Around Maryland

Maryland has terminated its largely symbolic “Sister State” relationship with the region that includes the Russian city of St. Petersburg due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Gov. Larry Hogan sent a letter to Aleksandr Drozdenko, the governor of Leningrad Oblast, on Monday that cited “the duty of every government to remain vigilant of unlawful acts against public order, democratic principles and innocent civilians.”

Superintendents in three school districts on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia have announced they will leave at the end of the school year. They're part of a nationwide trend. The 2022 Voice of the Superintendent Survey, conducted by education research firm EAB, found about half of respondents “are considering or actively planning to leave their role within the next two to three years.”

Five Sussex County residents have been charged with 91 felonies related to the illegal purchase of guns for other people, more commonly known as straw purchases, according to Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings. Jennings used the Wednesday press conference at the Brick Hotel in Georgetown as a chance to also voice her support for a permit-to-purchase law. The legislation would require anyone in Delaware wanting to buy a handgun to first be fingerprinted, undergo training and obtain permission from the state.

Baltimore faces an uphill battle in its race to be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The city ranks No. 16 of the 17 potential host cities vying for a shot at the global soccer tournament headed to the U.S., said a report from 42Floors, a subsidiary of Santa Barbara, California, real estate data firm Yardi. Baltimore ranked ahead of Washington, D.C., and just behind Boston and Houston.

New coronavirus cases leaped in Maryland in the week ending Sunday, rising 383.9% as 27,829 cases were reported. The previous week had 5,751 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. What led to this huge jump? According to the Baltimore Sun, it's due to a wave of people being reinfected with COVID-19 since the omicron variant emerged.

The Harford County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night to make masks optional for students and staff effective Tuesday. “It has been a long two years. We are all tired, but it is time. We need to move on,” board member Dr. Roy Philips said. The General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review rescinded the current mask mandate last week, as recommended by the Maryland State Board of Education.

Maryland lawmakers voted Friday to approve a change in state regulations that returns decisions to wear masks in schools to local boards of education. The 17-1 vote by the Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review Committee, followed more than an hour of testimony, some of which included harsh criticisms of state school board officials and lawmakers. The vote by the joint legislative panel comes two days after the Maryland Board of Education voted to rescind emergency regulations requiring the use of facial coverings while in school buildings.

Current and former students, staff and community members had pleaded with school board members to keep the alternative schools open in their current The Prince George’s County school board approved a plan to consolidate its five alternative schools into three campuses over pleas from community members to keep all the schools open. As part of a budget proposal, public schools CEO Monica Goldson pitched the redesign plan for the alternative schools, which serve students who struggled in traditional school settings, as a way to bolster students’ academic performance by combining resources.