Around Maryland

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.”

Maryland is revisiting the history of Harriet Tubman following Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to dedicate 2022 to the renowned Underground Railroad abductor, which many scholars say is an opportunity to inspire young people. “When it comes to the education curriculum, African American history is still marginalized,” said Chanel Compton, executive director of the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis. “It’s just as integral as math and science, and we’re really not there yet.”

Take a tour around Baltimore’s Middle Branch and, from most vantage points, it’s hard to see the possibility. The South Baltimore waterway has 11 miles of shoreline, but river views are largely obscured. Access, too, is severely limited. Busy roadways, most without sidewalks and safe crossings, starkly divide the waterway from the closest city residents. Debris piles mark the water’s edge as trucks roar past on highways.

Two-thirds of Americans support the creation of a federal holiday for voting, according to the American Bar Association’s annual Survey of Civic Literacy, which also found strong support for other measures to make voting easier. The ABA released the survey results Friday for Law Day, which will be observed on Sunday. The survey highlighted opinions on voting as the country prepares for midterm elections later this year.

Trinity Lutheran Christian School announced Friday the creation of the Lt. Kelsey Sadler Memorial Scholarship to benefit children of first responders. Officials with the K-8 school in Harford County announced the scholarship fund during its annual “Run for the Son” fundraiser on campus. “Not only will this group of Trinity kids know her, but people in the future will know her and she will be the example for our kids,” Colleen Lull, a Trinity parent and Baltimore City Fire Department lieutenant, said. “She was a good person, she was a good mom, she was a good friend.”

Hundreds of students descended upon the University of Maryland in Baltimore County to showcase their projects for Maryland History Day, which was held in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “We are thrilled to bring back an in-person component to our Maryland History Day State Contest,” said Sarah Weissman, Maryland Humanities communications specialist. “While our hiatus was necessary, there is something so unique about the energy of all these students gathering here to celebrate history and showing off a year’s worth of work.”