Around Maryland

The subvariant of omicron, BA.2 is starting to spread across the country and officials in Anne Arundel County said they are ready. Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman said another surge could be on the horizon, but they are more prepared with tools like the COVID-19 vaccine and COVID-19 pill to help combat against it. "We are in a different landscape," Kalyanaraman said. "We've obviously gone through the omicron surge and unfortunately a lot of people were infected but that provides some level of immunity for the short term as well in addition to our vaccination."

Scores on standardized academic proficiency tests taken during the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically fallen since Maryland students were last tested in spring 2019. Only 15% of the state’s public school students in grades 3 through 8 and high school achieved scores showing competency in math and 31% passed English on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program this fall, according to a presentation that Maryland State Department of Education officials made to the Maryland State Board of Education on Tuesday.

A Patterson Mill Middle High School junior is the recipient of the 2021 Hershey Heartwarming Project Action Grant. The $250 microgrant is awarded to youth ages 13 to 17 for initiatives benefiting their community, mental wellness and advocacy, according to a news release. Ashlee Brockwell, 17, of Abingdon will launch her winning “Deck the Doors” project this spring with the help of the Harford County based, youth-led nonprofit We Cancerve Movement, Inc. Brockwell said her project promotes inclusivity and mental wellness among children that are hospitalized or critically ill.

Developers plan to build luxury townhomes to replace the former social hall of St. Brigid Catholic Church in Canton, the latest redevelopment project for the Southeast Baltimore community. The former church social hall at 901 S. Ellwood Ave. sits near O'Donnell Square and is set to be razed in the coming weeks, according to a city permit for the Berg Corp. pasted to a fence outside the red brick hall. A project to replace the hall with nine townhouses will then break ground in May, said Chris Cooke, of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Homesale Realty, the listing agent, on Tuesday.

Three students have been struck by drivers on their walks to Montgomery County schools in recent weeks, and parents and pedestrian advocates want the district to do more to keep students safe. Reports from the school system show two students recently needed to be hospitalized after being hit by cars on their way to class. On March 10, a Montgomery Village Middle School student was hit and had to be transported to the hospital. A week later, on March 17, a Magruder High School student was hit and also transported to the hospital. On Feb. 2, a Clarksburg High School student was hit, but was not seriously injured and was able to continue to school.

Is Assateague now the Mount Rushmore of national parks? Well, actually, by one standard it's even better. For 2021, Assateague Island National Seashore received a record-setting 2,662,716 visitors to its Maryland and Virginia units. This put Assateague Island 33rd among the 380 National Park Units reporting visitation numbers, and ahead of such iconic locations as Mount Rushmore, Bryce Canyon and Shenandoah.

Harford County Public Schools shut down its onsite voluntary COVID-19 testing on March 17. During the last few weeks, the site operator, MAKO, saw a decline in the number of voluntary tests administered in the school system, according to a news release from the school system. HCPS encourages parents and staffto contact their medical provider for questions about future COVID-19 testing, the release said.