Around Maryland

Baltimore is one step closer to having a permanent office that serves as the city’s hub of services supporting its immigrant population. The more than decade-old Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was created as a division of the mayor’s office that could be cut at any time. Under a bill being considered by the City Council, it would be added to the city code as a permanent office.

Dozens of Montgomery County, Maryland, police officers were honored Thursday for their lifesaving and heroic acts; among them was a group that raced to help a fellow officer as they attempted to stop a speeding driver in October. Montgomery County police officers Matthew Duerr, Julian Martinez, Nicole Seymour, Diane Burkes and Andre Smith were honored for their actions after Sgt. Patrick Kepp was hit by the driver on Interstate 270 last October.

The state corrections department on Thursday announced a new agreement with the University System of Maryland that will “establish a framework” to bring higher education programs to every state-run prison, utilizing newly reinstated federal Pell grants to allow incarcerated people to pursue bachelor’s degrees.

The city of Frederick’s proposed budget for facilities and infrastructure will include renovations to parks and well-known landmarks, along with investments in the city’s sidewalks, buildings, and other structures around the city. The Capital Improvements Program lays out a 6-year plan for the construction of facilities and infrastructure in the city, although only spending planned for fiscal 2025 will be approved by the aldermen when they vote on the budget in May.

Before leaders of Maryland’s 24 school systems meet deadlines this year to show how they will continue implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plans, they can seek assistance from certain scholars at the University of Maryland, College Park. The school’s College of Education released a teacher career ladder framework last month with recommendations on professional development, peer evaluations and job descriptions. The document also includes policy briefs from parts of the Blueprint legislation approved in 2021.

The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners unanimously approved a transportation contract Tuesday for two taxicab services that were investigated last year for potential fraudulent charges to the system. Richard Henry, the state’s inspector general for education, found taxicab vendor WHC MD, LLC, which does business as zTrip, billed city schools for over $631,000 in charges between 2018 and 2022 that did not match attendance records.

Recognizing growing community concerns about safety and discipline, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is considering new security and safety tools such as vape and weapons detection systems and mandatory student and staff IDs, according to a community letter from interim Superintendent Monique Felder.

Officials at the helm of salvage and recovery operations at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse have called the process a massive undertaking, which is now being highlighted from the perspective of a marine construction and diving company. The owner of Eastern Marine Services, Phil DePalo, has been in business for more than two decades.