Even on a pleasant, breezy, partly sunny day in Ocean City, with the waters of Assawoman Bay lapping gently against the pedestrian promenade behind the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, it’s hard not to think about extreme weather. A severe storm, gale-force winds, even sunny day flooding — it wouldn’t take much for the bay water to come lapping up over the barrier and on to the shore, creating havoc in the coastal resort town.

Whether stopping by for a visit on Student Appreciation Day or helping students cope with the death of a classmate, therapy dogs have a local contingent who say they can play a role in supporting students. One local nonprofit has received a “dramatic increase” in requests over the past year for therapy dog services across Montgomery County Public Schools. This summer, the school board has been asked to ease the way for more dogs to visit more MCPS campuses.

 

For a woman of a certain age out here in these online dating streets, Felicia Pride’s short film “Look Back At It” is painfully funny, because so much of what 40-something single Baltimore mom Lanae experiences is the stuff of margarita-fueled nightmares. Even better is recognizing people who look like me on screen in a way I don’t usually see myself. It’s not about violence or crime, but just about normal middle-aged Black lady stuff, with a Royal Farms chicken reference.

Ocean City’s swelling vacation population will grow by about 3,000 this week, as the annual Maryland Association of Counties summer conference, the largest gathering of the state’s political clan, kicks off Wednesday. As usual, the four-day ritual is essentially split into separate exercises: the official gathering, inside the bone-chilling Roland E. Powell Convention Center, where dozens of sessions are designed to illuminate the latest challenges facing local government leaders, and the almost two dozen receptions and political fundraisers that take place throughout the sprawling resort town.

Maryland state officials, county officers and non-profit organizers gathered in Ocean City on Wednesday to discuss the policy solutions and tactics to face the ever-evolving opioid crisis, as one of many forum discussions that will occur at the annual Maryland Association of Counties summer conference. State and federal efforts have attempted to reduce substance abuse across the United States, particularly as synthetic opioids like fentanyl contributed to rising fatal overdoses over the past decade.

Artificial intelligence is advancing so rapidly that many who have been part of its development are now among the most vocal about the need to regulate it. While AI will bring many benefits, it is also potentially dangerous; it could be used to create cyber or bio weapons or to launch massive disinformation attacks. And if an AI is stolen or leaked even once, it could be impossible to prevent it from spreading throughout the world.

Loyola University Maryland is the second local college to announce plans for a nursing program. The university said Tuesday it intends to offer a bachelor’s program in nursing “to help address Maryland’s ongoing nursing workforce shortage.” Mercy Medical Center will partner with Loyola to provide clinical placements, other resources and support.

 

We applaud The Baltimore Sun for recognizing the importance of the Baltimore Blueway, a water trail plan for the Inner Harbor and Middle Branch, and the opportunities it offers to the people of Baltimore (”Baltimore Blueway: a good way to make a splash,” Aug. 10). In response to the reader who shared concerns about the safety of the Blueway (”Baltimore Blueway plan invites trouble,” Aug. 10), one major goal of the plan is to increase the safety of the Inner Harbor for paddle sports.

Donald Trump’s latest indictments, a raft of criminal charges — including racketeering — lodged this week against him and an army of 18 co-conspirators for plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, drew what have now become customary responses. After all, this was the fourth time the ex-president has been criminally indicted in recent months so there’s been no shortage of opportunities to establish a pattern.

A new bus route is the first moving step of Baltimore’s reimagined Red Line. The Quicklink 40 was initially mentioned in June as part of Gov. Wes Moore’s plan to resurrect the once-cancelled project to connect East and West Baltimore. “The new route is intended to provide expanded travel options for riders as plans take shape for the relaunched Red Line transit route,” the Maryland Department of Transportation said in a news release Wednesday.