Around Maryland

The speed cameras that were installed on Interstate 83 to help reduce crashes on one of Baltimore’s busiest thruways aren’t up to speed just yet, officials said. The city is still putting the pieces in place before activating the cameras and launching a 90-day grace period for drivers before issuing tickets, said Marly Cardona-Moz, spokeswoman for the Baltimore Department of Transportation. This includes installing signage, speed sensors and testing.

The Anne Arundel County Public Schools community is concerned about transportation, retaining leaders of color and the system’s ability to address the academic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey released Thursday by the Board of Education said. The survey was completed as part of the school board’s search for a new superintendent. The district declined to renew the contract of George Arlotto, who has served in the school system’s top executive since 2014. A new superintendent or an interim superintendent must be in place by July 1.

In the two months since Maryland filed suit against Baltimore City over sewage treatment failures at its two wastewater plants, problems have worsened at the Back River site — prompting state environmental officials to issue an order demanding the facility be brought into compliance within 48 hours. “If the conditions of my order are not met, I will not hesitate to take further appropriate actions,” Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles said in a statement Thursday.

The Environmental Integrity Project claims 97% of Delaware rivers and streams are too polluted for both water recreation and aquatic life. The Clean Water Act at 50 report, released March 17, lists Delaware among the worst in the nation in terms of miles polluted by illegal runoff of fertilizer, other contaminants, and algae blooms dangerous to both humans and fish.

The first of a trio of deluges to hit historic Ellicott City since 2011 was enough to make Vince Saulsbury buy flood insurance for his 122-year-old rowhouse atop Main Street. So when devastating surges of stormwater roared down the old mill town’s steep hillsides in 2016 and 2018, the insurance paid Saulsbury more than $30,000. He used the money to clean out muck, replace insulation, water heaters and furnaces, and line the dirt floor of his basement with concrete. He has done whatever he can, like storing boxes and tools high on shelves, to cut his losses the next time the Tiber Branch overflows in his backyard.

As the number of homicides increases in Baltimore City, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told C4 and Bryan Nehman that the department is making improvements. “We’re making a lot of progress in the police department,” Harrison said. “In rebuilding, reshaping, redesigning a police department that’s performing better. it’s not translating into the offender’s decision to commit these violent acts because it takes more than just a police department, a better police department to change their minds.”

The Maryland State Board of Education presented data on Tuesday that showed how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students in the state.  There were steep drops in math and English standardized scores from 2019 to 2021. And an assessment found that less than half of students were prepared for kindergarten.  Those numbers did not shock the people WJZ spoke with on the topic.  “I was totally not surprised at all,” Chris Gutwein, a retired Montgomery County School teacher, said.