Press Room

News & Announcements 2026​​​​​​

  • Calvert Marine Museum Plans Veterans Day Programs Connecting Local History With Those Who Served​. A waterfront memorial service, tours exploring Southern Maryland’s wartime history and letters for veterans living at Charlotte Hall will be part of the Calvert Marine Museum’s November programming honoring military service. The Bay Net (October 27, 2026)

  • Constellation Grants Back 7 Calvert Environmental Projects.  Coastal monitoring stations along Calvert Cliffs, new trail markers at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, and invasive-plant removal at Annmarie Garden are among seven Calvert County environmental projects that will share in Constellation’s latest round of community grants.​ The Southern Maryland Chronicle (October 21, 2026)

  • Historical Marker unveiled in Trappe honoring Nathaniel “Uncle Nace” Hopkins. Community members, elected officials, historians, and descendants of Nathaniel “Uncle Nace” Hopkins gathered at Scott United Methodist Church in Trappe on Thursday, October 15, 2026, for the unveiling of an updated Maryland Roadside Historical Marker honoring the Civil War veteran, community leader, and founder of one of the nation’s longest-running Emancipation Day celebrations. The Star (October 21, 2026)

  • Unusual 375-Year-Old Clay Pipe Discovered in Calvert County Collection May Depict Person Riding Horse​.​ An unusual 17th-century clay tobacco pipe recovered from an archaeological site near Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in Calvert County has caught the attention of researchers because of a potentially rare design that appears to show a person riding an animal, possibly a horse. ​​Southern Maryland News Net (October 19, 2026)​

  • City Historic Preservation Commission supports nomination of Dumbhundred Historic District​. Cumberland’s Historic Preservation Commission voted to support Dumbhundred Historic District nomination to the National Register of Historic Places during it’s public meeting on Wednesday afternoon at city hall. The proposed district bounded by Henderson, Franklin, Bedford, and Independence Streets contains approximately 590 contributing buildings and sites associated with Cumberland’s industrial and residential development. WCBC Radio (October 15, 2026)

  • Uncovering the Native American History Beneath Route 1.​ For thousands of years, Native Americans hunted, fished, and gathered plants along the creeks of what is now the Route 1 corridor.Though the record is sparse, archaeological digs in Greenbelt, College Park, and Bladensburg over the past half-century have turned up tens of thousands of artifacts. The Wire (October 10, 2026)​

  • St. Mary’s 2050 Plan Rests on Growth Numbers the State Cut​. County planners put it on a slide themselves. When the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County held a work session on the draft 2050 comprehensive plan on Sept. 15, a staff member told them the state originally projected the county would grow 34% and that “those numbers were adjusted in 2025,” down. The commissioners then voted to send the plan to a public hearing anyway, with a decision now expected Oct. 20. The question for anyone reading the document is which version of the number is still holding it up. The Southern Maryland Chronicle (October 8, 2026)

  • ​Baltimore's Harborplace nominated to be designated an endangered historic place as redevelopment looms.​ Baltimore's Harborplace could be designated an endangered historic place, in the latest effort to stop the redevelopment of the waterfront space. ​CBS News (October 2, 2026)
  • Governor Launches New Permitting Team, Housing Initiatives​. ​The Permitting and Licensing Acceleration Team, or PLAT, will review State permitting, licensing, and certification processes and work with local governments on ways to reduce delays. The first round of work will focus on building State-local permitting roadmaps with the four pilot jurisdictions before expanding to other interested local governments. ​Conduit Street (October 1, 2026) 
  • Ocean City will miss ADU deadline​. Despite being behind schedule, Ocean City Planning and Community Development Director George Bendler says the municipality is working with state planners to pass an accessory dwelling unit policy this fall. ​OC Today-Dispatch (September 24, 2026)​

  • Berlin Planning Commission continues ADU conversation.​ Berlin officials continued discussing guidelines for accessory dwelling units during a planning commission meeting last week, focusing on design standards and how the town can review proposed units without creating burdensome barriers to construction. Bayside Gazette (September 24, 2026)
  • Moving at the Speed of Need at #MACoCon. State and county leaders examine how Maryland can make permitting more predictable and efficient while supporting responsible growth. Conduit Street (August 19, 2026)
  • County Gathering Info For Next Solar Farm Hearing​. Allegany County will testify at the next hearing on a solar project on Helmstetter’s Curve in September and cross-examine the case Solar Star Allegany South made for the project. ​​​WCBC Radio (July 31, 2026)
  • St. Mary’s Approves Verizon Deal, Cannabis Fund Rules.​ St. Mary’s County commissioners finalized a new cable franchise agreement with Verizon and approved an ordinance governing how the county will distribute more than $1.5 million in state cannabis reinvestment funding during their July 21 business meeting, while sending a contested zoning proposal targeting gas stations, vape shops and dollar stores back to the Planning Commission for further review. The Southern Maryland Chronicle (July 29, 2026)
  • La Plata Adopts New Road Growth Ordinance. The La Plata Town Council adopted a new ordinance Tuesday requiring developers to demonstrate adequate road capacity before building new projects, the second growth-management ordinance the council has approved this year as the town works to catch up with a development boom that has outpaced its existing regulations. The Southern Maryland Chronicle (July 29, 2026)
  • St. Mary’s Approves Verizon Deal, Cannabis Fund Rules​. St. Mary’s County commissioners finalized a new cable franchise agreement with Verizon and approved an ordinance governing how the county will distribute more than $1.5 million in state cannabis ​reinvestment funding during their July 21 business meeting, while sending a contested zoning proposal targeting gas stations, vape shops and dollar stores back to the Planning Commission for further review. SOMC (July 29, 2026)
  • Revolutionary Maryland Exhibit Comes to St. Leonard​. A statewide traveling exhibition on the history of press freedom in America opens​ this week at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum in St. Leonard, bringing a project tied to Maryland’s role in the country’s 250th anniversary to Calvert County through late September. ​​​SOMC (July 29, 2026)
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