Coronavirus In Maryland And Abroad

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore says he welcomes a debate with his republican opponent ahead of November’s midterm election. President Joe Biden paid a visit to Maryland last night to rally Democrats. As schools open across Maryland Monday, the Baltimore County teachers union has put off a contract vote to boost salaries. At a City council hearing last night, public school leaders and local agency officials gathered to come up with solutions for tackling violent crime and we’ll have a report on what city officials plan to do about the rising number of carjackings.

A brazen afternoon shooting at a Baltimore intersection ends in one fatality and several injuries. Local city, state and federal officials gathered in Maryland today to promote new efforts to tackle violent crime. The city council has approved spending one-million dollars on new cell phone tracking technology. Time is running out for Marylanders to take advantage of the Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit Program. I’ll have those stories in headlines, plus Baltimore County is scrambling to fill teacher vacancies before school starts next week and a giant indoor salmon farm on the Eastern Shore is raising the eyebrows of some environmentalists.

Maryland’s covid positivity rate lingers in the double digits, just below 12-percent. Dr. Fauci says he’s calling it quits at the end of this year. The FDA has greenlit the expansion of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine to kids as young as 12. Hundreds of thousands of kids across the country fell behind on routine vaccinations since the start of the pandemic and as schools across the state welcome back students next week, we’ll hear from a local pediatrician who breaks down the myths vs. the wisdom of keeping kids current on routine vaccines.

There’s new movement in a legal case calling for more funding for Baltimore City schools. Anne Arundel county school officials are telling parents there are still hurdles in efforts to hire more bus drivers. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is trying to rid parts of the Eastern shore of gang activity and drug trafficking and Baltimore County officials are trying harder to give away free bus rides on the Towson Loop.

COVID19 cases continue to stack up in Maryland. As the new school year approaches, Baltimore City public schools have a new COVID policy for those students planning to play sports. When Baltimore County students make their way back to class, the county’s head nurse says many pandemic protocols will no longer be in place. The Baltimore City Council has approved a bill aimed at stopping street and stunt racing and a newly formed coalition takes up the homelessness issue in Baltimore by setting up camp.

The NAACP and the ACLU say the state board of education continues to fail Baltimore City students. Howard County police begin wearing body cameras this week. According to a ProPublica investigation, the Baltimore County police department is behind on processing thousands of rape cases DNA evidence and the CDC has new relaxed covid guidelines as thousands of students prepare to return to Maryland schools this month.

Baltimore County’s top watchdog is getting more support amid scrutiny from the county council. We’ll take a deep dive into the job of the county’s inspector general’s office. As students return to school in the coming weeks there might not be enough teachers in the classroom so schools are looking to recruit thousands of substitutes. Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby faces a $1,500 fine after a judge ruled she violated a gag order and a new look is on the way for downtown Essex.

Surges of COVID19 continue across the US and the BA.5 variant remains the driving factor. Maryland universities examine what their COVID protocols will or won’t be in the fall. Anne Arundel County has a new Superintendent of Public Schools and he’s tackling the mammoth task of filling vacancies and a federal court has ruled in a discrimination case against Baltimore’s Catholic Relief Services.

The family of Anton Black has reached a five million dollar settlement in his police custody death lawsuit that continues. A child playing with a loaded gun led to the tragic death of a 15-year old in Baltimore. City School officials plan to spend 25-million dollars on a tutoring program to help offset summer and remote learning loss. Maryland’s COVID positivity rate still hovers over 12-percent and a report from Annie E. Casey Foundation takes a deep national dive into the mental health of young people.

More than 14-million dollars in ARPA funds will go toward an initiative to help clean up Baltimore neighborhoods. Baltimore County school officials are hoping a new app will help ease the chaos created by the continuing school bus driver shortage. Parents have been notified that the free meal program in Baltimore County Public Schools is ending. A summer youth initiative is giving some inner-city students a taste of the aviation field and a plan by the The U.S. Naval Academy for a golf course across the Severn River is drawing criticism from some environmentalists.