City residents and shop owners expressed relief Tuesday as Howard County’s flood mitigation efforts successfully averted severe flooding the night before. County officials said they planned and prepared Monday for flooding on Main Street, but fortunately, there wasn’t any. Shop owners, like those at the Stone House Collective, braced themselves for the worst as the storm drenched the historic area with about 2 inches of rainwater in two hours.

The Maryland Department of Health and Baltimore County are seeking a new county health officer, two months after they said the former health officer was “no longer” in his role. According to a job description that the state published last month for the dual role of county health officer and director of the county Department of Health & Human Services, the position pays between $172,519 and $331,705 a year. Seventeen people have applied so far, according to state health department spokesperson Chase Cook.

Officials of the troubled Parkway Theatre unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday night that will include reinventing the 1915 movie palace as an incubator for emerging filmmakers and for the gaming industry — a plan made possible in part by a seven-figure gift from the Johns Hopkins University. Scot Spencer, chairman of the board of directors told more than 300 people in the Parkway’s audience that the university has “completely forgiven” a $1.7 million bridge loan it made to the institution in 2017 that was scheduled to come due June 30.

The Frederick County Board of Education is considering another round of changes to the Frederick County Public Schools budget that could eliminate the remaining $6 million deficit for fiscal year 2025. The school system is proposing to resolve the budget deficit — which has already come down roughly $47 million — through measures such as further increasing sports and facilities usage fees and removing funding for a planned upgrade of the online Individualized Education Program (IEP) system.

Metro says free shuttle buses traveling in special bus-only lanes through parts of Montgomery County, Maryland, will help riders affected by the shutdown of five Red Line stations starting Saturday. The Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen and Silver Spring stations will be closed from Saturday through Aug. 31. The Takoma station will be closed from Saturday through June 29.

On the lot next to Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, residents are moving into two new “luxury-style” apartment buildings, complete with energy-efficient appliances, large windows and walk-in closets. The two buildings have risen out of the ashes of the past. In 2022, the old affordable housing complex — a 58-unit structure formerly known as Roslyn Rise — was torn down to make way for the next chapter.

Crews working to restore the federal channel of debris from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge need more time before shipping traffic can be fully restored. The end of May had been the goal of state and federal officials, but a Friday news release says that work will conclude by June 10.

 

For many high school seniors and others hoping to attend college next year, the last few months have become a stress-filled struggle to complete the trouble-plagued, much-maligned FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The rollout of this updated and supposedly simplified form was so delayed, error-ridden and confusing that it has derailed or severely complicated college decisions for millions of students throughout the U.S., especially those from low-income, first-generation and undocumented families.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is undertaking a comprehensive update of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab stock assessment, which has not been revised since 2011. This effort aims to collect crucial data to better manage the blue crab population. As part of the updated assessment, scientists will evaluate the impact of things like the population of predatory fish and habitats on blue crabs. Notably, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation hopes the blue catfish, a significant predator of blue crabs, will be included in the study.

County residents want an ambulance to arrive when they need it, and medical first responders want to show up for the call. But that connection, between victims and rescuers, has been threatened by budget problems neither group caused nor controls. As Allegany County officials call for a $2 million cut to emergency medical services, the union that represents 46 full-time Department of Emergency Services employees has tentatively agreed to some terms, and awaits proposed amendments to its contract from the county.