Around Maryland

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.

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.

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.

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..

Some schools are half empty across the Baltimore area, and parents in significant numbers are signaling that they aren’t sure they are ready for their children to return in the fall. But those hesitant parents will find a phalanx of educators — from the U.S. Secretary of Education down to their school principal — nudging them to return their children to a school building. Determined to return to normalcy, leaders throughout Maryland are planning to open schools five days a week, 180 days a year starting this fall.

Kimberly Alster first purchased property near Deep Creek Lake in Maryland’s Garrett County 12 years ago. At the time, the idea was to use the home for frequent family vacations. When the pandemic struck, however, the Alsters decided to trade city life for the great outdoors and move permanently. In doing so, families like the Alsters are fueling a housing boom in locations not accustomed to such activity.