It’s not easy to get several people together in person these days, but it happened Friday in Linthicum Heights, where two of Maryland’s major education oversight bodies held a joint meeting to discuss the state’s $3.8 billion Blueprint plan. Members of the Maryland State Board of Education and Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board came together to align their visions on the comprehensive education reform plan adopted last week. It’s unknown if a similar joint session will happen in the future, but all the participants Friday agreed on one key focus: collaboration. “We’re all in to make this thing work,” said Clarence Crawford, who chairs the state Board of Education.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Friday that state government agencies will be closed Dec. 23, the day before Christmas Eve. Hogan said in a statement that he made the decision so that those who work in these agencies “can spend more time enjoying the holidays with their loved ones.” “This is just another way to show our appreciation to our dedicated state workers who have worked tirelessly to serve their fellow Marylanders and help us to truly change Maryland for the better,” Hogan said. He added that the day will be treated like other state holidays. Dec. 23 is a state holiday in Virginia, but a spokeswoman for Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said the city’s government will be open that day.

Maryland’s Gov.-elect wants to revive an abandoned mass transit project. Gov.-elect Wes Moore says the Red Line, which would have connected Woodlawn to Canton, wasn’t perfect, noting it wasn’t connected to Baltimore’s Metro or Light Rail system. Hogan canceled the project in 2015, returning nearly a billion dollars in federal money and using the state’s $2 billion dollar cost on roads, buses, and the Purple Line in the DC suburbs.

Baltimore City Council recognized the city’s embattled outgoing State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Thursday, approving a resolution at the behest of her husband, Council President Nick Mosby. The pro forma measure, approved by a 10-1 vote, honored the state’s attorney’s eight years of “distinguished service” to Baltimore. The city’s top prosecutor, who is facing federal criminal charges, lost a hotly contested primary election in July. She is due to leave office Jan. 2.

Baltimore County announced new department heads Thursday, a month after County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. handily won reelection and announced the departures of several agency leaders, including Police Chief Melissa Hyatt. Kevin Reed, the current deputy director of the Office of Budget and Finance, will take over as director for Edward Blades, who Olszewski said would step down at the end of the year after 26 years with the department.

Mayor Brandon Scott told C4 and Bryan Nehman on Thursday that the police are doing their job by arresting people, but that it’s up to the state’s attorney’s office and judges in the city to make sure those people stop going through the revolving door that allows them back out on the street as soon as they’re arrested. Scott expressed his frustration and said. “We have to dig deep into how we have accountability and rehabilitation that actually works, but also does not put public safety at risk. This is getting to be a little ridiculous when you’re seeing the same people.”

When Maryland’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan, leaves office a month from now, eight years of power sharing in Annapolis will come to an end. Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D), who gets sworn-in on Jan. 18, will govern alongside a General Assembly where Democrats enjoy even larger super-majorities than they do now. In addition, state lawmakers will have significant budgetary authority they’ve never had, thanks to voter adoption of a constitutional amendment in 2020 that gives lawmakers the power to add spending to the executive’s budget submission, not just cut.

Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) and Lt. Gov.-elect Aruna Miller (D) are turning to a trio of young but seasoned veterans of state government and politics to help them run their administration. The Moore-Miller transition team announced Wednesday evening that Matthew Verghese will be the incoming administration’s new director of the Federal Office in Washington, D.C.; Emmanuel “Manny” Welsh will be the administration’s liaison to the Board of Public Works; and Pokuaa “PK” Owusu-Acheaw will become Miller’s chief of staff. All grew up in Maryland and have worked for state politicians and political institutions in various capacities.

Donald Davis and Wes Moore have known each other since 1998 when they began their junior years at the Johns Hopkins University. Both played football for the Blue Jays with Davis lining up at running back and Moore flanking at wide receiver. Davis, who was a member of Moore’s wedding party in 2007, was frank in assessing Moore’s talents in football.

A decades-old lawsuit against the Maryland State Board of Education returned to court this week, reviving a prolonged debate over whether the state provides adequate funding for Baltimore City schools. Baltimore City Circuit Judge Audrey J. S. Carrión heard arguments Wednesday from attorneys representing the state and plaintiffs from the original 1994 case known as Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education. Each side asked the court for a summary judgment to settle whether the state has violated city students’ right to an education as guaranteed in the state constitution.