Around Maryland

From his Columbia home, Theo Lazarou is making a difference in the lives of children in his community. A recent Long Reach High School graduate, Lazarou, 18, has figured out a way to use his love of video games as a way to raise support for pediatric leukemia research. Using Twitch, a livestreaming platform for gamers, he has held two 24-hour virtual gaming marathons where viewers can donate to support Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Angela Seal was down to her last resort. She’d worked to save money, applied for loans and grants and tried to establish strong credit. But it just wasn’t enough. Insert Frederick’s local music scene, which, through a series of Facebook live streams and a GoFundMe page, helped Seal’s family secure a life-altering item: a wheelchair-accessible van. The van will open a “whole new world” for Seal’s 12-year-old daughter, Imani Parker, who has cerebral palsy.

After last year’s abrupt shutdown of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, increasing numbers of students returned to in-person learning. But a new study shows that racial and geographic gaps persisted as K-12 students went back to their classrooms—with non-Hispanic white kids more often the ones attending a brick-and-mortar school full-time in most states.

Three years and one day after the Capital Gazette shooting, the sanity trial for the gunman is slated to begin. With a jury seated, defense attorneys and then prosecutors are expected to give opening statements Tuesday morning, previewing their respective positions on the case of the man who killed Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters. Jarrod Ramos, 41, already pleaded guilty to all his crimes. But his defense attorneys maintain he committed the murders because he was insane at the time.

The US Geological Survey is reporting another earthquake overnight in west Baltimore. The 1.7 magnitude quake hit in Irvington, near Edmondson Village at 1:53 a.m. This comes after a 2.6 magnitude earthquake hit the area on Friday. According to the USGS the epicenter was located at 39.295°N 76.690°W, which is around the 4400 block of Colbourne Road and was around 3 miles deep. As of now there are no reports of any damage or injuries.

Baltimore Police say the use of “ghost guns” is on the rise in the city, with a top-ranking department official saying that officers are on track this year to seize up to 300 of the untraceable firearms that can be built from kits. More than a dozen of the weapons were linked to homicides and shootings in the city last year,. During a discussion about privately made firearms Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Sheree Briscoe said the department has recovered 83 ghost guns as of mid-May.

Manuel Calero was looking through patient files when his shift partner knocked on the desk divider and handed him a notepad. With the phone still squeezed between her ear and her shoulder, Mary Brough nodded in a way that, Calero knew, meant they would be heading out shortly. He scanned the scribbled notes — a woman calling about her 21-year-old son with bipolar disorder who had recently checked himself out of the hospital and was now home, emptying bags of trash in the living room.

The Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission is announcing federal approval of the Episode Quality Improvement Program (EQIP). This new program provides incentive payments to specialist physicians who improve quality of care and reduce the cost of the care that they provide to Medicare patients. “We are excited to announce the development and launch of the Episode Quality Improvement Program”, said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader.