Maya Lora

4 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Maya Lora

Parents have less than a month to secure state funds that help families pay for child care. In a tight budget year, state lawmakers didn’t step in to save the child care scholarship program from an enrollment freeze. That means beginning May 1, families who don’t already receive a scholarship won’t be able to get one until at least September.

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Maya Lora |Kristen Griffith |Ellie Wolfe

Most eyes were locked on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future this legislative session, as lawmakers wrestled with how to adjust — and pay for — the state’s ambitious plan to improve public schools. Meanwhile, a number of other education bills made their way through the legislature in the 90-day session that wrapped Monday. Some fell victim to budget constraints as the state sought to plug a massive deficit; others are headed to the governor’s desk for his signature. Here’s how they fared.

1 month ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Maya Lora

Today, hundreds of thousands of people are attending more than 1,000 “Hands Off!”-related protests nationwide focused on President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Including Maryland. The “ Hands Off Social Security ” protest kicked off Saturday morning with protesters gathering outside the administration’s headquarters in Baltimore County. Organizers said they intend to push back against the “greatest threat” Social Security has every faced. The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors.

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Maya Lora

For over 25 years, kids have been traveling to 1920s Egypt — no passport required — via a secret entrance in Port Discovery Children’s Museum. Inside the Adventure Expeditions exhibit, children can navigate secret passageways, find a pharaoh’s lost tomb and pull a raft across the Nile River. Designed by a Disney Imagineer, according to the museum, it’s also the last-standing original exhibit that families could explore when the museum opened in 1998.

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Maya Lora

Anne Arundel County Public schools is eliminating publicprekindergarten for 3-year-olds next school year to comply with recently passed state guidance, converting them to spots for 4-year-olds, instead. The Anne Arundel school system has offered free pre-K to 3-year-olds for the last three school years.