Friday, November 1, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
FOLLOW US:

Around Maryland

Baltimore prosecutors move to vacate Adnan Syed conviction in 1999 murder case brought to national fame in ‘Serial’ podcast

Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man whose legal saga rocketed to international renown with the hit podcast “Serial,” could get a new trial after city prosecutors determined their predecessors withheld information about alternative suspects in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee. The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office moved Wednesday to vacate Syed’s conviction, according to legal papers filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Photo of person holding graduation cap and diploma
Notre Dame of Maryland to go coeducational in 2023

Notre Dame of Maryland University will become coeducational and enroll men into its traditional undergraduate program beginning in fall 2023, ending its more than 125-year history as an exclusively women’s school. The school’s board of trustees voted at its Monday meeting to make the change. “By going coed, Notre Dame of Maryland University is uniquely positioned to deliver on its mission to advance inclusive and transformational education to more women and men and to equip them to realize their goal of attaining a college degree,” said Dr. Marylou Yam, the university’s president.

Harriet Tubman Cultural Center to open this weekend in Columbia at site of former all-Black high school

Nearly 60 years after it closed its doors, the Harriet Tubman School in Columbia will reopen this weekend, transformed as a cultural and education center to highlight historic contributions of Black Howard County residents. A public ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday, at 8045 Harriet Tubman Lane, Columbia. The Harriet Tubman Foundation will also host the annual Harriet Tubman Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the site, with food, music and other activities.

Ballet After Dark uses movement to heal trauma survivors

With every arabesque, every jete and every pirouette, members of Baltimore’s Ballet After Dark dance away their pain. The group, which was founded in 2014 by dancer Tyde-Courtney Edwards, toe-shoed their way into the national consciousness this summer when they performed during the audition segment of the NBC’s reality television show, “America’s Got Talent.” The group might not have made the show’s finale. But they made their point. “We’re trauma survivors and dancers that use performance to reclaim relationships with our bodies and lives using the healing power of dance,” Edwards, 35, said during the broadcast, which NBC network says reaches an estimated six million homes.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
With Old Bay Caramel seasoning, McCormick says: ‘Move over, pumpkin spice’

Hunt Valley’s McCormick & Company launched a limited-edition Old Bay Caramel seasoning with fighting words: “Move over, pumpkin spice.” One envisions a battle between Old Bay fans and pumpkin spice acolytes. Crab mallet-fisted Marylanders duking it out in front of the local Starbucks with women in Ugg boots eager to welcome in Fall. Over the years, Old Bay has become a local icon, on par with crabs and the Orioles as a symbol of Baltimore pride. Then you have pumpkin spice, a seasoning with its own intense following, and a dizzying number of pumpkin spice-flavored items on the market. Ironically, McCormick itself deserves either blame or credit, depending on your perspective, for the entire pumpkin spice craze to begin with, having first launched its pumpkin pie spice in 1934.

empty building hallway
Annual survey finds no major deficiencies in Maryland school buildings, but some work still needed for improvement

Although the majority of Maryland’s public school buildings are adequate for educational use, some still have problems with deteriorated roads and walkways, fire and safety systems and interior lighting. That’s the finding of The Interagency Commission on School Construction, which approved the final draft of a fiscal year 2022 maintenance report this month.

Blood test spots multiple cancers without clear symptoms, study finds

Doctors have told health services to prepare for a new era of cancer screening after a study found a simple blood test could spot multiple cancer types in patients before they develop clear symptoms. The Pathfinder study offered the blood test to more than 6,600 adults aged 50 and over, and detected dozens of new cases of disease. Many cancers were at an early stage and nearly three-quarters were forms not routinely screened for.

Read More: The Guardian
Report finds Frederick police did not cause man’s death; officers won’t be charged

Five police officers will not be charged in the 2021 death of a Virginia man after a preliminary report from the Office of the Attorney General cleared them, police said. Daniel Michael Holley, 23, died on Nov. 14, 2021, in Frederick Health Hospital, two days after police used a Taser on him during an altercation, a news release from the Frederick Police Department said.

E. coli scare a reminder of Baltimore’s pioneering history in safe civic water systems

Once, Baltimore drinking water was a constant danger. Poor sanitation left the water dirty and often unfit to drink. In the early 20th century, “summer diarrhea,” a seasonal rise of gastrointestinal illness caused by microorganisms, was a leading cause of death among infants and children. Such dangers have become a distant memory in Baltimore, at least until city officials detected E. coli in the tap water.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
U.S. Department of Education awards nearly $2M to Coppin State, Frostburg as part of $25M diverse educator program

Coppin State University will get $1,108,885, and Frostburg State University is set to receive $828,371. Coppin State is one of three historically Black colleges and universities to be chosen for the program. The other two are Prairie View A&M University and Winston-Salem State University, which received awards of about $700,000 each.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

The Morning Rundown

We’re staying up to the minute on the issues shaping the future. Join us on the newsletter of choice for Maryland politicos and business leaders. It’s always free to join and never a hassle to leave. See you on the inside.