Around Maryland

Speeding and an unsafe lane change contributed to the horrific crash on Interstate 695 last year that killed six highway workers, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report on the incident. In March 2023, two cars — both traveling in excess of 120 mph — collided on the inner loop of I-695, the Baltimore Beltway, near Interstate 70.

With the start of the 2026-2027 school year, third graders who do not meet reading level standards could be held back unless parents intervene, according to a new policy from the Maryland Board of Education. The policy comes as literacy rates in the state have continued to decline. The policy passed in a Tuesday session with an 11-1 vote.

The University of Maryland School of Social Work is offering in-state tuition to D.C. residents enrolled in its Master of Social Work program, as part of a push to help address a shortage of social workers in the region. The change, effective this fall, offers in-state credit prices to D.C. residents participating in either the online program, or in UMSSW’s locations in Baltimore or Shady Grove.

ATCC, a biological materials management and standards organization with research and technology centers in Gaithersburg and Germantown, Wednesday received a C06 Research Facilities Construction Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build a new biomanufacturing suite at its headquarters in Manassas, Virginia.

Baltimore’s school board on Tuesday extended the contract of CEO Sonja Santelises through June 2026, adding a second year to the one-year contract she received in June. The unusually timed move comes four months after Mayor Brandon Scott appointed three new members to the board who were more supportive of Santelises, apparently swinging the board in favor of her leadership continuing to a 10th year.

Members of the Baltimore City Council voted Tuesday to advance a proposal that would set a new, higher property tax rate on vacant and abandoned houses, a first step toward cementing the bill into law. If passed by the rest of the council, the special tax rate could take effect as early as July 2026, bill co-sponsors Odette Ramos and Eric Costello said at a Tuesday committee hearing in City Hall. The bill received unanimous co-sponsorship by every member of the council when it was introduced earlier this month, a rarity relative to most pieces of legislation that move through City Hall.

Shore up, is holding its annual Energy Week, a time when residents are able to come in and ask questions concerning their energy bills and obtain resources. We looked into this and can shed some light on this story. In today’s society, low to moderate-income families may struggle with paying for their electric or home heating bills. Shore Up, a local non-profit, says they might have a way to alleviate some of those winter worries.

The Maryland State Board of Education unanimously greenlighted policy changes Tuesday requiring school officials to share with one another certain information from transfer students’ criminal records. The policy, added Tuesday morning to Maryland State Board of Education’s agenda, comes after lawmakers raised concerns over communication pitfalls in the wake of two high school students being arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a teenager in Columbia.