Around Maryland

Nearly a year ago, a Christmas weekend storm blasted across the country, forcing utilities to cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of people in parts of the southeastern U.S. after temperatures plunged, demand spiked, large numbers of power plants failed and natural gas supply was strained. As the anniversary approaches of Winter Storm Elliott, a pair of reports released this month reveal how much worse the situation almost became and the continued vulnerability of the U.S. energy grid to frigid weather.

As he looks back on the worst of his days recovering from addiction, Jeffery Schneider says, it feels like a miracle that he’s still walking around. The Baltimore painting contractor spent many years emptying his bank account for crack cocaine. His erratic behavior alienated loved ones, doomed a family business and triggered run-ins with police. But nothing was harder for the Essex native than the annual approach of what should have been the most important day on his calendar.

Transportation Security Administration officials are predicting record-breaking passenger volume this Thanksgiving. At a news conference Monday at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, officials said they have been preparing for this travel period all year. “Thanksgiving is what we consider our Super Bowl. It is, by far, the busiest travel period of the year,” Maryland Aviation Administration official Ricky Smith said. “Travelers are reminded to give themselves plenty of time for parking, airline ticketing and the TSA security checkpoint process.”

An almost 34-year veteran of Montgomery County Fire and EMS has been tapped to become the county’s next fire chief. Charles Bailey is currently the department’s operations chief, but if his nomination by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is confirmed by the county council, he’ll lead one of the area’s largest Fire and EMS teams. “I think the excitement is going to come. I think right now, I’m still adjusting to the gravity of the importance of it,” Bailey told WTOP.

Local business leaders and education officials have utilized $1.4 million in grant funding to create an institute at Frostburg State University to promote the outdoor recreational economy in Western Maryland. The mission of the institute is to train a workforce while seeking to recruit outdoor recreation and lifestyle manufacturing businesses to the region. In addition to FSU, Allegany College of Maryland and Garrett College are participating by offering coursework for students based on the needs of the outdoor economy.

Baltimore County educators rallied Monday night to ask the school district to act fast in order to slow a wave of resignations. Cindy Sexton, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said Nov. 28 is the final scheduled meeting between union and Baltimore County Public Schools bargaining teams, and that the two sides are not yet actively engaged in over half the union’s demands for a new agreement for next school year. The current bargaining agreement expires at the end of June.

By and large, Donné Settles Allen of Silver Spring has a tall family. She’s 5 feet 9 inches, and both her husband and oldest son are over 6 feet. Then, there’s her 13-year-old son, Asante Allen — an outgoing, tenacious goofball who stands 3 feet 9 inches. (He’s quick to point out that with socks and shoes, he’s closer to 3 feet 11 inches). Asante is the only one in his family who has achondroplasia, the most common type of dwarfism and the same one that actor Peter Dinklage has. His mother calls him the family’s “spontaneous genetic miracle.”

It’s leaf blower season, adding new layers of unwelcome noise to the cacophony of daily life. Leaf blowers — along with gas-powered lawn mowers, string trimmers, chainsaws and other garden equipment, also generate an alarming amount of air pollution. Some machines emit as much pollution in an hour as driving hundreds of miles in a car. A recently released report by the Maryland PIRG Foundation, called “Lawn Care Goes Electric: Why It’s Time to Switch to a New Generation of Clean, Quiet Electric Lawn Equipment,” attempts to quantify the public health risks and potential damage.