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Panel recommends 45% increase to state borrowing in coming year

A key state fiscal panel approved a sharp increase in state borrowing for the next year as fiscal leaders look for ways to offset a projected structural deficit while improving schools and aging buildings and infrastructure. The recommended $500 million increase over anticipated levels comes as Gov. Wes Moore (D) and others express concerns about the state’s fiscal future. It also represents a potential reduction of cash once intended for capital projects.

e-scooter
Scooters are changing the way Baltimore residents get around town

For years, Rhett Reidpath got around town in a 2010 Ford Focus that the “Star Wars” fan affectionately referred to as his Millennium Falcon. It took him out of the city to golf courses in the suburbs, on weekend trips to his home in a galaxy far, far away — West Virginia — and, most importantly, to the office. Then it went kaput. So Reidpath had to figure out how to travel the two miles from his Highlandtown home to the office every day.

How two-dozen Prince George’s County schools drastically improved English test scores

As a way to boost her students’ vocabulary, LaTanya Sothern introduced a “word bank graveyard” at Excel Academy Public Charter School. It’s a figurative cemetery where basic words like “good,” “bad” and “nice” are laid to rest and replaced with multisyllabic words like “excellent,” “fabulous” and “incomparable.” It’s one of the methods the Prince George’s County principal says contributed to her school’s huge improvement in English Language Arts achievement since the pandemic.

Baltimore envisions year-round options after finding summer success by giving teens something to do before curfew

Louder than anything at The Dome — louder than the squeaks of the sneakers on the blacktop and the rhythm of the basketball hitting the floor and the cheers from the crowds — is the pride emanating from the players on the court. Teenagers from across the city channel legendary NBA players who played on the same East Baltimore court years ago and dream of following in their footsteps.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Gas prices are dropping in Maryland even with volatile market, but will it last?

Maryland drivers are getting a respite from high fuel costs as gas stations are posting dipping fuel prices even amid the current military conflict in the Middle East. According to GasBuddy, a main source for prices and the only for station-level data, the average gasoline prices in Maryland have fallen 8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.33 per gallon as of Sunday, Oct. 15.

Some people go to the ER again and again. Maryland hospitals have ways to help them stop.

One patient at MedStar Harbor Hospital in South Baltimore had uncontrolled asthma. Another had chronic skin infections related to an autoimmune condition. Their diseases were different but caused the same problem. “They had a significant number of visits to the emergency room,” said Jenna Everett, a physician assistant in Harbor’s emergency department. “Getting resources for them was essential.”

Big federal dollars for small state projects aim to get more cars off the roads

A 60-mile pedestrian and cycling trail in Arkansas, an electric street sweeper in Oregon and truck parking facilities in Florida don’t appear to have much in common — let alone any similarity with a conversion of California highways to toll roads or a roundabout in Michigan. But all of the projects will be paid for by the Carbon Reduction Program, a five-year, $6.4 billion federal program to reduce the tailpipe emissions that contribute to global warming.

Maryland Health Department to request 144 contracted positions be converted to regular ones

The Maryland Department of Health plans to ask the Board of Public Works next week to convert 144 contractual positions to regular ones — a move the department said won’t cost the state additional money if it also eliminates some contractual positions. The Board of Public Works, the body tasked with approving how the state government spends tax dollars, is authorized to create additional positions under the Fiscal Year 2024 budget bill so long as it abolishes 1.25 full-time contractual positions per new regular position, state health department spokesman Chase Cook wrote in an email.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Berlin Seeks Input As Strategic Planning Process Begins

The town is seeking input from residents as it begins the strategic planning process. Town of Berlin residents are being asked to complete a strategic planning survey that will be included with their next utility bill. “As part of our ongoing efforts for strategic planning, we invite you to participate in this Community Sentiment Survey,” the questionnaire reads. “The information you provide will play a pivotal role in guiding our town’s growth and development.”

 

Home heating, cooling systems contribute to poor air quality

Decades of data demonstrate that exclusionary housing policies have pushed people into neighborhoods where polluting facilities such as power plants hurt their health. Among other pollutants, fossil fuel power plants emit nitrogen oxides, which can make it harder to breathe in the short term or trigger an asthma attack, while increasing the risk of respiratory infections or exacerbating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments.

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