Around Maryland

The clock is ticking for the Chesapeake Bay’s surrounding jurisdictions to meet a 2025 goal set under a federal lawsuit settlement to implement policies and practices for bringing the nation’s largest estuary back to health after decades of pollution. Last year, Maryland fell short in meeting federally set targets under the settlement for nitrogen and phosphorous, the two pollutants that have fueled algae blooms leading to low oxygen “dead zones” harmful to fish and other aquatic life, according to a June evaluation by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The crew on fishing vessel Southern Girl pulls one caged wire crab pot after another out of the Chesapeake Bay, only to find a scarcity of crustaceans big enough to sell. It frustrates and worries waterman Luke McFadden — and complete strangers, too. “I’m seeing a lot of empty nets this season man what’s going on?” one TikTok user said, commenting as they watched the 26-year-old McFadden stream his daily work to his more than 1 million followers on the video-sharing app.

Carroll County officials held a ceremony Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of the first phase of the county’s newest park, Westminster Veterans Memorial Park on Crest Lane. The 33-acre park features a walking trail, playground, picnic pavilion and free play area, according to Carroll County Recreation & Parks Director Jeff Degitz. Many other county parks include dedicated sports fields that are often occupied with practices or games for organized sports. Free play areas allow for families and children in the neighborhood to use a large open space to kick a ball or fly a kite, Degitz explained.

Baltimore County Public Schools is holding several open houses in an effort to attract new teachers and other staff. The school district is looking to fill positions for the 2022-2023 school year, according to school staff. The open houses mainly focus on teacher recruitment, but many other positions are available too, school staff said. Baltimore county’s schools are in need of bus drivers, bus attendants, cafeteria workers, building service workers, grounds workers, paraeducators, school safety assistants, clerical employees, and temporary employees, according to school staff.

Baltimore County officials on Monday became the latest in Maryland to declare prosecutors would not cooperate in extraditing anyone who travels to the state for abortion care from one where it is banned. On Monday, County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. and State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger issued a joint statement saying Baltimore County is “committed to protecting the right of all women, regardless of where they are from, to access reproductive health care and safe abortion services.”

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby doubled down on an argument that the assertions she made under the penalties of perjury don’t matter, and that the charges federal prosecutors brought against her as a result of those statements should be dismissed. The two-term Democrat is indicted on two counts of perjury and two counts of mortgage fraud. Federal prosecutors say she falsely claimed to have suffered financially to make early withdrawals from her city retirement savings account under the federal CARES Act, Congress’ first coronavirus pandemic relief bill.

Republican county executive candidate Jessica Haire is facing criticism for receiving large donations from several groups linked to a developer in Silver Spring. Haire received about $90,000 from businesses listed at the address of Halle Companies, a developer connected to various projects around the county, including a proposed landfill in Odenton. Seven of the donations, each of $6,000, the maximum allowable by the State Board of Elections, were made in April while she received eight installments of $6,000 from companies at the Silver Spring address in June.

Trial attorney Ben Crump, who has represented families in the Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Flint, Mich., civil rights cases, is adding parents Jovani and Shawnda Patterson to his list of clients as he joins their fight against Baltimore City and its public school system. The Pattersons sued in January, claiming both parties have defrauded taxpayers by failing to provide acceptable education to public school students. Scott Marder, another lawyer representing the Pattersons in the case, said this is a unique approach, noting that past school lawsuits have tried to argue over civil and constitutional rights.