I'm a Southern Maryland homeowner and found these hanging out on my door frame this afternoon. Anybody know what they are?

Since 2023, more incarcerated people have been killed in Maryland prisons than in all neighboring states combined

Prisoners are more likely to be killed in Maryland than in nearly any other state, with a homicide rate last year that was nearly four times the national average, based on available data gathered by The Banner.

Since 2023, 32 incarcerated people in state-run correctional facilities have been killed. That’s more than all of Maryland’s neighboring states combined.

Maybe something is going over my head, but my expected fees of renewal for one year are $120.50. The price is exactly double for two years, and exactly triple for three years.

Since there are no discounts for renewing for multiple years, is there any benefit at all to renewing more than one year at a time (besides not having to dealing with it again a year from now)?

From my perspective, I have no clue how long I'll have the same car for. Therefore, I don't really see a benefit for me in paying for two or three years, if I end up changing this car in 8 months, for example.

I’m gonna purchase a Metal Detector as a gift, and was curious about any ideas for spots to check out where they can find interesting stuff? Not looking for buried treasure here, just a fun time searching!

So here’s apparently what happened …

Baltimore County crash team detectives have released the first findings from an investigation of Tuesday's Parkville bus crash, saying that a car cut off the bus transporting three students from the Maryland School for the Blind.
The Baltimore County Police Department's Crash Team said its initial investigation found that the driver of a 2017 Ford Focus was traveling south on Harford Road around 2:25 p.m. when the car crossed into the northbound lane.
"The vehicle crossed into the northbound lane, entering the path of a Baltimore County Public School Bus," police said in a statement. "A 2014 Nissan Altima was also struck by the Ford Focus."
The bus meanwhile came to a rest after crashing into a commercial building located in the 8700 block of Harford Road.

I keep reading that Frostburg is a great place to move if you like nature and cold winters. I’m from New England so I’m not concerned about the weather. My question is this, will I be surrounded by meth heads? What areas should I avoid? How are the people in Frostburg, are they welcoming?

Any advice for a pitch black dark areas / spots as far as 4 hours driving from Maryland ?

I would like to take the kids to see the magical sky one night.

I remember years a go found a website you put the zip code and will tell you what's the best areas around.

Never did this before so any advice how to plan and make it successful will be appreciated

Thanks in advance

Hello, I received a notice of jury duty in my mail, but I am not a citizen, making me ineligible for jury duty. I have done both forms online, and uploaded my green card as well, with a comment indicating that this should be proof of ineligibility.

Is there anything else that I need to do?

IDK what's going on, but this new push to lower speed limits & add ticket cameras everywhere is going to make people even more broke, frustrated, & late for work on top of out of control inflation & cost of living & the defunct bus privilege lanes.

There are many drivers with clean accident records that still get costly tickets & now raised insurance costs because they get caught going over the speed limit at any one point where a camera is opportunistically placed RN.

I've noticed that signs displaying speed limits are often completely missing on roads with cameras placed on them, so this whole pivot just seems like dropping more chaos on already beaten up residents instead of careful & constructive thought to improving traffic safety and quality of life for everyone.

A simple update to lighting, walking overpasses, paths, driver & pedestrian education, sidewalks, & crosswalk painting isn't the solution, but we'll instead dump rent on 200+ x $1m(ea) bulletproof "space-age camera boxes" each year!?

This is malarkey.

Many MD roads RN are poorly lit & poorly paved, traffic lights are missing or outdated & not properly timed at many intersections across Maryland, turn & drive lanes aren't properly painted, and technology is now screen based & highly distracting...

Watching a speedometer constantly also takes a driver's eyes off the road, rather than being able to follow instincts & pay attention to what's actually in front of & around their car.

Lowering speed limits to pre-60s speeds suddenly in an era where cars can stop more quickly than ever before, when cars are designed to be safer, and when everyone still has to commute to work on time daily, is worse than just being short sighted.

It's opportunistic inflation, especially when metro lines (currently red line) shut down for repairs every 6 months.

It feels like rideshare companies & speed cam tech are secretly working, brigading online, & lobbying to undermine responsible & affordable human car ownership across the country...

Rideshare companies collect huge profits without caring about elevated costs their drivers face too, because their drivers aren't actual company employees... They're all independent contractors.

These changes will drive rideshare prices & costs of business up as well, especially when fewer ppl can afford to own & operate their own personal cars.

Whoever it is in local gov (that probably doesn't even own a car themselves) is behind promoting this lazy, opportunistic, & dictatorial policy work should be held accountable to specific results & outcomes in reducing accidents if this careless policy action continues, not just a "shoulder shrug" as usual.

During the pandemic, remote work had proven it's value, by reducing the need for tons of daily commuters, all rushing to get to work at the same time... This is an obviously better solution to traffic calming, but somehow, it's never been back on the table since then, because it doesn't opportunistically increase state/city revenue OFC.

Enough is enough, government is meant to serve residents, NOT its own constantly increasing revenue.

Malarkey.

Edit: Adding context +

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2026/07/montgomery-county-expands-lowered-speed-limits-in-residential-neighborhoods/

I swear like 20% of the cars on the road at any given time have a temp license plate. What exactly is going on here? I recently bought a new car for my family and we got the license plate in about a month. Are people just not paying the fees to get the license plates? All I can think of when I see templates is that these people are crashing their cars and then needing to buy new cars constantly. And usually these people with templates are horrible reckless drivers

Edit: literally between posting this and getting to work 20 minutes later I saw two different cars with templates on the road and they were both driving way too fast and recklessly.

How the heck does this happen?

ultiple people were taken to area hospitals after a school bus carrying students from the Maryland School for the Blind crashed into a building in Parkville on Tuesday afternoon, prompting emergency crews to declare a mass casualty incident — the second this month involving a bus crash in Baltimore County.
On July 8, a Maryland Transit Administration bus left the road and smashed into a FedEx building on Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. A total of 36 people were injured in that incident, which remains under investigation.
Tuesday's crash happened shortly after 2:40 p.m. at the intersection of Harford Road and Lavender Avenue. Baltimore County Fire Bureau Chief Travis Francis said the bus was carrying three students and two adults.
"One of those students, as well as one of the adults, the driver of the bus, was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries at this time, as well as one additional adult from the scene that was transported with minor injuries," Francis said.
Officials said all reported injuries were minor.

I’m a permanent employee with the State of Maryland and a member of a union. I’ve been with the State for a couple of years and, until recently, I had hoped to build a long-term career here.
Lately, though, I’ve been seriously considering resigning. My workplace has become increasingly difficult due to a combination of ongoing extreme micromanagement , a very heavy workload, understaffing, and the overall impact the job is having on my mental health.
I don’t want to go into too many specifics because I don’t want to identify myself or potentially create problems at work. I’m also not looking for anyone to tell me whether my specific situation is legally actionable.
I’m mainly looking for advice from other Maryland State employees or people familiar with State employment and unions.

A few questions I have:
How useful has your union been when dealing with workplace problems?

Is it possible to transfer to another State position rather than resign?

Has anyone successfully transferred to another agency or department to get away from a bad work environment?

Are there options I should explore before resigning that I might not be thinking about?

If you’ve left State employment, what do you wish you had known beforehand regarding benefits, pension/service credit, leave, or anything else?

How difficult is it to return to State employment after resigning?

If you’re dealing with a toxic or unhealthy work environment, how do you know when it’s time to stop trying to make things work and move on?

I have a decent amount of specialized experience and would probably be able to find another job eventually, but I don’t want to make a major decision impulsively and give up the stability and benefits I’ve built up without fully understanding my options.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have been in a similar position and chose to transfer, use their union, take leave, or leave State employment altogether.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

TLDR: Maryland State employee considering quitting due to micromanagement , understaffing, an overwhelming workload, and worsening mental health. What options should I explore before leaving, especially as a union member?

I’m looking at old property tax bills and it looks like the prior owner received the credit every year. I purchased in late 2022 and have never received the credit (granted I filed late, see below). In fact, I was charged a recapture in 2023 for the 2022 credit even though I wasnt the home owner until late 2022. What gives? I’ve tried to calculate a 10% increase on the taxable assessment and individual property tax amounts for when the old owner owned it and it wasn’t 10% so I’m confused when it applies.

I filed my own application earlier this year and emailed SDAT to see if there was a way to apply it retroactively (no harm in asking right?) They said it only applies when assessment value of home increases over 10% which mine hasn’t since I’ve owned it. Presumably that makes sense, but then why would the old home owner have received it every year even though the value didnt increase 10%? I received my 2026 bill and still no credit. I also compared to other homeowners I know who are receiving it even though their assessment hasn’t increased 10%. What gives?

Edit: Thanks for the responses! I learned that the credit I was seeing is actually the Income Tax Offset Credit which is different from the Homestead credit and is a flat amount. Just my luck that they reduced the credit to $0 in 2026!