The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) today announced the launch of Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet, providing Marylanders with an easy, fast, and secure, digital version of their MDOT MVA-issued driver’s license or state ID card. Starting today, Maryland residents can choose to add their driver’s license or state identification (ID) card to Apple Wallet, and seamlessly and securely present it using iPhone or Apple Watch at select Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security checkpoints, within Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).*

“Maryland is proud to be a leader once again in safe innovation with the implementation of Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. “As we look to the future, we are committed to enhancing convenience and accessibility while maintaining the highest safety and security standards for our state and citizens.”

Maryland is the second state to implement IDs in Apple Wallet, and Maryland Mobile ID is currently the only form of mobile phone-based identification issued by MDOT MVA. It is only available to individuals with a current, valid Maryland-issued driver’s license or ID and serves as a companion to the physical, plastic driver’s license or ID – it is not a replacement and Marylanders must continue to carry their physical driver’s license or ID with them.

“Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet offers additional security and privacy benefits than the physical state ID or driver’s license because Marylanders get to review the personal information they share with others, and use biometric authentication with Face ID or Touch ID to authorize it,” said MDOT MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer. “Over time, we expect the locations accepting mobile ID to grow, but we are excited to partner with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to allow Maryland residents to present their Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet at participating airports.”

Following a digital driver’s license pilot conducted by the MDOT MVA in 2017, the launch of Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet is the next step in delivering on Governor Hogan’s customer service initiative and on MDOT MVA’s goal to provide the safest and most secure products for its customers.

How to add Maryland Mobile ID to Apple Wallet

To enroll and use Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet, Maryland residents must have a valid and easily readable Maryland driver’s license or ID card, as well as an iPhone 8 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 4 or later, with the latest version of iOS or watchOS. You must also live in Maryland and have your device set to United States.

Adding Maryland Mobile ID to Apple Wallet can be done in just a few simple steps. Maryland residents can tap the + button at the top of the screen in Apple Wallet on their iPhone, select “Driver’s license or State ID,” and follow the on-screen instructions to start the set-up and verification process.

How to Use Maryland Mobile ID at an Airport

At this time, Maryland Mobile ID is accepted only at select TSA terminals at participating airports around the country.

To use Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet at a TSA checkpoint, residents can simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch near the identity reader. Residents’ devices will then display what information is being requested by the TSA, and only after authorizing with Face ID or Touch ID is the requested information released from a device. Since the information is shared digitally, residents do not need to hand over their iPhone or Apple Watch to present their Maryland Mobile ID.

Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet is Private and Secure

Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet is private and secure. Identity data is encrypted and helps protect against tampering and theft. When using Maryland Mobile ID in Apple Wallet, neither Apple nor MDOT MVA have access to when or where a Maryland Mobile ID is presented.

In the instance that an iPhone or Apple Watch is lost or stolen, residents can use the “Find My” app to easily lock their device and help locate it, or remotely erase their device. Additionally, biometric authentication using Face ID or Touch ID ensures the only person who added the ID to the device can view or present their ID or license in Apple Wallet.

Maryland Mobile ID and Maryland myMVA Account

Marylanders who would like to add Maryland Mobile ID to Apple Wallet are encouraged to sign up for a myMVA account. If additional verification is needed, customers can complete the process through their myMVA account. Customers can also remove their Maryland Mobile ID at any time through their account, as well as opt out of the service completely.

myMVA is unique to each customer and provides several other services, including driver’s license information and vehicle registration status. Customers can order replacement driver’s licenses or ID cards through myMVA should theirs be unreadable for Maryland Mobile ID.

To learn more visit https://mva.maryland.gov/Pages/MDMobileID_Apple.

*Travelers should refer to checkpoint signage to confirm availability.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the Spy’s arts coverage is when we notice that some of the Mid-Shore’s best vocalists and musicians find their way home to perform after hitting the big time in places like the jazz clubs of New York City and elsewhere. Over the years, we’ve seen remarkable standouts such as Maggie Rogers and Hannah Gill rise to popularity in the highly competitive world of live performers and yet always find a way to come back to Easton for a celebratory gig.

That happened when the Avalon welcomed back saxophonist and composer Julian Brezon to the Stolz Room last Saturday night. While Julian graduated from Easton High School and moved on to the Peabody Institute, he has an exceptional place of honor at the Dover Street venue since it was his job to change the Avalon’s marquee sign every week.

And the Avalon made him feel right at home when they asked Julian and his quartet to honor the 100th birthday of the jazz great Charles Mingus as part of the foundation’s celebration of their theatre turning 100 years this year as well.

We had a Spy in the audience for a short report on how special this evening was for Mingus, Brezon, and the Avalon.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Julian Brezon please go here.

This year, 2022, will mark the 50th Anniversary of Washington College’s first entry into a national collegiate lacrosse tournament. This event coincided with the inaugural USILA Post Season Tournament, which took place in 1972. Up to this point, there was not an opportunity for a Division III school to compete for a national championship.

To commemorate this anniversary, the Washington College lacrosse teams of 1972 and 1973 will hold their 49th and 50th year anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 30, in the Skybox at Roy Kirby Stadium. Coach Barry Drew and the tri-captains of both teams, Bob Shriver, Peter Boggs and Tom George will host the players and descendants of Don Kelly, Jack Copeland, Dr. Joseph McLain, Hurtt Deringer, and Ed Athey.

The 1972 team was a talented group of overachievers led by the tri-captains. Expectations were low before the start of the season as the Sho’men hadn’t had a winning record since 1968. The prospects were further dimmed by a schedule filled with Division I colleges including Yale, Navy, Hofstra, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Bucknell, and Loyola. However, a victory over Yale in their first game gave the team confidence. They proceeded to win the following eight games while dropping just three to Navy, Johns Hopkins, and Washington & Lee. The USILA post season followed with victories over Franklin & Marshall, Denison, and a gratifying win over Towson. The championship game against Hobart was a heartbreaking loss of 15-12.

Optimism abounded for the 1973 season with most of the returning players who surprised everyone the previous year. Once again, the schedule was filled with Division I schools but Washington College prevailed over Syracuse, Brown, Loyola, Delaware, Bucknell, and UMBC. The USILA Tournament featured wins over Baltimore, followed by a satisfying win over Towson. Just like the previous year, the Shoremen were pitted against another Upstate New York opponent, Cortland State and dropped the final contest, 13-8.

The 1972 and 1973 teams started a winning tradition of Washington College lacrosse. Over the last 50 years, the program has competed in post season play on 34 occasions and has won one national championship.

There will be halftime presentation for the 1972 and 1973 teams during the game with Dickinson on Saturday, April 30.

By Jay Elliott

This is the week when once again, Maryland Public Television’s Annual Chesapeake Bay Week invites viewers to immerse themselves “…in the history, science and culture of our nation’s largest estuary.

And, this year, there is a strong focus on life here on the Eastern Shore.

Tonight, MPT airs a near 30-minute version of THE LONG SHORE. This short film documentary of life on Chesapeake Bay was first presented by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum last Fall. CBMM actively participated in the filming and MPT’s longer version provides for an even greater discussion about shipbuilding. The film airs at 7:00 PM tonight.

A Spy agent tracked down MPT producer Sarah Sampson and asked her to describe this week of special programing. She explained, “Chesapeake Bay Week is part of Maryland Public Television’s ongoing commitment to telling important stories about the history, people and culture of the Bay. Now in its 18th year, the popular week of programming highlights the beauty and diversity of our nation’s largest estuary.”

Chesapeake Decoys: The Nature of Waterfowl Art takes viewers to the Chesapeake marshlands, where hunters share in an age-old tradition, and to the Easton Waterfowl Festival where intricate decoys carved from blocks of wood fetch generous sums from enthusiastic collectors. The program aired early in the week repeats immediately following THE LONG SHORE at 7:30 PM. is also streaming now here.

Experts, scientists and policy makers converge on Thursday, April 21st at 9pm for The Chesapeake Bay Summit 2022 for a compelling discussion on the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, led by host Frank Sesno.

You can find a full listing of programs that are part of Chesapeake Bay Week here.

Editor’s note: Esteemed Photographer Dave Harp sent along this stunning photograph to the Spy a few days ago. He writes “below is a photo I made of him in a tree behind my house, shortly before he departed in March.

He attracted hundreds, if not thousands, of avid birders and regular folks interested in a glimpse of his highness. It was such a pleasure having him (most likely a young male) around on gray winter days!

It was a snowy winter in Cambridge.  What started out as a Christmas present in December turned out to be a winter-long gift, when a snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) graced Cambridge with its presence until the end of March. The owl, most likely a young male, was far out of its normal range, which goes into the high arctic.

Nearly two feet tall, he made quite a presence and attracted birders with powerful scopes, photographers with their giant lenses and people with cell phone cameras looking for a glimpse of the beautiful owl.  He would spend days on chimney’s, roofs, docks and trees in the historic west end of Cambridge, probably living off rodents, ducks and small birds. He was the talk of the West End all winter and provided a respite from thoughts of covid and other worldly matters. “Where’s Snowy today?” was usually answered by looking for pods of people, some with tripods and cameras, gazing heavenward.

We hope he returns next year.

The Wye Episcopal Parish has joined with Washington College’s Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture to celebrate the 300th anniversary  of Old Wye church (Wye Mills, 1721) with a series of three lectures on the history of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The lectures, the first of which is on April 19, are free and open to the public.

The inaugural lecture will present the vibrant religious environment of the Colonial Eastern Shore, when generations of church-goers struggled over whether assurance of God’s favor could be found in established liturgies, or only in the inner experience of a spiritual rebirth.  

The lecturer will be Baird Tipson, eminent scholar and past president of Washington College from 2004 to 2010.  Dr. Tipson, now affiliated with Gettysburg College, is the author most recently of Inward Baptism: The Theological Origins of Evangelism, published in 2020 by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Tipson’s lecture will be delivered on April 19 at 4:30 p.m. at Washington College’s Hyson Lounge in Hodson Hall.  Parking is available on the campus.

Two more lectures in the Wye 300th Anniversary series, also co-sponsored with the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture, are planned for 2022.  In September in Easton, at a time and place to be announced, Eric Anderson, AIA, scholar of religion and architectural theory and practice, will offer a presentation on eighteenth century Colonial architecture on the Eastern Shore.  

In October 2022, the final lecture of the year will be delivered at Old Wye Church in Wye Mills by Dr. Joseph Prud’homme, author/editor of numerous books including Faith and Politics in America: From Jamestown to the Civil War (2011) and the Director of the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture. His subject will be the impact on the Eastern Shore of the famous Anglican clergyman Thomas Bray, organizer of the Church of England in the Colony of Maryland.

For further information, call 410-827-8484 (Wye Parish) or 800-422-1782, ext. 6486 (Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture).T