Around Maryland

The Baltimore Police Department hopes to soon be in full and effective compliance with two more portions of the consent decree, but staffing and the department’s fleet of vehicles are still major concerns. “We still have a long way to go, but we are getting there,” said Baltimore police Commissioner Richard Worley.

A flood of cash has poured into Maryland school board races, an unusual influx sparked by culture war debates that have inflamed nonpartisan contests traditionally focused on local budgets, curriculums and teachers’ salaries. The Maryland Democratic Party and the conservative 1776 Project PAC have each injected tens of thousands of dollars into more than a dozen school board races in counties that have seen protests over books with LGBTQ-themes, tensions about a state school funding law meant to increase equity, and, in one district, a ban against Pride flags being displayed inside classrooms.

The investigator tasked with looking into allegations of misconduct and financial mismanagement in Prince George’s County Public Schools says school leaders — both in the superintendent’s office and on the school board — continue to throw up roadblocks and make his job harder. It’s to the point that Integrity and Compliance Officer Frank Turner says things have moved from “resistance” to “discomfort” with his role in providing oversight for the Maryland school system.

The CEO and executive committee of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts will hold a town hall online from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, almost two weeks after the city announced the termination of its contract with the agency. The town hall is meant for BOPA leadership to “address the questions and concerns of our arts community and discuss a vision for the organization moving forward,” according to the event’s registration website.

After months of threats, Ocean City on Friday filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the siting of a massive wind farm a little more than 10 miles off its coast. The Maryland tourist town was joined in its suit by a large and eclectic group of plaintiffs, including Worcester County, a Delaware town, a host of community associations, a hotel management company, the Ocean City Marlin Club and a national group dedicated to protecting the endangered right whale.

Families with children in Frederick County Public Schools’ Remote Virtual Program are still pushing to restore the program five months after options for grades 3 through 5 for the program were eliminated. Ashley VanCleef, an attorney with Law for Parents, a firm that represents parents on educational issues, filed an appeal to the Maryland State Board of Education on behalf of three families who were enrolled in the elementary school Remote Virtual Program.

National politics have for years been influencing public education. Maryland, for the most part, has stayed immune. But now, partisanship has crept into local school board elections, which are supposed to be nonpartisan. A recent announcement from the Maryland Democratic Party makes clear that the spirit of the races has shifted.

A report probing work conditions in Baltimore’s Department of Public Works following the heat-related death of a worker on the job has found the department had no procedures for dealing with heat-related illness, offered inadequate facilities, vehicles and training, and confirmed complaints of a toxic work culture where employees feared retaliation for raising safety concerns.