Around Maryland

Supporting affordable housing is a key element of the city’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan, and the mayor and Board of Aldermen recently delved into what that support should look like. Proximity to schools, parking and — in the case of a development that the mayor and Board of Aldermen considered at workshops this month — grocery stores are considered crucial factors, along with rental costs, that make a housing project accessible and affordable.

An adult from the Baltimore area tested positive for West Nile virus, the first confirmed human case in Maryland this year. According to the Maryland Department of Health, the patient has recovered from the infection. West Nile is transmitted to humans through mosquitoes infected by feeding on birds that have the virus, the state health department said. In rare instances, the virus may be spread from person to person through organ donation, blood transfusion, breastfeeding or from pregnant mother to fetus.

Nestled in the mountains of Western Maryland, the small town of Cumberland has been having an unexpected revival as remote workers move in and it upgrades its historic downtown. To keep the momentum going, the city launched a pilot program last week to offer up to $20,000 to 10 families who relocate and commit to staying for at least five years.

If endless buffets, getting fancied up for a captain’s ball or waiting to see what animal shape the bath towels have been folded into is your idea of fun on the seas, then the Pride of Baltimore II’s guest crew program is probably not your thing. But, if you want to work alongside a crew, haul lines, furl sails, stand watch in the dead of the night and help with maintenance of a tall ship whose design dates to the 18th century, then you’ve found your people.

More than 130,000 are heading back to class at Prince George’s County Public Schools Monday. For many of them, that means new bus routes and bell schedules. PGCPS said that the majority of schools are seeing no change or only a 15 minute change in their start and end times, but 16% of schools are seeing a shift anywhere from 16 to 45 minutes.

Third-graders struggling to read won’t necessarily be held back, according to an updated draft literacy policy from the Maryland State Board of Education. The policy initially mandated that students unable to read at grade level would repeat the third grade, but the revised version allows families to seek a waiver that would permit their students to move into the fourth grade.

The Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE) draft literacy policy aims to establish a framework to support students and teachers. Yet, the conversation around this policy has been dominated by the issue of retention. By doing so, we are overlooking its broader intent: creating a robust support system.f

As the 2024-25 academic year begins at Baltimore County Public Schools, drivers should watch out for school buses that are newly installed with safety cameras. BCPS launched a new program Monday, the first day of school, that equipped all school buses with interior and exterior automated cameras to discourage drivers from passing while blinking, red lights are on.

Howard County public schools opened for the new school year Monday with a new superintendent, Bill Barnes, who officially took on his new role July 1. In an interview earlier this month, Barnes said his first 90 days on the job will be characterized by a focus on transportation, budgeting, human resources, learning, strategic vision, implementing the multibillion-dollar Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform legislation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.