Around Maryland

Barbara Nicklas, the former chair of the city of Frederick’s Planning Commission, was confirmed on Tuesday to a vacant seat on the Fredrick County Planning Commission. The vacant seat was previously held by Robert White, whose term was set to expire on June 30, 2027. Joel Rensberger, the chair of the Frederick County Planning Commission, said in an interview on Aug. 21 that White’s departure was announced in May.

Six state senators and 12 delegates representing Baltimore County have written Maryland’s power grid operator to demand more transparency about its plan for a 70-mile power transmission line that would slice through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. The bipartisan group of legislators is also asking PJM Interconnection, which manages the power grid for Maryland and several other states, why it cannot use existing lines and infrastructure for the $424 million project, instead of building new lines that will cut through farmland, wineries, and homes.

Catholic Charities of Baltimore will be opening up a center that will provide resources to those impacted by the Key Bridge collapse. In the five months since the collapse, so much has changed for so many people. For Bethany Cunningham, it means more traffic. “It took my commute from 13 minutes to now 45-50,” Cunningham said.

DaLawn Parrish recalled receiving a call during a football practice from John Kelley, the head coach of Quince Orchard High School in Montgomery County, Maryland. As they spoke, Kelley questioned Parrish, the coach for Dr. Henry Wise Jr. High School, on the late times for his practices. After explaining the late bell schedule and giving the players 20 minutes to change before practice, Parrish was surprised to hear his coaching rival was away from his players.

Air pollution in South Baltimore’s Curtis Bay — a residential area surrounded by industrial facilities — is on par with pollution near major highways and the city’s downtown area, according to a new study by the University of Maryland and other collaborators. The study, published last week in the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, focused on the prevalence of black carbon in Curtis Bay and other pollution hot spots in the region.

Montgomery County police and the Maryland school system’s new security chief say there will be more collaboration in the upcoming school year. During an online briefing, Marcus Jones, Montgomery County Public Schools’ new security chief, said “safety is a top priority” for the school system. Jones, who retired after nearly four decades with the Montgomery County Police Department, said that he’s in the process of talking to other school districts about their experiences with weapons detections systems.

Local officials shared their concern Tuesday after recently learning that continued state funding for designing the second phase of widening Interstate 81 would not be in the Maryland Department of Transportation’s draft six-year transportation plan. The construction money for the next widening phase was deferred last winter, but the planning and design money had remained in the state’s plan.