Around Maryland

What’s the hottest summertime spot in Montgomery County? A group of citizen scientists will soon find out. Montgomery County is undertaking a project to map out various temperatures of its neighborhoods as a part of a national effort to keep track of heat inequities and find solutions for the county’s urban heat islands.

Retirees of Baltimore County Public Schools are still wondering what will happen to their insurance benefits despite promises from the school system to resolve monthslong payment issues by May 1. Some BCPS retirees noticed health benefits discrepancies following the November 2020 ransomware attack on the school system. Either too much or too little was being taken from their pension checks for insurance, causing some retirees to owe or be owed thousands of dollars.

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman has vetoed legislation that would have effectively stalled development of a 5.2 million-square-foot warehouse complex planned for rural land in Perryman. The move is the latest in a simmering land war in the county where e-commerce and other warehousing facilities are being developed as the Interstate 95 industrial market remains red hot. Residents of Perryman have for months fought back against the planned 700-acre complex, saying it would disrupt their way of life.

Baltimore City is now accepting applications from young parents or caregivers for the Baltimore Young Families Success Fund, a pilot program offering a guaranteed income of $1,000 per month for over two years to 200 families. The window for applications opened Monday at 6 a.m. and will remain open until Monday, May 9 at 11:59 p.m. “This will allow young families to put money towards the things that they need the most food, clothes, transportation, medicine, housing, and so much more,” Mayor Brandon Scott said. “Our residents know their own needs better than anyone else and are best suited to improve their own well-being.”

One of the largest school districts in Maryland is cracking down on vape company Juul Labs.  Anne Arundel County Public Schools announced Monday it is suing the maker of vaping products, alleging the company is marketing to children and putting their health at risk.  The school system’s attorney, Phil Federico, says this lawsuit is about protecting the students who say the epidemic of vaping has created “this whole generation of young people who are now addicted to nicotine.”