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Community Corner

Sports Betting Law + Laurel Lab Builds Spacecraft + MARC Update

The quickest way to get caught up on everything worth knowing today in town.

Alexis Goring, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Good morning, Laurel! It's Friday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on locally today.

First, today's weather: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High: 95 Low: 75.

Here are the top four stories in Laurel today:

  1. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission on Thursday unanimously approved its draft sports betting rules — rules that could raise some eyebrows among operators. Maryland's new sports betting law is the most inclusive in the nation, in terms of making the business of sports betting available to women and minority-owned businesses. (Sports Handle)
  2. Six years ago today, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made history with the first up-close exploration of the Pluto system – providing breathtaking views and detailed data on Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, revealing the surfaces of these distant, mysterious worlds at the outer reaches of our solar system. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel designed, built and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. (Space Ref)
  3. Some Maryland communities are lagging behind when it comes to their vaccination numbers. On Wednesday, Governor Larry Hogan's office shared data revealing which ZIP codes in Maryland counties have the highest numbers of unvaccinated adults. (WUSA9.com)
  4. MARC ridership remains down about 90% since the pandemic struck. While the transit administration anticipates a return to pre-pandemic service at the end of August, transit advocates say it should restore full service now to bring back riders and convert new ones. And transit experts, rider advocates and some state lawmakers want the agency to take advantage of the pandemic's disruption to consider how to best serve workers with new schedules and destinations. (Baltimore Sun)

From our sponsor:

Today's Laurel Daily is brought to you by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Laurel!

Today in Laurel

  • Free Estate Planning & Living Trust Workshop Live Q&A Friday (3:00 PM)
  • Parents Night Out: Pajama Painting Party — Parents can bring their children to The Thrifty Teacher for Lego Night! Bring your artist in their pajamas to paint a Lego Friend, eat pizza and watch The Lego Movie (rated PG). Ages 5 and up. Masks required. (5:30 PM)
  • Laurel Dutch Country Farmers Market — Open on 9701 Fort Meade Road (9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)
  • Kidz Pick — Come and experience a perfect mixture of excitement, creativity and fun-filled activities. Each day the schedule will include Krafty Kids; Amazing Artists; Spectacular Sports; Great Games; Science Superstarz; and Nifty Naturalist. Camp will follow HCRP Summer Camp COVID safety policies, please visit howardcountymd/rap for details. Info: Ovan Shortt, 410-313-1693 or oshortt@howardcountymd.gov (7:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
  • Photography: Digital Level 1 — Attend this educational event at the Montpelier Arts Center. (10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
  • Janet Matthews: Tangled Project — Attend this art-centered event at Montpelier Arts Center. (11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
  • My First School Summertime Adventures — This field experience is only for teens participating as Junior Counselors (JRC) and have already enrolled in a JRC Training Camp. For more information, contact Melissa Byrne (mbyrne@howardcountymd.gov). To enroll online or by calling 410-313-7275. (9:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
  • Chess Camp — Learn from professional chess instructors from Silver Knights Chess. You are divided into groups by level (beginner to highly-rated tournament). Every camper receives a t-shirt and a tournament-style chess set. For more information, call Scott Corning at 410-313-4622 or email him (scorning@howardcountymd.gov). (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

Laurel Patch Notebook

  • Laurel Parks & Recreation: "Join us for another fun Friday Flick!" (Facebook)
  • Memorial Service — Elaine Worman of Laurel, passed away on July 5, 2021, at the age of 91. (Obituary here)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

  • Lornwood Daycare Center's Summer Camp Now Enrolling Children. (July 16)
  • Parents Night Out: Pajama Painting Party (July 16)
  • Shoff Promotions Frederick Md. COMIC CON (July 18)
  • The Blended Family Village Virtual Conference (Free) (July 18)
  • Summit's Unique Program - The Summit School (July 20)
  • Webinar: Is Solar Right for Me? (July 29)

Announcements:

Job listings:

Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday! I'll see you soon. If you're feeling these newsletters, consider bringing some more friends and neighbors into the fold. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Alexis Goring

About me: My name is Alexis A. Goring. I'm a Bowie area resident with a pulse for people, news and feature stories! I've worked as a freelance writer/editor/proofreader in the media industry for 15 years. I'm also a published author, experienced blogger, and founder of Writer at Heart Editorial Services. Visit my website for more details about me and my work. Here's the link: https://alexisagoring.jimdofree.com.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Laurel Daily? Reach out anytime to Laurel@Patch.com.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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