Around Maryland

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joined officials Thursday afternoon from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to announce the city’s plan to address homelessness. Baltimore has set a House America goal to rehouse at least 1,000 households experiencing homelessness and add at least 1,605 new units of affordable housing into the development pipeline this year. The House America initiative is a partnership in which HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness work with local leaders to use American Rescue Plan funding to rehouse homeless people and stimulate the construction of new affordable housing.

A Maryland family rich in the horse racing industry hopes to one day breed a Triple Crown winner. In the 1890s, Vincent Allen said his family made their first big mark. He said it all starts with relative Dudley Allen in Lexington, Kentucky, who held a 40-year career in the horse racing industry. “My grandfather owned the horse and trained the horse that won the Kentucky Derby 1891, Dudley Allen,” he said. Dudley won with jockey Isaac Murphy and thoroughbred horse Kingman. Through the craft being passed down from generation to generation, Vincent learned the trade.

Elected officials opted to increase Worcester County’s grant to Atlantic General Hospital this week. Despite last week’s 5-2 vote to flat fund Atlantic General, which would have provided the hospital with the same $100,000 grant it got last year, the Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday revisited the issue. A motion to increase the hospital grant to $200,000 passed 4-3. During a budget work session last week, Commissioner Chip Bertino made a motion to flat fund the hospital with a $100,000 grant.

The recent rezoning of four properties on East Broadway in Bel Air by the Board of Town Commissioners has raised fears among some residents and officials that new development there might alter the character of the town. The four properties — at addresses 43, 45, 53 and 57 East Broadway — were among 13 rezoned by the commissioners when they passed an ordinance May 2 that will take effect May 22. Colgate Investments, the Forest Hill-based parent company of Klein’s Family Markets, petitioned the commission for the zoning changes to “accommodate future growth and expansion of the Klein’s ShopRite,” according to a justification statement included in the ordinance packet.

The popular Wine in the Woods event returns this Saturday and Sunday to Symphony Woods by Merriweather Post Pavilion after a two-year absence due to the pandemic. Promising a weekend full of wine tasting, live entertainment, food, crafts and for the first time, local breweries, the two-day event that began in 1993 is hoping to make a splash.

A performance audit of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner likely does not provide a full picture of problems within the agency, according to one state lawmaker. The audit made public Tuesday by the Office of Legislative Audits “did not disclose any findings that warrant mention.” Del. Kirill Reznik, D-Montgomery County, said it may fall short of painting a complete picture of the agency responsible for autopsies in the state.

A Maryland hospital took Henrietta Lacks’ cells without her permission six decades ago. Now, her family stands united in their civil case. The Lacks family is claiming unjust enrichment by a company that they said never sought permission but is profiting from the use of the cells. The company wants the case thrown out. A federal judge called this a challenging case, saying this is uncharted territory. It is an unprecedented case.

Entertainment executive Kevin Liles keeps the music industry’s hottest performers on speed dial, especially those he works with. The Baltimore-bred music mogul reached out to a headlining “hot girl,” when he was thinking about creating something special and exciting for his hometown’s premiere horse racing and music event. “I called my girl Megan Thee Stallion and said, ‘Meg, you’re the Stallion, you have to do Preakness for me,’” said Liles, recounting how he asked the Grammy-winning rapper, who is signed to one of the labels he oversees, to join the festival.