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Around Maryland

Anne Arundel school graduations kick off at Maryland Live! event center next week, after COVID delays

The 4,000-seat event center at Maryland Live! Casino & Hotel will host thousands of Anne Arundel County Public Schools graduates next week, a long-awaited change that was to have started in 2020 but was delayed for two years due to the COVID pandemic. Schools spokesman Bob Mosier said the new venue has state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and large screens throughout, which should be an asset for attendees.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
WHO: Monkeypox won’t turn into pandemic, but many unknowns

The World Health Organization’s top monkeypox expert said she doesn’t expect the hundreds of cases reported to date to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledged there are still many unknowns about the disease, including how exactly it’s spreading and whether the suspension of mass smallpox immunization decades ago may somehow be speeding its transmission.

US making COVID antiviral drug more available at test sites

The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects COVID-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients with immediate access to the drug once they test positive. More federally supported sites are set to open in the coming weeks in Massachusetts and New York City, both hit by a marked rise in infections.

Read More: Times-News/AP
Teen accused of bringing ‘ghost gun’ parts to Prince George’s school

A high school in Prince George’s County was placed on lockdown for nearly two hours Thursday afternoon when police received a call that a student had brought a gun on campus. After searching Fairmont Heights High School, county police said, officers found parts of a “ghost gun” — typically purchased as a kit, and a weapon without a serial number — in a classroom. The student who allegedly brought the gun parts to school was arrested, police said.

Maryland Episcopal Diocese awards first round of grants in $1 million reparations program

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has awarded $175,000 in grants to six community groups in its first distributions from a historic $1 million reparations fund. The diocese announced Thursday that it will present grants of up to $30,000 to groups dedicated to “restoring African American and Black communities.” Three of the winners are based in Baltimore and three in other areas of the state.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Under its acting director, Baltimore County’s biggest department sees an exodus of senior staff

Herself not a licensed engineer, D’Andrea Walker is bringing in personnel that lack qualifications, critics say. County Executive Johnny Olszewski expresses “full support” for his public works chief. Increasingly over the past year, turnover of senior staff at Baltimore County’s Department of Public Works and Transportation has been raising eyebrows – so much so that when asked about it, one county insider responded, “Oh, you mean the mass exodus?

Read More: Baltimore Brew

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