NASA makes deep impact on Baltimore brothers with an invitation to asteroid crash

In a swift swoop, former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin picked up young Aden, who gazed at the various patches on the man’s collared blue jumpsuit. Noah, Aden’s older brother, watched the encounter as dad and mom snapped a picture. The family joined the elite astronaut, scientists, the European and Italian space agencies and a mob of media for an evening in Laurel to watch a NASA spacecraft collide with a 525-foot asteroid. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, known as DART, is one of the first missions that attempted to change the path of an asteroid by slamming into it at 14,000 miles per hour. Scientists will use results to develop future protections against asteroids that are potentially harmful to Earth.

Baltimore County executive, school superintendent announce pay raise plan

Baltimore County Public Schools employees will get salary increases this year under a $76 million plan announced Tuesday by county and schools leaders. But the plan will come at a significant cost to the school system, one that has still not been identified. It also commits the school system to cutting its budget by $19 million next school year to continue to pay for the raises. Of the $76 million, about $30 million will come from a school budget surplus from last fiscal year and another $46 million from one-time federal COVID-relief funds.

State transportation, Harford officials meet to discuss $19.9 billion in county projects

Maryland Transportation Secretary James F. Ports Jr. and other Maryland Department of Transportation officials met with Harford County leaders Monday to discuss MDOT’s draft for the six-year Maryland Consolidated Transportation Report for fiscal years 2023 through 2028. The draft of the report – which in a news release Ports called the “largest six-year capital transportation budget ever” – spends $19.9 billion to “replace and repair aging infrastructure, expand transit opportunities, support Maryland’s economic recovery and preserve and expand the state’s transportation network,” according to a MDOT news release.

Political notes: Mizeur’s homecoming, Marylanders at the CBC confab, Moore’s HBCU tour, and the weather report

One of the attack lines Republicans frequently lob at Heather Mizeur (D), who is trying to oust Maryland’s lone GOP member of Congress, Rep. Andy Harris, this November, is that she used to represent Montgomery County in the House of Delegates before moving to the Eastern Shore. It’s true: Mizeur represented District 20, in the southeastern part of the county, from 2007 to 2015, and previously served on the Takoma Park City Council. She moved to an herb farm on the Eastern Shore after losing a bid for governor in 2014. So what will Republicans say now that Mizeur will be raising money in her old stomping grounds?

Topol: No, Mr. President, the pandemic isn’t over

On “60 Minutes” recently, President Joe Biden declared that “the pandemic is over.” Well into our third year of battling COVID-19, we all wish that were true. But unfortunately, that is a fantasy right now. All the data tell us the virus is not contained. Far too many people are dying and suffering. And new, worrisome variants are on the horizon. There are 400 to 500 Americans dying of COVID each day, and that high daily death toll has remained constant for the last six months. In July 2021, we were down to just over 200 deaths per day, half of where we are now. A daily toll in the hundreds is a tragedy, because most COVID deaths could have been prevented by vaccinations, boosters and early treatments.

With help from Maryland families, scientists find overlooked genes for autism

There are many ways to enhance the lives of those diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability that federal figures show affects 1 in 44 children. But the condition is a spectrum of disorders affecting social communication and interaction, and doctors aren’t always able to provide parents with precise information about what to expect or know how to tailor the therapies. With the help of hundreds of families in Maryland and many more around the country who shared their genetic information, a group of researchers have identified a previously overlooked group of genes linked to moderate forms of autism that a Kennedy Krieger Institute autism researcher says puts those doctors “one step closer.”

Anne Arundel candidates gear up for the November general election. Here’s what you need to know.

After a lengthy midterm primary in which some candidates had to wait more than a week to learn the results of their races, party nominees will campaign this month and next ahead of the general election to represent Anne Arundel County at the local, state and federal level. Candidates have about six weeks to crisscross the county raising money and winning over voters in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 election. Voters must register by Oct. 18 or at their polling place on Election Day with proper Maryland documentation. Residents hoping to vote by mail must request their mail-in ballots by Nov. 1 and have their ballots postmarked by Election Day or deposited in a dropbox by 8 p.m. that day. Early voting starts Oct. 27 and ends Nov. 3.

Inside Climate News: Maryland gets $144 million in federal funds to rehabilitate aging water infrastructure

Responding to Maryland’s water woes, the Environmental Protection Agency will make $144 million in funds from President Biden’s infrastructure bill available to the state for improvements to drinking water systems and wastewater management. The funding includes $76 million being made available now to the Maryland Department of the Environment for distribution to cities and other local municipalities after an outbreak of E. coli contamination earlier this month in Baltimore’s drinking water and what state environmental regulators have called catastrophic failures at the city’s two wastewater treatment plants.

Wes Moore wants Md. students to do a year of service after graduating

Maryland gubernatorial hopeful Wes Moore (D) wants to create a new rite of passage to adulthood for high school graduates: a year of public service. The idea of having young Americans spend a year providing service in their communities has been bandied about for more than a decade. National nonpartisan groups have formed around it. A presidential candidate once suggested it. But political will and the often-hefty price tag associated with requiring participation have stalled national efforts. And now Moore, an Army veteran and lead contender in the race to become Maryland’s next governor, is pushing a plan to offer tens of thousands of young Marylanders a chance to participate in a state initiative similar to national programs like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps and Teach for America.

Proposed zoning code overhaul would end single-family zoning in Baltimore

A new proposal before the Baltimore City Council could dramatically rewrite the city’s building regulations, banning single-family zoning policies that advocates argue have driven housing scarcity and more than a century of segregation. Dubbed the Abundant Housing Act, the proposal follows legislation recently introduced or adopted by numerous local governments around the country and would open residentially-zoned districts across Baltimore to multi-unit housing — a tool supporters say would cut housing costs and increase residential density in neighborhoods with quality housing and access to jobs, amenities or transportation.