Around Maryland

Tension had been building inside Maryland’s maximum-security psychiatric hospital when the news began to circulate among employees: Scott Moran, their CEO, had been banished from the facility. Moran’s boss at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, which houses people diagnosed with serious mental illnesses who have been accused of violence, had applied for a restraining order against the doctor in February, accusing him of sending “racially suggestive messages” and making violent threats.

Years into Victoria Richardson’s addiction, every choice was rooted in how to continue using drugs. Until this one. “I was five months pregnant with my son and using heroin, and I knew I couldn’t do that anymore,” she said. “I knew I had to change so my kids wouldn’t grow up the same way I did.” A counselor pointed her to a special treatment center for pregnant women and mothers, a homelike environment where everyone stays together and learns or relearns how to be a family.

Both two and four-legged members of Maryland Task Force 1 arrived back in Rockville on Monday afternoon, after their latest stint helping with hurricane rescues and surveying damage in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. They grabbed their luggage and unpacked other supplies, and after entering a warehouse, Montgomery County Fire Chief Corey Smedley eagerly welcomed them home.

WJZ's Dennis Valera is spending the night at the Lord Baltimore Hotel to find out if there truly is paranormal activity. The Lord Baltimore Hotel is said to be one of the most haunted hotels in the country. The Lord Baltimore Hotel has been around since 1929. Over it's nearly 100-year history, it's become a hotspot for reports of sightings and other spooky things. A lot of the paranormal activity is linked to the Great Depression.

The two women locked eyes across the West Baltimore grocery store parking lot. “I’m Traci’s mom,” said Tammy Bombardier, raising her hand in a shy wave. Bonnie Marquez swept her up in a hug, then put her hands on the other woman’s shoulders. “I can tell you from experience, I’m not going to know exactly where your daughter is, but I am going to know by the time I leave Baltimore if she’s alive and if she’s been seen.”

Anne Arundel County's goal is to commemorate the history of the old Crownsville Hospital site while also making it a welcoming park space. Those goals are reflected in a draft master plan, the culmination of meetings with stakeholders and public forums within the community. The plan includes trails, recreation areas and a path of reverence for patients who lost their lives at the hospital.

More than three quarters of short-term residential rentals being offered in Montgomery County, Maryland, are unregistered, according to a report from the county’s Office of the Inspector General. The findings in the latest report from Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi show that more than 85% of the more than 1,400 short-term residential rentals operating in Montgomery County are not licensed.

Maryland hospitals and health officials are keeping a wary eye on their supplies of sterile intravenous fluids after recent hurricane damage knocked out a major North Carolina-based manufacturer. There have not been any disruptions to scheduled surgeries yet, but the Maryland Department of Health is encouraging facilities to conserve supplies and look to alternatives – just giving people fluids to drink in cases of dehydration, for example – until the supply chain can be restored.

Facebook is not just good for birthdays and baby pictures. Last month, in the wilds of western Baltimore County, Facebook helped save a stray goat. Gracie the goat’s social media adventure began in late September, when Windsor Mill residents reported seeing a honey-colored caprine animal in the woods. Upon closer examination, Gracie was not a wayward pet; she was a Boer — 100 pounds of tendons and muscles most often bred for meat.