Around Maryland

No doubt the fireworks display over Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will draw your attention to the sky this Fourth of July — but don’t forget to also keep an eye on what’s happening at street level. Baltimore’s holiday festivities this week are expected to draw large crowds downtown for a variety of events throughout the day and into the evening. Visitors are strongly encouraged to use public transportation, including mass transit, the Charm City Circulator and rideshare options.

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge will cost the state an estimated $141 million in lost toll revenue over six years and may bring toll increases a year sooner than expected. That projected loss makes up the lion’s share of the revised forecast that includes a decrease in toll revenues across all facilities. “The forecast reflects a $153 million decline in toll revenues throughout the 2024 through 2030 forecast period,” Chantel Green, director of finance for the authority, said during a meeting of the Maryland Transportation Authority board Friday.

Starting Monday, Metro is changing its shuttle bus service for riders affected by the shutdown of four Red Line stations in Montgomery County, Maryland, aiming to improve travel times and decrease bus congestion. The “Limited 2” shuttle, which stops at Forest Glen, Silver Spring and Fort Totten stations, will be replaced by two new, “more-efficient express shuttle loops,” Metro said in a news release.

The introduction of a bill to establish criteria for a temporary moratorium on residential growth in Frederick County was postponed from this Tuesday to July 16, but County Councilmembers have different explanations as to why. Councilmember Steve McKay, a Republican who sponsored the proposed moratorium legislation, has alleged that the bill was pulled from Tuesday’s agenda in an attempt by Democrats to kill it upon introduction.

After 10 years and millions of dollars spent, scientists, government officials and environmentalists agree that the latest agreement to restore the Chesapeake Bay will fall short of its 2025 deadline. So what now? The path forward became a bit more clear Monday, after a key Chesapeake Bay Program committee released its suggestions for “Beyond 2025,” opening a 60-day public comment period.

Baltimore City has transformed two hotels that it purchased this year, the Holiday Inn Express and the Sleep Inn & Suites, into temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness. Mayor Brandon Scott held the ribbon-cutting Monday at the Sleep Inn in downtown Baltimore alongside U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development acting Secretary Adrianne Todman, Secretary for the Governor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Jacob Day, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services Ernestina Simmons and other officials.

Maryland got a ton of new providers of mental health and addiction services in recent years, and state health officials are not so sure they are all on the up-and-up. The Maryland Department of Health said Friday it would not approve any new licenses for some types of providers for the next six months as they assess what is happening.

As Frederick County begins to enter a drought, farmers are worried about the consequences of going through another drought for the second year in a row — one with notably higher temperatures earlier on in the season compared to last year. As of Tuesday, about 68% of Frederick County is experiencing a moderate drought, and the other 32% is abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

When Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright started her last position as Mississippi State Superintendent of Education in 2013, the native Marylander learned a new expression said in the South. “‘Thank God for Mississippi,’” Wright recalled learning, relaying the why behind the phrase she was told by some in the Magnolia State, during a presentation earlier this year.