Maryland residents will get a short holiday to help ease the pain from high gas prices. A new study shows harassment against local health officials was widespread during the early months of the pandemic. A bill that would ban ghost guns passes the Senate. Baltimore County’s State’s Attorney has a Republican challenger. And Baltimore’s Penn North Library becomes a haven for those struggling with substance abuse.

Relief from high fuel prices could be on the way as a gas tax holiday moves a step closer to reality. A new state program would allow Maryland job seekers without college diplomas to fill more vacant jobs. State lawmakers want to pull pension fund investments from Russia. Maryland must work toward being “carbon-neutral” by 2045 under a bill passed along party lines this week. And Baltimore’s Office of Homeless Services looks to keep hotels available as non-congregate shelters.

Masks are now optional in Baltimore City Public Schools. The state’s COVID positivity rate continues to go down. The latest Goucher poll shows Marylanders are feeling more than a pinch from recent price increases. Baltimore County’s executive promises no tax increases in the coming year. And a doctor gives advice on how to treat back pain without opioids.

It’s been another busy week in Annapolis. State lawmakers move forward legislation to ban ghost guns. After an hour of emotional debate, the House passes bills to make it easier for people to get abortions. Maryland’s growing surplus leads to calls for a gas tax holiday. A report shows declining pollution enforcement at the Maryland Department of the Environment. Baltimore City Hall is set to reopen to the public in April. And the mayor announces his largest ARPA fund allocation thus far – for housing.

The Baltimore County Council’s revised redistricting map, still draws ire from the local NAACP. Maryland’s GOP senators launch a drive for what they say will be ‘meaningful tax relief.’ Baltimore City uses millions in ARPA funds to create a jobs training program. Local health systems team up to send medical supplies to Ukraine. The war there continues to drive up gas prices in Maryland and across the country. And a doctor tells us what you need to know about Evusheld, a COVID antibody treatment for the immunocompromised.

The world hits a grim milestone: more than six million people have died of COVID-19. The Baltimore County Council will consider a bill that would make it easier to shut down businesses tied to illegal activity. A Tuesday deadline looms for the County Council to present a new redistricting map before a judge. And a conversation with Dr. Leana Wen on the CDC’s new masking guidelines and the path forward to getting to normal

On this date two years ago, Maryland hospitals admitted their first COVID-19 patients. Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby is not giving up on his battered Dollar House bill. Maryland’s large Ukrainian community is speaking out against the assault by Russia on their native homeland. In Annapolis: legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use moves to the Senate after being approved in the House, where State delegates are tackling climate change with four separate bills. March is National Kidney Month. We’ll hear how one local medical system is leading the way with ending the practice of using race as a factor in determining kidney health.

Baltimore City lifts its indoor mask mandate, and Baltimore City Public Schools follow suit. State senators are close to passing a bill that would alter how police body camera footage can be viewed by the public. Senators also vote to ban the use of PFAS in the state. And former county health officers and a whistleblower raise concerns at a hearing about the state health department’s pandemic response, and its treatment of staff and local health officials.

The state's positivity rate is now well below 3%. Mayor Scott will lift Baltimore’s mask mandate Tuesday and we have a rundown of which Maryland counties are lifting mask mandates and for what activities and places. Baltimore’s Recreation and Parks will get over $40 million in ARPA funds. And the nursing profession is among those most affected by the past two years of this pandemic. We’ll close out this month’s series, Conversations with Black women in medicine, with a candid conversation with two deans and a graduating student of Coppin State University’s nursing and professional health programs.

The CDC updates its masking guidelines for the country. Baltimore’s mayor will lift indoor mask mandates in the City. Recreational marijuana legislation breezed through Maryland’s House of Delegates. Paid family leave and staffing shortages in the state’s education system also took center stage in Annapolis. The Community College of Baltimore discusses the slave history of its Catonsville campus. And we’ll have the second in our series, Conversations with Black women in medicine, this month. Executive editor Danyell Irby speaks with Dr. Nicole Rochester, founder of Your GPS Doc about how to navigate the medical system and advocate for yourself and your aging loved ones.