On the fourth day of Teacher Appreciation Week, roughly 100 Howard County Public School educators left work Thursday afternoon and went straight to a press conference and rally outside the system’s central office. Decked out in red union T-shirts, teachers gathered to express their frustrations with entering a stalemate with the school board over contract negotiations. Inside, board of education members and central office employees were prepping for the school board meeting.

 

Den’Marice Chambers was 21 years old the first time she touched a MacBook. She learned how to use the Apple computer through Baltimore Youth Film Arts workshops, in a program that trains and empowers young people to tell their stories through film, animation, photography and writing. The program is where Chambers could take as many animation courses as she could, chasing her goal of creating a cartoon someday.

With a scribble of his pen and a smile for the cameras on Thursday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pushed an ambitious plan to remake Pimlico Race Course. Moore signed a new law that enables the state to take ownership of the historic thoroughbred racetrack in Baltimore, spend hundreds of millions of dollars renovating it and eventually running races there. It’s a big bet to rescue a failing but economically important industry.

 

Unbox your spring bonnet and press your seersucker. Baltimore’s annual Preakness Stakes returns this month. If you’re new to the world of horse racing, don’t fret. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know ahead of the 149th Preakness Stakes.

Francis Scott Key Bridge cleanup officials shared a video animation Wednesday depicting how crews plan to deploy small explosive devices to clear a large steel truss resting on the bow of the Dali container ship in the Patapsco River. Crews will cut holes into various sections of the truss and place thin pieces of metal inside those holes — with small explosive charges attached — according to the one-minute animation.

Negotiations between Baltimore’s school board and its long-serving CEO, Sonja Santelises, appear to have stalled less than two months before her contract expires, a highly unusual situation that could suddenly leave the school system without a leader if they can’t reach a deal. Parents and community members say the board has left them in the dark.

Fatal overdoses in Maryland continued their downward trajectory, dropping 3% in 2023 to 2,503, according to data from the Maryland Office of Overdose Response. This trend is in contrast to the surge in the United States, which topped 112,000 overdoses in 12 months for the first time, according to new provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The pandemic era of 2020 and 2021 saw an escalation in overdose deaths, both in Maryland and the United States. While the United States grapples with escalating rates, Maryland overdoses have declined 11% since then.

Salvage crews may be getting close to removing the collapsed portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that’s resting on top of a massive cargo ship in Baltimore, Maryland. Crews are in the process of detailing what it will take to raise the section of the bridge that’s on top of the Dali, which caused the bridge to collapse in March after the collision.

 

Frederick County Public Schools has released an online survey ahead of the Board of Education’s next meeting on May 15 to gather public feedback on potential cuts to balance the district’s operating budget.