MARYLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO HIRE 61 TEACHER LITERACY, MATH COACHES: State Superintendent Carey Wright announced Monday that slightly more than five dozen literacy and math instructional coaches will be hired for the upcoming 2026-27 school year. Those 61 educators are able to be hired thanks to $14.2 million approved by the legislature in the fiscal 2027 budget for the statewide teacher development program known as “coaching.” It was approved as part of the Academic Excellence Program in the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act approved by the legislature last year. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
WHO MAKES THE BIGGEST SALARIES IN THE GOVERNOR’s OFFICE, STATE JOBS? Gov. Wes Moore and his senior staff earned some of the highest salaries in Maryland government in 2025, as his administration defended tax hikes and spending cuts. The top five earners among his senior staff made well-above the governor, who earned $191,000 in 2025, according to the data. Moore is the 10th highest earning governor in the country. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
- The state of Maryland in 2025 spent hundreds of millions of dollars more on state employee pay, despite a decrease in the number of employees. Who cashed the fattest checks? University of Maryland sports coaches and administrators. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND, DOJ SUE D.C. OVER POTOMAC SEWAGE LEAK: The Justice Department sued D.C. and its water and sewage authority in federal court Monday over the January leak of untreated wastewater into the Potomac River. A similar lawsuit over the pipeline break, from Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, was filed Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Salvador Rizzo and Dan Morse/The Washington Post.
- Maryland officials accused DC Water, an independent authority of the District of Columbia, of negligence and violating state water pollution laws. Darreonna Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
DYEING FOR A GLASS OF WINE? ARUNDEL SALONS COULD BE THE PLACE TO GO: Salons and barbershops in Anne Arundel County may soon be able to give customers small amounts of liquor. This legislative session, state lawmakers passed a bill, which is at Gov. Wes Moore’s desk, that would permit the practice starting this July. Katharine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE ONLINE PROPERTY DATABASE BREACHED, NOW OFFLINE: Maryland’s online property records database has been offline for nearly a week following a cybersecurity breach, according to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. State officials believe that compromised systems only included public records that users could already find on the SDAT property search webpage. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
EXPENSIVE MARYLAND CONTINUES TO LOSE SENIORS, MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES: Maryland is facing a widening gap between what it costs to live here and what many residents — especially seniors and middle-class families — can afford. With the state short roughly 100,000 homes and needing hundreds of thousands more in the coming decades, limited supply is driving up prices. At the same time, rising taxes, utilities and everyday expenses are adding pressure. The result is a growing outflow of residents to other states, as Maryland continues to lose taxpayers it needs to sustain its economy. Tessa Bentulan/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE SETTLES SUIT AGAINST ‘GHOST GUN’ COMPONENT SELLER: Baltimore has settled its lawsuit against Hanover Armory, ending an appeal of a 2025 jury verdict that initially awarded the city $62 million and replacing it with a $2 million payment along with strict new limits on the retailer’s sales of so-called “ghost gun” components. Chevall Pryce/The Baltimore Sun.
HO CO BUDGET COVERS 99.3% OF SCHOOL BUDGET REQUEST: Howard County Executive Calvin Ball is looking to leave on a high note with the school system before his second term ends in December. In his final proposed operating budget, Ball announced that he has set aside $871.5 million for Howard County Public Schools, which covers 99.3% of the school board’s request for county dollars. Jess Nocera/The Baltimore Banner.
PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL LEADER TO TAKE HELM OF B’MORE SCHOOLS: A Philadelphia school district leader will be the next CEO of the Baltimore City Public Schools System. The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners on Monday announced they have unanimously selected Dr. Jermaine Dawson to lead Baltimore City Public Schools, effective July 1, 2026. Marcus Dieterle/Baltimore Fishbowl.
- If Baltimore’s schools CEO, reflecting on an unprecedented 10 years leading the system, leaves a letter in the top drawer of her desk for incoming leader Jermaine Dawson, it might include a to-do list of unfinished business. Liz Bowie/The Baltimore Banner.
We have people out here complaining about where dispensaries are being located, meanwhile the state of MD is poised on making it easier to drink, this time at salons. Which I am not necessarily against but it is contradictory to these holier than thou BS about cannabis vs alcohol. It is clear that alcohol is a scourge on society, but yet everyone wants to demonize a plant that makes people more passive. ok.