Morning Roundup

Residents in Baltimore County will see their water rates increase by nearly 5% beginning July 1 after approval Wednesday by the city’s Board of Estimates. (Baltimore Banner)

Education officials in Howard County are calling for staff reductions that could possibly result in increasingly crowded classrooms in an effort to close a $67,300,000 budget gap. The proposal would cut approximately $41.7 million in requested expenditures and reduce the number of new staff positions from 327 to 138. The plan also cuts 101 existing staff positions. (Baltimore Sun)

Starting July 1, the Healthy Babies Equity Act goes into effect, giving medical coverage to pregnant people who would be eligible for Medicaid or the Maryland Children’s Health Program, were it not for their immigration status. The law provides coverage for up to four months after pregnancy. (WYPR)

The state spending board on Wednesday approved a $159 million deal with a new corporate vendor to run the state’s only long-term care facility for veterans despite the company’s less-than-stellar track record. (Baltimore Banner)

A 14-year-old from Suitland and a 15-year-old from Temple Hills are charged as adults with attempted first- and second-degree murder, assault and related counts after an attempted shooting of a boy on a school bus in Prince George’s County earlier this month. (Washington Post)

A public forum about the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor area will be held on June 3 giving residents and local business owners an opportunity to hear from the people who have a hand in redeveloping the Harborplace Pavilions on Pratt and Light Streets. (WJZ)

Residents fighting a proposed human crematorium in the 4900 block of York Road in Baltimore have lost their bid to have the Circuit Court reverse the city Zoning Board’s approval of the facility. (Baltimore Brew)

Baltimore County has acquired a 12-acre parcel at Security Square Mall in Woodlawn as part of an ongoing effort to repurpose part of the shopping center into a community hub. (Baltimore Sun)

The University of Baltimore on Wednesday named Zahlco as the intended developer of a university-owned 2.35-acre site at the northwest corner of Maryland Avenue and Oliver Street. (Baltimore Fishbowl)

In Annapolis on Wednesday, Speaker of the House Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) announced a series of changes to leadership in the House of Delegates after a standing committee’s leader resigned. (Maryland Matters)

Police say a Maryland man stole an SUV from a dealership in Prince William County, Virginia, on Wednesday morning, ramming into a Virginia State trooper vehicle multiple times after leading them on a chase. (WTOP)

Baltimore’s spending board approved a $450,000 settlement to be paid to a man who claimed an officer involved with the disgraced Gun Trace Task Force falsely arrested and planted drugs on him. (Baltimore Sun)

A Baltimore man was arrested in Queens, New York, for allegedly pushing another man onto the tracks at the Shot Tower subway station downtown back in April. (Baltimore Banner)

A civil jury in Anne Arundel County awarded $8.5 million in damages to a Maryland woman who sued her former boyfriend for infecting her with genital herpes. (JGL Law)

Over 200 hopefuls showed up outside the Baltimore Tattoo Museum this week to get a free Old Bay tattoo ahead of this weekend’s Preakness Stakes. (Baltimore Fishbowl)

The Crab Derby returned to Lexington Market in Baltimore after a five-year hiatus. (WMAR)

In sports, the Orioles defeated the Los Angeles Angels, 3-1, Wednesday night at Camden Yards behind a solid pitching effort from former Angel Kyle Bradish. The two teams conclude the series this afternoon in a day game at 12:35pm. (Camden Chat)