Around Maryland

Calls made by children to the Anne Arundel County crisis line have increased sharply since the pandemic began more than two years ago, one of a few troubling trends in youth mental health presented by the county health officer to the Anne Arundel County Council on Monday night. Members of the council, which sits as the Board of Health twice a year, expressed concern about the data presented by Health Officer Nilesh Kalyanaraman, who noted that children called the county’s crisis phone line about 223 times a month in fiscal 2020, which began about nine months prior to the pandemic. The number of calls rose to an average of 302 a month in fiscal 2021 and increased again to about 352 calls a month in the current fiscal year — a 58% increase over three years.

Maryland will expand the 211 phone system, a nonprofit connecting residents to government agencies and support services, to allow callers to report hate crimes and for victims of hate crimes to receive resources, Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday. The new features are the result of a partnership between the Office of Immigrant Affairs and 211 Maryland, Hogan’s office said. “This new partnership with 211 Maryland is an important collaboration to overcome language barriers in serving everyone who calls Maryland home and who works to make great contributions to our state,” said Hogan.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby wants you to know about the job her office is doing. On Tuesday, Mosby spoke about some recent convictions including a guilty plea in the killing of an MTA bus driver and another guilty plea in the killing of an Israeli tourist last year. “Cameron Silcott pled guilty to first-degree murder and using a handgun in the commission of crime of violence, for fatally shooting MTA bus driver Marcus Parks, ten times,” Mosby announced the news conference.

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.”