Around Maryland

The Baltimore Circuit Court clerk’s office has not fixed “longstanding deficiencies” and failed to refer accounts that owed more than $7 million in outstanding criminal court fees to the state for collections, a new audit has found. The Maryland Office of Legislative Audits released the report on Monday and looked at the period of Sept. 26, 2017 to Oct. 15, 2021. As allowed under state law, the Baltimore Circuit Court clerk’s office is responsible for billing people, mailing them letters about overdue payment and referring delinquent accounts to the Maryland Department of Budget and Management’s Central Collection Unit, according to the audit.

Due to problems with the city’s newly reconfigured procurement system, the Baltimore Police Department has been unable to secure a key chemical component necessary for DNA tests, which left them scrambling to find it elsewhere. The department has borrowed as much as a six-month supply of analytical reagent, the compound used to cause a chemical reaction in DNA testing, from other labs in the state. Two sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, told The Baltimore Banner that the shortfall of reagent would not have been solved without the assistance of other agencies.

Adnan Syed was imprisoned for more than two decades for the murder of his teenage ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, but he was freed in September and charges were dropped this month. The decision by prosecutors hinged on a lot of factors, including a new analysis of genetic material that they said wasn’t available at the time.

The historic USS Constellation will move from the Inner Harbor to Tradepoint Atlantic at Sparrows Point for significant restoration, according to a news release from Living Classrooms. It will depart from berth at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Pier 1, 301 E. Pratt St., and will arrive at 1 p.m. the same day at Tradepoint Atlantic, 6995 Bethlehem Boulevard, Sparrows Point. The ship will undergo hull repairs to stop water leaks, according to the release.

When Adam Jones finished his 11-year run in an Orioles uniform in 2018, he’d left his name throughout the storied franchise’s record books. He’s seventh all-time with 875 runs scored, fifth with 1,781 hits, eighth with 305 doubles, fifth with 263 home runs, sixth with 866 RBIs and fifth with 595 extra-base hits. He also appeared in five All-Star games and owns four Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger.

Maryland’s attorney general says a team of experts will conduct a detailed review of some 100 autopsies of people who died in police custody during the tenure of the state’s former chief medical examiner. Attorney General Brian Frosh announced details of the review Wednesday in a news release. Dr. David Fowler, who led the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner between 2002 and 2019, came under scrutiny after he testified for the defense during the 2020 murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was charged with murder in the killing of George Floyd.

A couple of years into the pandemic, Shirley Neville had finally had enough of her shoddy internet service. “When I was getting ready to use my tablet for a meeting, it was cutting off and not coming on,” said Neville, who lives in a middle-class neighborhood in New Orleans whose residents are almost all Black or Latino.