Around Maryland

Some tenants in Montgomery County, Maryland, are bracing for sky-high rent increases in August after the council declined to extend COVID rent protections. The council was scheduled to vote Tuesday on a temporary rent control measure introduced by County Executive Marc Elrich. Expedited Bill 22-22 would have barred landlords from raising rents more than 4.4% for another six months, granting more short-term relief to renters as landlords ratchet up rents across the region. But the council took the vote off the agenda, meaning the measure will not receive a vote until after lawmakers return from summer recess in September.

Making history is April Owens’ thing. Not only did she become the first African American woman to be promoted to fire captain in the Baltimore County Fire Department, but it happened during Black History Month. “I am honored,” Owens said. “I feel humbled, proud, blessed. It means a lot to many people here and the people before me.”

Baltimore area leaders announced the launch of a 24-hour help line Wednesday to address the growing need for emergency mental health support and promote community emotional well-being. The help line, which Maryland residents can reach by dialing 988, connects callers to local centers providing free, safe, supportive, confidential and professional care.

A Baltimore family is suing a Sesame Street-themed amusement park for $25 million over claims of racial discrimination, alleging multiple costumed characters ignored a 5-year-old Black girl during a meet-and-greet event last month. The lawsuit comes in the wake of a video, shared widely on social media, showing two other Black girls apparently being snubbed by a costumed employee during a parade at the park in Langhorne, outside Philadelphia. Sesame Place apologized in a statement and promised more training for its employees after the video went viral earlier this month.

Several appointments were made during the Havre de Grace City Council meeting on July 18. Ellen Eltgroth and Jean Johnson were reappointed to the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission, Johnson as the chair. J.W. Walker was also reappointed to the city’s Street and Traffic Safety Advisory Board and serves as its chair.

On Monday, the Aberdeen City Council held a short public hearing for a proposed assisted-living facility at the old Aberdeen High School and expanded the city limits by annexing two properties. The meeting began with discussion of the ordinance governing how the one-acre property on Route 40 being targeted for the assisted-living facility can be used.

The Carroll County Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the hiring of nearly 100 new educators, but school leaders say there are still more positions to be filled before the first day of school Sept. 6. “We’re working very hard to fill all of our vacancies for the upcoming school year, which has been challenging in CCPS and for all other systems across the state and nationally,” Superintendent Cynthia McCabe said at the board’s July 21 meeting. “This is particularly true in critical shortage areas, but staff are working hard to fill these positions.”

Baltimore city officials on Wednesday shed new light on their efforts to support the as many as 160 youth who squeegee and get them away from dangerous, highly-trafficked intersections, emphasizing that they don’t plan to arrest their way out of the problem but rather take a holistic approach. The youth who squeegee are typically stationed at roughly 25 intersections, Deputy Mayor Faith Leach told City Council members, and dozens of volunteers are out on behalf of the city every day engaging with and learning more about the young people of Baltimore who take to the streets to earn money.