Around Maryland

Baltimore is on track to record fewer than 200 killings this year for just the fourth time in five decades. But gun violence is decreasing across most American cities. So how does Baltimore, which a White House official called the “greatest success story” in the country in terms of violence reduction, stack up? Well, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress, Baltimore’s drop in gun violence through the first half of May this year ranks second among the 50 largest U.S. cities when compared to the same period in 2023. Philadelphia is the highest. Detroit is third.

The County Council's budget comes up about $400,000 short of what the Salisbury Fire Department asked for. Meanwhile, an additional $75,000 will go towards other volunteer departments throughout the county. It has stirred up contention among local officials and fire department heads. Council President John Cannon said the move was fiscally responsible.

Montgomery County Public Schools announced Monday afternoon that no current teachers are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the district’s plan to increase class sizes for the next school year. The increase in class sizes–which was anticipated to lead to layoffs of up to 150 educators–is one of several budget-cutting moves that MCPS is undertaking to close a $30 million gap in its roughly $3.3 billion spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Kids can be on their best behavior this summer and this Maryland police department will still issue them a ticket. But that’s not bad news because the citations the Takoma Park Police Department will write up as part of the Operation Chill program reward good behavior rather than for offenses such as jaywalking or breaking curfew.

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.