Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission announces Federal Approval of New Program for Specialist Physicians
June 23, 2021 -

The Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission is announcing federal approval of the Episode Quality Improvement Program (EQIP). This new program provides incentive payments to specialist physicians who improve quality of care and reduce the cost of the care that they provide to Medicare patients. “We are excited to announce the development and launch of the Episode Quality Improvement Program”, said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader.

Read More: Center Maryland
Salaries for Carroll County Public Schools educators rank low compared with surrounding districts
June 23, 2021 -

Carroll County Public Schools educators rallied before the most recent Board of Education meeting, demanding higher pay. One reason for their demand was because of how CCPS compares to other counties in terms of teacher compensation. Data from the Maryland State Department of Education shows Carroll’s starting salary is the second-lowest of all the Central Maryland districts. And Carroll has the lowest maximum salary for the same districts.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Heat has closed Baltimore City, County schools this spring. Here’s what to know about the status of air conditioning.
June 21, 2021 -

The lack of air conditioning in Baltimore City and Baltimore County schools has forced in-person lessons to go online this spring — most recently last week — as school systems continue to struggle with high temperatures in their oldest buildings. Long after most school systems in the state had installed air conditioning in all their buildings, Baltimore City and Baltimore County still have dozens of buildings where temperatures rise above comfortable levels.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
“Sports Betting 101” Event Draws Full House of Would-Be Bookmakers
June 16, 2021 -

Three years ago, the Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting. Eight months ago, Maryland voters approved a sports gambling referendum. And in April, state lawmakers created a Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, a panel that will decide who will be allowed to operate a legal sportsbook. While the commission has yet to start its work, entrepreneurs who’ve been following the action will soon face a moment of decision: Roll the dice on a new industry as it takes shape — or hold tight to their chips.

Read More: Maryland Matters
More officers will be on Fells Point streets this weekend, but greater challenge of weeding out the rowdiness remains
June 11, 2021 -

The high school girls walked into the Fells Point bar Penny Black last weekend dressed in caps and gowns and, innocently enough, ordered just juice. When staff caught sight of the tequila bottles under their graduation gowns, the girls took their party to the street. “They spent the entire night, until 3 or 4 in the morning, getting so trashed,” said Melissa Doering, the bar owner. The historic seaport neighborhood of Fells Point has always been a nightlife destination, but such blatant underage, public drinking would never have been allowed in years past, bar and restaurant owners say.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Lawmakers Hail New Prince George’s County Hospital as a Public Health ‘Win’
June 9, 2021 -

As the ribbon was cut on the long-awaited University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Prince George’s County on Tuesday, jubilant lawmakers hailed the state-of-the-art facility’s opening as a public health victory. “More than a million people in Prince George’s County and Southern Maryland are finally going to get the health care that they deserve — which they so desperately need and that they have [needed] for so long,” Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) said at the Tuesday ceremony.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Motivating children In Maryland with an extraordinary educational experience
June 7, 2021 -

With graduation season well underway, there is one school in Baltimore that takes a student in the sixth grade and turns that person into a college-ready learner upon graduation of the 12th grade. The SEED School of Maryland’s mission is to provide an exemplary education and living experience, by combining the critical thinking and social skills necessary to succeed in high school and graduate from college.

Read More: WBAL NewsRadio
‘Huge’ capital investment in Baltimore County’s District 1 includes funding for Wilkens police station, Landsdowne High
June 1, 2021 -

Baltimore County’s $4.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2022 provides significant capital for District 1, including $7 million toward a new Wilkins police station. Baltimore County Councilman Tom Quirk, who represents the southwest portion of the county where the precinct is located, called the upgrade a “long time coming” and “great to see.”

Read More: Baltimore Sun
With 12 men exonerated and a handful of new trials granted, the force behind Maryland’s Innocence Project hangs it up
June 1, 2021 -

When Shawn Armbrust began investigating wrongful convictions in Maryland, she kept hearing the same questions whenever she asked for a case file. Who are you? Where is Michele? Michele, of course, was the attorney Michele Nethercott, the singular force behind the Innocence Project at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She worked tirelessly on a shoestring budget with a staff that peaked around three to identify and set free innocent men behind bars.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Despite progress, Marylanders are still being hospitalized with COVID — and they’re younger now
May 26, 2021 -

Shirlonda Tucker didn’t leave the house much in the past year, and she double-masked when she did. So her positive COVID-19 test came as a shock. “I said, ‘Are you sure, you’re really sure?’” she quizzed the nurse who tested her last month after she began showing symptoms. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all down significantly in Maryland from the winter surge, but people continue to get sick — in some cases, very sick. On Tuesday, 442 were hospitalized, 118 in intensive care..

 

Read More: Baltimore Sun