Baltimore
GOVERNMENT
As Baltimore’s mayor salutes hotels purchased for the homeless, residents are confined to their rooms
The residential lockdown was intended to protect privacy, say officials, who held a VIP ribbon-cutting to celebrate the $15.2 million purchase to create more permanent supportive housing. Celebrating the purchase of two downtown hotels to house the homeless, city officials led by Mayor Brandon Scott closed off a portion of...
Here are the Fourth Of July Fireworks shows in the Baltimore region
BALTIMORE -- Independence Day is coming up fast and communities are gearing up for dazzling celebrations complete with parades, family activities, concerts and lots of food. Here's a schedule of 4th of July public fireworks displays and events across the Baltimore region.Wednesday, July 3Glen Burnie | Fireworks will start about 9 p.m. at Sawmill Creek Park, where food will be sold at the Glen Burnie Boys Baseball concession stand. Sawmill Creek Park: 7405 Charley Eckman Lane Taneytown | Celebrate Independence Day with food, music, games and fireworks at Taneytown Memorial Park from 6-10 p.m. Taneytown Memorial Park: located at Taneytown Pike and Park Road Cockeysville |...
Tunnel to Towers pays off home mortgages of two Maryland fallen heroes
BALTIMORE — The families of two Maryland fallen heroes received an early Independence Day gift, thanks to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The non-profit charitable organization on Tuesday paid off the home mortgages of late Baltimore City Fire lieutenant Paul Butrim and Wicomico County Sheriff’s deputy Glenn Hilliard.
Several new laws take effect Monday in Maryland
Several new laws are set to take effect in Maryland on Monday, some of which include increases in fees. One of the major changes Marylanders will notice is an increase in vehicle registration fees. For the typical passenger car, an annual registration fee will be about $110.50 and a biennial fee will be around $221 — that's a more than 60% increase over the previous fees.
In lawsuit, West Baltimore community association alleges city’s tax sale system is unconstitutional
A nonprofit community association that serves a historically Black neighborhood in West Baltimore filed a lawsuit on Tuesday that challenges the city’s tax sale system, alleging that it systematically strips low-income people of their generational wealth and violates the Constitution. The Edmondson Community Organization filed the case in U.S....
Vehicle registration fee increase among several new laws in Maryland
Several new laws take effect in Maryland on Monday, some of which include increases in fees. One of the major changes Marylanders will notice is an increase in vehicle registration fees. For the typical passenger car, an annual registration fee will be about $110.50 and a biannual fee will be around $221 — that’s a more than 60% increase over the previous fees.
Baltimore leaders cut ribbon on newly-acquired hotels aimed to address homelessness
BALTIMORE - Baltimore has officially acquired two hotels to be used as emergency shelters to address homelessness.City, state and federal cut the ribbon on The Holiday Inn Express, on North Gay Street, and the Sleep Inn and Suites, North Front Street, which were recently purchased for $18 million.The purchase of those hotels is a way for Baltimore leaders to respond to the housing crisis and expand services to those experiencing homelessness.Funding to purchase and renovate these hotels came from the American Rescue Plan Act."Tackling the issue of homelessness and housing insecurity in Baltimore is going to require approaches that reflect...
Baltimore City Schools, teachers union fail to reach compensation agreement before deadline
The Baltimore City Public School System and the Baltimore Teachers Union failed to agree on a new compensation and promotion ladder for teachers before a state deadline requires one to be in place. The impasse has launched a mediation process that could take months to resolve and lead to lost funding. School districts across Maryland needed a revamped career ladder in place by Monday under the ...
Moore says light rail planned for Baltimore
Gov. Wes Moore’s administration is moving forward with plans for a new light rail project in Baltimore, the governor wrote on social media on Thursday. Last year, Moore said his administration was reviving an east-west transit project that was nixed by his predecessor, former Gov. Larry Hogan. However, Moore was not specific last year about how the project would take shape, whether as a light rail, rapid bus system or a combination of mass transit options. ...
Baltimore officials made a bad bet
At 7:33 a.m. on May 9, 1980, the freighter Summit Venture, with a harbor pilot guiding it, was entering Tampa Bay approaching the Sunshine Skyway Bridge when the total reliance on luck proved, yet again, to be a bad bet. The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge and the Francis Scott Key...
$1.75M CSX, Curtis Bay explosion class action settlement
CSX agreed to pay $1.75 million in a Curtis Bay settlement resolving claims a 2021 explosion at its Baltimore facility covered the surrounding homes in coal dust. The settlement benefits individuals who owned residential property on or since Dec. 30, 2021, or who resided in a residential property on Dec. 30, 2021, that was within the Curtis Bay class area, defined in the “Who’s Eligible” section below.
Community organization challenges Baltimore City tax sale system
(WBFF) — Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) filed suit against Baltimore City on behalf of the Edmonson Community Organization (ECO), the group announced in a press conference today. The federal lawsuit challenges the city's tax sale auction process which MLA says is unconstitutionally "stripping property owners of their equity and generational wealth without just compensation."
State health department changes research policies at Spring Grove psych hospital
In November 2008 — a little more than a year after William Garrett’s doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia — he started shouting in the back seat of his mother’s car while she drove them to a museum. Then, he punched her in the head. Garrett had started experiencing distressing delusions during his freshman year at Johns Hopkins University. He’d come to his mother, Kristan Kanyuch, holding ...
Someone's stealing chairs set out ahead of Catonsville Fourth of July parade
CATONSVILLE, Md. — Someone is stealing chairs. Not just any chairs, though. These chairs are part of a time-honored holiday tradition in Catonsville. As part of what has become a tradition, residents place chairs alongside Frederick Road to save their place days — sometimes weeks — in advance of the Catonsville Fourth of July parade.
Baltimore welcomes dragon boat racing back to Inner Harbor
If you visited the Inner Harbor over the weekend, you may have noticed some sea dragons as the Dragon Boat Race returns to Baltimore. The Baltimore Dragon Boat Club has hosted races since 2009, drawing competitors from all over for a series of events. Dragon boat racing is a team...
Baltimore to open deeper channel for commercial ships
A deeper channel to allow commercial ships into and out of the Port of Baltimore is set to open Thursday, a major step in reopening trade after the port was closed due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month. The Army Corps of Engineers has opened...
Baltimore's new Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center honors civil rights icon
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore honored civil Rights icon Thurgood Marshall's legacy by reviving a piece of the city's history. For decades, Thurgood Marshall's old elementary school sat abandoned. Now it has a new life, called the Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center.P.S. 103, on Division Street, Marshall's former elementary school, is now a community gathering place and research facility bearing his name.Dozens gathered to celebrate the building's grand opening on the eve of what would've been Thurgood Marshall's 116th birthday."This center will save lives," Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones said. "So, it is fitting it is named after Justice Thurgood Marshall.""Investing...
Collapse of Key Bridge reduces tolls by $141 million, hastens likely toll increase
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge will cost the state an estimated $141 million in lost toll revenue over six years and may bring toll increases a year sooner than expected. The post Collapse of Key Bridge reduces tolls by $141 million, hastens likely toll increase appeared first on Maryland Matters.
Baltimore Tech Hub skipped for millions in federal funding, will reapply in second round
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Tech Hub, one of 31 federal "Tech Hubs" designated last year, was skipped for a cut of $504 million in the first round of funding for the program. The Biden Administration on Tuesday announced the first 12 hubs to receive funding, with allotments ranging from $19 million to $51 million. The Greater Baltimore Committee, a consortium that heads the Baltimore Tech Hub, will get a $500,000 grant to support its reapplication in the next round of funding in the five-year, $10 billion project. "[The U.S. Department of] Commerce announced in April that the hubs collectively submitted 182...
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