Tuesday to recognize the city’s history as a slave port. The standing-room-only event, held on the 158th anniversary of emancipation in Maryland, was a celebration of Annapolis being designated as a “Site of Memory,” one of five locations in Maryland and 42 across the United States where enslaved Africans first arrived in the Americas.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has tested positive for the coronavirus, he said in a tweet on Monday. “Just wanted to let Marylanders know that after testing positive for COVID-19, I am working from home,” Hogan said. “Fortunately, I’m up to date on my boosters and my symptoms are minimal.” This is the second time Hogan has been diagnosed with COVID-19. In December 2021, Hogan tested positive, but said his case, at that time, was mild.

More than two years after the pandemic shut down in-person schools and school board meetings, the Baltimore City school board will begin meeting at its North Avenue headquarters on Nov. 9, but only five seats will be available for members of the general public. “We are grateful to the staff for thoughtful planning to create more opportunities for the public to participate in our meetings. We are looking forward to this transition”, said board chair Johnette Richardson in a statement.