Around Maryland

Health officials in Maryland said Wednesday they will open the state’s first high-intensity inpatient addiction treatment center in years for children and young people in Baltimore, reflecting grim data showing the state’s youngest residents are not immune from the opioid epidemic. In 2014, there were four teens from ages 13 to 17 who died in the state from overdoses, a number that rose to 19 in 2023.

Ronald Silver II died of hyperthermia, according to an external autopsy report by Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The Baltimore City Department of Public Works employee was on the clock as a sanitation worker when he collapsed on a porch on a day in early August that had a heat index of 103. The heat index is what the temperature feels like when relative humidity is taken into account.

Rev. Dr. Alvin Hathaway Sr. remembers when Upton — the historically Black West Baltimore neighborhood and cultural epicenter known for treasured landmarks like the Royal Theater — was home to the Mitchells, a family of civil rights firebrands famously dubbed “The Black Kennedys.” Hathaway, born in 1951, was a youngster in the Mitchell family’s heyday and grew up with them as neighbors. Little George was his companion on the playground. (Photo: Baltimore Beat)

Officials on Wednesday are expected to approve the nearly $9 million purchase of a rural resort in the state’s westernmost county, but a legislator representing the area said the state has left residents in the dark about its plans. Area residents who have felt that the resort, which opened in 1999, has inhibited their hunting spots or state park access may feel especially strong about what the state has in store for the land.

A few dozen electric vehicle charging stations are coming into disadvantaged communities in Maryland and Virginia, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments announced. The initiative is being funded using nearly $4 million in grant funding that the COG received from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.

A West Baltimore clinic that treats and tests thousands of people for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections stopped seeing patients sometime in August. City health officials can’t say when it will reopen. The Druid Sexual Health Clinic is in disrepair, and the staff can only send patients off with an appointment at a clinic across town and a voucher to help pay for transportation. Treatment used to be free to everyone and now comes at a cost.

The Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works has been working to minimize disruptions to garbage and recycling collection while the employees of one of its independent contractors remain on strike. The contracted workers from Ecology Services Inc. have been on strike for seven days after contract negotiations fell apart. The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 150, are demanding better pay and working conditions.

The youth curfew ordinance in Cambridge, initially enacted in February 2023, was extended by the Cambridge City Council ahead of its October 1 expiration date. The youth curfew ordinance is designed to reduce juvenile crime and gun violence in Cambridge. The extension of the curfew aims to continue fostering a safer environment for Cambridge’s youth and the broader community in the coming year.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced his choice for Baltimore County’s next fire chief in 30-year veteran Joseph Dixon. If approved, he would become Baltimore County’s first Black fire chief and would replace Interim Chief Scott Ebbert who served in that role since July. Ebbert will continue with the Baltimore County Fire Department at his previous Assistant Fire Chief position.