Howard County voters in November will determine whether to create an independent office to investigate fraud, waste and abuse in the county government.

The Howard County Council intends to pass Charter Amendment resolution CR-107 which would establish an independent Office of Inspector General at its legislative session on July 29. Then voters would be able to decide whether to amend the county charter.

That legislative effort is over and above the effort envisioned in vetting a pair of bills (CB-47 and CB-48) originally proposed by District 1 Councilwoman Liz Walsh aimed at establishing the office.

Read more at The Business Monthly.

The Howard County Chapter of Moms for Liberty is targeting 46 books that they say contain sexually explicit images for removal from Howard County Public School System media centers.

Lisa Geraghty, president of the Chapter, said the campaign is not limited to these books, but will eventually expand to include books containing sexually explicit language, as well as gender-related and other ideologies that her organization “absolutely does not agree with.”

The challenge sparked a protest from book ban opponents who disrupted the Howard County Chapter’s February meeting, which was held at the Central Branch of the Howard County Library System and featured speaker Jessica Garland, who led the Carroll County effort as vice chair of the M4L Carroll County Chapter.

“I wanted protestors to come because they are believing a media narrative that is completely false,” Geraghty said of the venue choice. “I wanted to educate them on (our positions) and thought we would be able to find some common ground.”

Read more at Business Monthly.

Fresh flowers lift spirits and brighten the home and office, so what’s not to love?

The answer depends on provenance. That little celebration of nature in the foyer nook or on the dining table could be responsible for widespread environmental degradation tied to toxic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, unwise land use decisions, long-term refrigeration, and fossil fuel pollution from greenhouse operations and transportation.

“A lot of people look at flowers as natural, beautiful things but they don’t have the benefit of knowing all of the steps in the production process,” said Monica Palumbo, owner of the independent Indigo & Ivy Farm in Savage. “Local flowers are better for the environment and keep money in the local economy, which is just as important.”

Palumbo is among an increasing number of local growers who are seeking to give florists and floral designers a sustainable alternative to a standard industry practice that relies heavily on imported flowers.

Ten of these growers have even banded together to form the Chesapeake Flower Exchange, headquartered at Tanglewood Farm in Ashton, which pools their available products and increases selection options for purchasers who prefer to buy from a single source.

Grown, not flown

Lisa Derx, owner of Apricity Flowers, a boutique grower in Dayton, is one of the founders and the current president of the Chesapeake Flower Exchange.

After realizing that many local growers were counting on each other to fill orders if something was missing, Derx invited her collaborators to formalize their relationship. The Exchange formed officially in January 2023 and launched in April.

Read more at Business Monthly.

Approximately 200 horses currently stabled at Pimlico Race Course for training could be moved to Laurel by the end of the year.

At a meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission on Aug. 1, Maryland Jockey Club acting President Mike Rogers confirmed that the MJC and members of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association are working on a plan to consolidate training at Laurel Park.

“Having two training centers is very costly, we’re just trying to cut the cost down as best we can,” Rogers said.

Even though Laurel Park currently has enough space to accommodate all of the horses, the practical solution is to delay the transition to ensure that larger operations can house their horses in a single building.

Lori Testerman, a Pimlico-based trainer, said the majority of people who live and work at Pimlico were not aware of plans to terminate training at Pimlico and also disagreed with the idea that 200 additional horses using the Laurel track for training wouldn’t make a difference.

To read more of this article from Fishbowl content partner Business Monthly, click here.