Around Maryland

The 22 high-achieving University of Maryland students gathered in a loft-like classroom had to apply just to get into this class. And the class itself is a high-stakes competition. Over three semesters, they’re charged with inventing a workable technology to detect gunshots in school buildings, which could reduce casualties. In a year, they’ll gather for a “Shark Tank”-style competition to present their business pitches.

There are generations of young people who have never experienced Harborplace in its heyday, with lots of shops, eateries and fun places to hang out. They only know what’s left of the downtown waterfront and the mostly vacant green pavilions, slated for redevelopment by developer P. David Bramble and his company, MCB Real Estate. Like teenagers before them, today’s youths still meet friends there, most often during spring, summer and other school breaks.

The County Council on Tuesday voted to adopt a $981.5 million operating budget for the next fiscal year, with a property tax increase of about 4.7% to help support school construction. The council previously cut $442,120 from Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal. On Tuesday, the council decided that the surplus funds will go toward the Board of Education, which is trying to close a gap in its budget.

With a backdrop cleared of a container ship for the first time in eight weeks, Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday thanked the Unified Command and other officials for a quick and decisive response to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. But the mission is far from complete, he said. “I will not be satisfied until I can look over this same site and see the Francis Scott Key Bridge standing again. That’s mission completion,” Moore said.

A Baltimore jail was without water for nearly 36 hours between May 12 and 13, after the facility’s main sanitation pipe had been clogged with paper waste and sewage, state officials acknowledged Tuesday. The water supply was disrupted again last Thursday. State officials said they were informed about the initial blockage at 11 a.m. that Sunday and the water supply was restored around 10:30 p.m. the next day.

Maryland’s teacher workforce still remains majority white, according to data recently released by the state Department of Education, but advocates are hopeful that new laws could help turn that around. According to figures slated to be discussed by the state Board of Education on Tuesday, about 68% of teachers in classrooms during the 2023-24 school year are white.

Baltimore’s housing supply is still at less than half the normal level even as other markets across the country have seen their listings grow. According to new data from residential real estate brokerage firm Redfin, the Baltimore metro had just 1.6 months of housing supply on hand in April, or less than half of the typical four or five months of inventory markets had on hand before the pandemic.

The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a case challenging Montgomery County Public Schools’ gender identity guidelines that provide support for transgender students. The lawsuit, John and Jane Parents 1 v. Montgomery County Board of Education, was filed by two MCPS parents in 2020. The unidentified parents alleged that MCPS’ gender identity guidelines, which advise staff not to disclose a student’s stated gender to their parents without permission, violate federal laws such as the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)