Back in the early 1980s when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled the results of a five-year, $27-million study detailing the environmental damage sustained by the Chesapeake Bay, it wasn’t difficult to summon public outrage and media attention for the nation’s largest estuary, the cradle of much-loved blue crabs, rockfish and oysters. The threats to the bay quickly became common knowledge: the excess nutrients drained from the six-state watershed that caused so much of the harm; the toxic runoff from cities, suburbs and farms; the growth of algae blooms and “dead zones” where aquatic life could not survive; the damage from erosion and siltation. Advocacy groups gained new relevancy and a multi-state pact with the EPA was signed (and periodically updated with specific pollution goals).

“I think it’s unfortunate that, you know, you have certain attorneys that try to exploit families,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said, clearly a swipe at the lawyer representing the relatives of the late Hae Min Lee, the teenager who for 23 years was the affirmed victim of Adnan Syed, but now no longer. It apparently wasn’t enough for Mosby to enjoy the national spotlight again, this time for her lead role in “Serial” Syed’s release from prison. Baltimore’s outgoing (and federally indicted) chief prosecutor could not resist a cheap shot at Steve Kelly, the attorney for Lee’s relatives, who feel they were treated as an afterthought once Mosby decided that Syed’s 1999 murder conviction should be vacated.

As part of the county’s transition to a combination fire and emergency medical services system, the Department of Fire and EMS is beginning to combine purchasing efforts as well, starting with medical supplies. On Thursday, the Board of Carroll County Commissioners unanimously approved a $350,000 contract with Bound Tree Medical of Fairfax, Virginia, for the purchase of medical supplies for all 14 county fire and EMS companies. Currently, medical supplies are purchased by each of the volunteer fire and EMS companies separately. “As we transition over, a lot of things that the volunteers have purchased on their own, we’re trying to make it seamless,” said Michael Robinson Sr., director of Carroll County’s Fire and Emergency Medical Department.

Many sectors are reeling from massive labor shortages — but few affect families more intimately than what is happening with childcare. With lengthy waiting lists and soaring costs, the scale of the crisis is obvious. Less clear is how the country can quickly fix it. First, the problem: Like other caregiver industries, childcare was hit hard by covid-19. There are nearly 90,000 fewer child-care workers today than in February 2020 — an 8.4 percent reduction in the workforce. According to a February 2022 report by Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit association, nearly 16,000 programs in 37 states shut down during the pandemic. With birthrates rebounding and millions of workers returning to the office, these closures have placed enormous pressure on parents.

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to tour the B&O Railroad Museum’s new exhibition that examines the historic railroad’s part in the Underground Railroad network of the early-to-mid-1800s.  The Underground Railroad: Freedom Seekers on the B&O Railroad is a new permanent exhibition at the Southwest Baltimore museum and opened late last month. It is located within the museum’s historic Mt. Clare Station that for many years served as a storage space before being given this new purpose. I won’t give too much away because I highly recommend checking it out for yourself, but the three-room exhibit has interactive features for kids, a replica ticket window and a multi-wall video and audio projection experience. The latter tells the stories of two freedom seekers who passed through Baltimore on their way from slavery to freedom.

The Kennedy Krieger Institute is building a research center focused on how adverse childhood experiences, such as poverty, unstable housing, and other social factors stemming from inequality, impact brain development. The Baltimore health care institution is planning a $15 million renovation to its building at 707 N. Broadway to become the home of the Center for the Neuroscience of Social Injustice. The building currently serves as an inpatient center and also holds other research areas and facilities. CEO Dr. Bradley Schlaggar said there will be no displacement of patient care, since the renovations will be taking place at the building’s research floors. He added that the center is more of a reflection of an institutional research focus, rather than a physical building location. The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $2.5 million grant for the center on Wednesday.

Amid vendors offering caskets, urns and other tools of the trade at the Baltimore Convention Center, Sam Sieber enthusiastically described how, through a scientific process, heated water can rapidly decompose a human body. Sieber, vice president of research at Bio-Response Solutions, was one of many people this week at the National Funeral Directors Association convention discussing developments, products and trends in the industry. For much of the populace, talk of death can be morbid, grim or unsettling. But those at the convention view “death care” as a business, a passion and a necessary, noble profession. “You have to have a calling for it,” said Dorota Marshall, who owns Maryland Cremation Services. “It’s not a job. It’s a vocation.”

Currently, many selective colleges consider race when they make decisions about which students to admit. In several cases since 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that it is constitutional to do so to ensure diversity on campus. A ruling in favor of Students for Fair Admissions, the plaintiffs in the case, would require all colleges – both private and public – to no longer consider race when they make admissions decisions. Since nine states already have bans on affirmative action, it’s easy to know what will happen if affirmative action is outlawed. Studies of college enrollment in those states show that enrollment of Black, Hispanic and Native American undergraduate students will decline in the long term.

Harford County has awarded $1 million to eight recipients in the first year of its African American Heritage Grant program, which is dedicated to preserving African American history, according to a county news release. The awards were announced by Harford County Executive Barry Glassman at a reception Wednesday at Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air. “The people and places that came before us helped shape Harford County,” Glassman said, according to the release. “African Americans are integral to our story and this program will raise up this heritage for future generations.”