MARYLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS SEE IMPROVEMENTS: The quality of Maryland public schools slightly improved last school year, according to the latest star ratings the state released on Tuesday. It’s the fifth year the Maryland State Department of Education is rating schools on a 5-star scale for what’s known as the Maryland School Report Card. Schools are awarded ratings based on their students’ academic achievement, progress in achieving English language proficiency, graduation rates and more. Greg Morton and Kristen Griffith/The Baltimore Banner.
- The state rating system gives each school one to five stars based on cumulative points collected from factors like standardized test scores, graduation rates and English proficiency for multilingual students. Over three-quarters of Maryland schools didn’t see any movement from last year’s score. But 70% of those that received only one star last year moved up in the rankings. Brit Hatch/WYPR-FM.
- A majority of the 117 schools in the Anne Arundel Public School district received at least four stars in Maryland’s rating system. Bridget Byrne/The Baltimore Sun.
- Twenty Baltimore County Public Schools received the highest rating in Maryland’s five-star school accountability system last academic year, the most of any district, according to data released Tuesday. Todd Karpovich/The Baltimore Sun.
- Four Howard County public schools – Folly Quarter Middle, Marriotts Ridge High, Clarksville Middle and Mount View Middle – rose to five-star status in the state’s rankings. Kiersten Hacker/The Baltimore Sun.
FEDS GIVE FINAL OK TO 114-TURBINE WIND PROJECT OFF O.C.: The federal government gave its final approval Tuesday to a plan to place 114 energy-generating wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City. The Town of Ocean City has sued to block the wind energy development. And President-elect Donald Trump is an avowed critic of offshore wind. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND SEEKS D.C. AIR SQUADRON FOR RFK STADIUM DEAL: Maryland’s leaders have proposed a set of conditions that could greatly affect the Washington Commanders football team’s stadium search. Among them: If D.C. gives their state one of its Air National Guard squadrons, they may support a bill allowing the District to redevelop the RFK Stadium site, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations. Erin Cox, Sam Fortier, Meagan Flynn and Paul Kane/The Washington Post.
LOBBYIST JOINS CREW TO REBUILD KEY BRIDGE: The Patapsco River is expected to hum with activity in the coming years as trucks on trestles, workers on barges and crews operating cranes demolish vestiges of the old Francis Scott Key Bridge and rebuild a new, taller span. Also joining the bridge-building roster is the top-earning lobbyist in Maryland. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE CLOSES STATE CENTER TO FLUSH OUT LEGIONELLA BACTERIA: Under pressure from state workers and unions reacting to persistent Legionella bacteria findings at State Center, Maryland officials are again ordering the buildings at the sprawling Baltimore office complex to be shut down for systems to be flushed and sanitized. The building will be closed today and employees are being asked to telework while “a more comprehensive flushing and sanitizing is performed,” an “URGENT” Department of General Service memo says. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
- Union workers on Tuesday rallied at State Center to highlight the need for the state to invest in better maintenance of facilities and for higher staffing levels across several agencies. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
INSURANCE ADMIN NAMES NEW DEP’Y COMMISH: The Maryland Insurance Administration named Joy Hatchette its new deputy commissioner as the organization starts to fill in its leadership ranks following the departure of its top official earlier this year. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
BA CO COUNCIL OKs $4.55M TO FIGHT JAIL INMATES PAY INCREASE: The Baltimore County Council recently approved spending $4.55 million on a private law firm to continue litigating a three-year-old case over how county jail inmates who worked at the county recycling center should be paid. It’s the fourth time the council has approved increasing the fees and one of several times this year that County Attorney James Benjamin has asked the council for more funds to hire private legal firms to represent the county. Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
NEW B’MORE COUNCILMEMBERS LOOK TO SHAKE THINGS UP: Four big new personalities will enter Baltimore City Hall this week. Like many of their predecessors, these four freshmen councilmembers say they’re here to shake up the status quo. With expectations from city voters to get to work — and keep working — on mitigating many of Baltimore’s intractable problems, this bright-eyed gang of politicos hopes to make good on their campaign promises and deliver. Hallie Miller, Emily Opilo and Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
MO CO COUNCIL VOTES IN NEW PRESIDENT: The 20th Montgomery County Council began the third year of its four-year term Tuesday by unanimously electing Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) as its president and Will Jawando (D-At-Large) as its vice president. Ginny Bixby/MoCo 360.
IVEY KEEPS REINS OF PG COUNCIL BY DEFAULT: The Prince George’s County Council held its annual gavel exchange meeting Tuesday with all the traditional ceremony — except an actual gavel exchange. In three rounds of voting, no council member was able to get the six votes needed to win the chair for 2025, so the current chair, Councilmember Jolene Ivey, retains the seat by default. Staff/Maryland Matters.
EX-CAMBRIDGE MAYOR FAILS IN COMEBACK BID: Cambridge voters on Tuesday rejected an attempt by a scandal-scarred former mayor to return to office. In a runoff election, City Council President Lajan Cephas defeated former Mayor Andrew Bradshaw, with 787 votes, or 53%, to Bradshaw’s 697 votes, or 47%. She’ll succeed Mayor Stephen Rideout, who won a special election to replace Bradshaw in 2022 but chose not to seek a full term this year. Bradshaw resigned as mayor in 2022 after being charged by the state prosecutor’s office on 50 counts of distributing revenge porn. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
VINCENT LEGGETT’s LEGACY IN ANNAPOLIS, ON BAY REMEMBERED: Vincent Omar Leggett died Nov. 23 at 71-years-old. A pillar of the Anne Arundel County community, who served on the school board, directed the Annapolis housing authority and even became the first Black chaplain of the Annapolis fire department, Leggett was perhaps best known for his work on the Chesapeake Bay. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
