Around Maryland

Maryland ranked in the middle of the pack when it comes to the overall well-being of children, but improvements are still needed, according to a report released Monday. The 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book ranked Maryland 22nd among states, one place lower than last year and three spots lower than the report from two years ago.

After the COVID pandemic, we all had the heebie-jeebies about global supply chains. The threat of shutting them down again — or even crimping them with the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26 — was enough to induce a feeling of dread. You would have been forgiven for thinking, here we go again.

Kat Locke-Jones wants to know if there are any nappers in the room. She’s asking her 36 seventh graders, all stuffed in a small classroom, how they get rid of negative thoughts and feelings after a bad day. Her tonic is apple juice and a nap. One boy says he puts all his emotions into pitching a baseball, leaving everything on the field. Another one of her students escapes with music, and a third says: “I love to write down my feelings.”

Baltimore appears to be seeing — or hearing — far fewer gunshots in 2024. There is some question about how often the sounds ShotSpotter alerts are actually gunshots, but so far this year the number of ShotSpotter alerts has fallen dramatically. Baltimore’s reduction in homicides has garnered national attention — from the White House, no less.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has plans to return astronauts to the moon this decade, and Maryland is set to play a role in the agency’s progress the next several years both in outer space and on earth. In outer space, the commander of the upcoming Artemis II manned-mission around the moon is a Maryland native.

As the sun began to rise on Saturday morning, more than 50 volunteers were hard at work putting up signs, handing out bib numbers and assisting with last-minute bicycle repairs. They were preparing for the 15th annual Tour de Frederick, a joint effort of the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County and the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek — the biggest fundraiser of the year for both nonprofit organizations.

The number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay is down slightly from last year, to 317 million, but researchers said the numbers are manageable and they see “no serious reason for concern.” The population estimates come from the annual winter dredge survey released last month by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. It estimated that the overall number of crabs this year is down from the 323 million estimated in 2023.

The Unified Command is planning to open the permanent 700-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep Fort McHenry Channel, to regain full access back to the Port of Baltimore, Saturday. This is happening after the last large piece of steel was removed from the channel this week, according to the chief of operations for the United States Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region, Cmdr. Baxter Smoak.