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.

In a couple years, Maryland schools will teach kids to read using brain science, find struggling readers early, and make individual plans to get them caught up by the end of third grade. That’s according to the new comprehensive literacy policy approved Tuesday by the Maryland State Board of Education. That policy recommends struggling readers repeat third grade if all else fails.

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.

The Frederick County Health Department in fiscal year 2024 served more residents in various ways and fully launched a program to combat the opioid epidemic by providing assistance to emergency medical service responders. The department’s latest annual report, covering operations and achievements for the previous fiscal year, mentioned statistics for how many people used certain services, as well as updates on programs like harm reduction trainings and grant programs.

Baltimore County’s population has quadrupled since the 1950s, with residents drawn to the suburbs ringing the city for the well-paying technology jobs in Hunt Valley, the waterfront views in Essex, the music shops in Catonsville and the restaurants in Towson. The problem is, getting from one of those places to the other requires sitting in horrible traffic, which has worsened since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26. Some of the roads, particularly in the Dundalk area, have large potholes.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools is switching learning management systems in an effort to streamline the way educators, students, and parents access curriculum content, grading, and school communication. The Board of Education will vote on the final contract with Canvas — the system recommended by Superintendent Mark Bedell’s team after an evaluation process — at their next meeting Nov. 6.