President Joe Biden got a firsthand look Friday at efforts to clear away the “mangled mess” of remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as cranes, ships and diving crews work to reopen one of the nation’s main shipping lanes. Aboard Marine One, circling the warped metal remains and the mass of construction and salvage equipment trying to clear the wreckage of last week’s collapse, which killed six workers, Biden got an up close view of the devastation.

As Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates announced charges Wednesday against juveniles involved in a carjacking and robbery spree last fall, he also cited the need to hold parents criminally and financially accountable in cases where parents know of their child’s crimes. Baltimore prosecutors accused 20 young people of a series of armed carjackings and robberies throughout the city in October and November.

Washington County’s fatal overdoses dropped nearly 22% in one year’s time based on recent data shared from the state of Maryland — something to celebrate, according to the Washington County Health Department. “Obviously a cautious celebration, but one nonetheless, since we’ve focused so many efforts on ending overdoses and working closely to help those with substance use disorders here in our area,” said Vicki Sterling, director of behavioral health services for the health department.

After several aldermen said that some of the programs are not what they had asked the city’s staff to provide, Frederick will take more time to consider more than $2 million in proposals to fund affordable housing projects and initiatives to help people in danger of losing their homes.

Luke McFadden, the TikTok-famous waterman from Pasadena, easily lists some of the things he’s seen floating out of Baltimore while out on his workboat, the Southern Girl. “Styrofoam, dude… I mean, anything you can possibly think of. Just miscellaneous junk. Plastics like you wouldn’t believe.” Now debris from the Key Bridge collapse is washing up where the Patapsco River — that wide water highway to the city’s normally busy port — meets Chesapeake Bay. Even if McFadden hasn’t seen it yet, others have. (Photo Credit: Rick Hutzell)

Some Marylanders reported feeling an earthquake Friday morning that was centered in New Jersey. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 4.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded around 10:23 a.m. near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia. The quake even paused business at the United Nations in New York City.

I hate guns but I realized I needed one. Last December, I became a licensed gun owner and carrier, joining a growing number of Black Marylanders that I know who legally own guns. I am proud of this accomplishment, but the decision came with intense emotions and unhealed wounds surrounding guns in my life.

Speaking in front of the Patapsco River and the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse, President Joe Biden reiterated his desire for the federal government to pay for a new bridge and shared condolences with the families of the construction workers who died. “We’ve come here to grieve with you. We all are,” Biden said.

 

Marylanders may be able to catch a partial glimpse of the total solar eclipse set to cross North America on April 8. The moon will completely block the face of the sun, darkening the sky for those in the “path of totality,” which includes some 31 million Americans across 15 states. “It will look like the sun is being cut into a crescent shape like a cookie with a bite taken out of it,” said Allison Youngblood, a research astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and a deputy project scientist for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

 

In order to raise hundreds of millions more dollars each year for the Maryland’s transportation, education and trauma programs, state lawmakers are raising a variety of fees and taxes. They avoided broad-based hikes in income taxes or sales taxes, in favor of targeted ways to raise revenue. But if you own a car, take an Uber or smoke cigarettes, you’ll feel the pinch.