Around Maryland

Baltimore’s water system, which serves 1.8 million homes and businesses in the city and Baltimore County, contains measurable levels of so-called “forever chemicals” that the EPA said last week pose health risks even at minute levels. The chemicals known as PFAS, used in firefighting foams and in consumer products for their nonstick and stain-resistant properties, were found in the system at a concentration of 4.93 parts per trillion, according to a city Department of Public Works report.

The Maryland State Fair is trying to please all kinds of tastes with a concert lineup that spans decades and genres of musical performers. The annual “12 Best Days of Summer” at the Maryland State Fairgrounds will feature rapper Nelly, country music stars Niko Moon and Lauren Alaina, and legendary rockers, Styx during the fair’s last weekend, Sept. 9-11. Nelly plays Sept. 9, Niko Moon and Laura Alaina on Sept. 10 and Styx closes out the fair on Sept. 11. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Andrea Barr, the recently fired chief auditor of Baltimore County Public Schools, filed a letter of appeal to the Maryland State Board of Education on June 16, asserting that she was terminated unlawfully. During a school board meeting May 17, the board held a vote on whether to renew Barr’s contract. Barr had been employed by the Office of Internal Audit since 1986 and became chief auditor in 2013 without “a single blemish on [her] record,” she wrote in her appeal. However, her contract renewal failed, not because of votes in favor of termination but board members choosing not to vote at all.

A city judge has ordered Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to appear in court to defend herself against allegations that she violated his order by talking on the radio about the murder case of Keith Davis Jr. Circuit Court Judge John S. Nugent scheduled a hearing for Aug. 12, requiring Mosby to shows up and explain why he shouldn’t hold her in contempt of court for an alleged violation of a gag order he issued June 7.

As Gay Pride Month comes to an end, Howard County leaders want to further protect and support the rights of the county’s LGBTQIA+ community. County Executive Calvin Ball announced at a news conference Wednesday morning a proposal to create a new LGBTQIA+ commission. “We will always support and affirm our LGBTQ community and need to take action in the face of increased attacks on gay and transgender equality across the country,” Ball stated in a news release following the news conference.

For three years, Newtowne 20 resident Mae Bridgers kept asking when they were going to do something. By “they,” Bridgers meant developers, the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, the city itself, or the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Anyone, really, who could move forward the timeline to replace the ugly, aging brick buildings where she and 78 other families lived in a federally-owned housing development off Forest Drive.

The Frederick County Board of Education on Wednesday gave final approval to its $822 million budget for fiscal year 2023. The spending plan represents an increase of $57 million over fiscal year 2022, or about 7.5%. The board’s unanimous vote caps off a months-long budget process that, for the third year in a row, was made more complicated by coronavirus-related funding considerations.

Baltimore’s police commissioner, Michael Harrison, is asking for help from city residents after a weekend in the city that saw several violent incidents. According to police, from Friday, June 17 through Sunday June 19, Baltimore City experienced 11 shooting incidents involving six homicides and 5 non-fatal shootings. There were also 28 confirmed robberies.