A group of Reservoir Hill residents are seeking to halt the construction of a proposed Amtrak tunnel that would curve beneath the historic West Baltimore neighborhood in a new civil rights complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The complaint claims the placement of the $6 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel would harm Black and low-income communities disproportionately and that Amtrak has not done enough to gather community feedback.

Maryland transportation officials on Thursday said it could take nearly $2 billion to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, offering the clearest picture yet of efforts to replace a vital part of the local community and economy. The state wants to be “as aggressive as we can” but also set a realistic timeline for delivery, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said. He estimated that the project could be completed by fall 2028 and cost between $1.7 and $1.9 billion. (Photo: Kylie Cooper/The Baltimore Banner)

Setting up Metro with dedicated funding has been discussed for decades in the region but still hasn’t come to fruition. Now, WMATA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments hope a regional task force can finally bring about an agreeable plan of action. “We fundamentally don’t have predictability at Metro, which means you as regional partners don’t have predictability of your budgets.

The body of a fifth person killed in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was recovered Wednesday. The Key Bridge Unified Command recovered the body of 49-year-old Miguel Luna, of Glen Burnie, from inside a red truck found by salvage teams, the unified command said in a news release late Wednesday night. The bodies of five of six victims have now been recovered. José Mynor López, a father of four who was originally from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk, is still missing.

 

Thousands of migrant children are coming to Maryland every year. One ZIP code in Southeast Baltimore saw an influx of nearly 1,800 migrant children from 2015 to 2023, among the most in the country over that time. ZIP code 21224, home to parts of Canton, Brewers Hill and Greektown, saw more children from other countries — most of them in South America — than all but 13 other ZIP codes in the United States.

Under a deal up for approval next month, two power plants in Anne Arundel County would continue to burn coal at least three years longer than planned — potentially costing Marylanders $250 million or more every year. PJM Interconnection, the region’s power grid operator, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue an order approving its deal with power plant operator Talen Energy by June 18, according to a tariff filing last month.

 

The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit focusing on patient safety, released its spring hospital safety grades. The grades reflect how well hospitals prevent medical errors, accidents and infections. In the Baltimore area, three hospitals received “A” grades, including MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, MedStar Harbor Hospital and the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center.

State and federal officials are warning commuters about a scam involving the E-ZPass toll payment method. The Maryland Transportation Authority and the FBI local field office said there’s a text messaging swindle taking place at tolling booths across the state asking customers to enter their personal data and financial information into a fake website, where it is accessed by cybercriminals.

 

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman on Wednesday proposed a $2.31 billion budget for fiscal year 2025 that increases spending, boosts the starting pay of police officers and provides funds to staff three new schools. The spending plan represents an 8.2% increase from the $2.14 billion budget approved for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

 

As Maryland public school leaders continue to work on the massive Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan, documents from local school systems that are being turned in this week must provide data to show how officials are putting it in place. That information is based on the Blueprint’s five priorities — early childhood education, hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers, preparing students for college and technical careers, providing additional resources for students in need and governance and accountability.