Around Maryland

A nearly 1,100-foot container ship ran aground off Pasadena in the Chesapeake Bay after leaving the Port of Baltimore late Sunday evening en route to Norfolk, Virginia. The U.S. Coast Guard issued a safety advisory Monday morning as efforts were being made to refloat the Ever Forward, which is part of a large fleet of cargo ships owned by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp.

A majority of Marylanders believe climate change is having major impacts — inducing more extreme weather events, harming wildlife and raising sea levels — according to a new poll from Goucher College. While groups including Democrats, younger people and people of color were most likely to call the impact “major,” even vast majorities of Republicans, people over age 55 and people without college degrees agreed that climate change is having at least “minor” tangible impacts on the planet.

The Anne Arundel County Public Schools has eliminated the option to comment on certain Facebook posts on its official page, citing a relentless stream of disrespectful and vulgar comments. Previously visitors to the school system’s Facebook page have been able to “like,” comment on or share all posts. But moving forward the comment option will only be available on topics “for which legitimate questions or other input (positive or negative) would be appropriate,” said school spokesman Bob Mosier said.

The Baltimore train station is getting its first major facelift in nearly four decades, an investment that railroad officials say will help move passenger trains throughout the busy corridor from Washington to New York. Renovation of the 110-year-old train hall began last month as part of a $150 million revamp that will include an extension of the concourse, two new train platforms, and dining and retail amenities to be completed by 2025.

One of Baltimore’s top transit advocates hopes the city isn’t missing another opportunity to improve its public transportation system with a major economic development project. Brian O’Malley, CEO of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance couldn’t believe what he saw when he looked at renderings of the upcoming renovations for the Baltimore Arena. The drawings presented to the Urban Design and Architecture Advisory Panel (UDAAP) appeared to indicate plans to remove a transit hub on the Baltimore Street side of the arena in downtown Baltimore.

A community group in Montgomery County was asked to pay $95,000 for copies of police discipline and complaint records, which, under a 2021 change in Maryland law, are no longer automatically private. Public defenders in Baltimore seeking those records have been told to pay as little as $10 to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office but as much as $224,000 to the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and nearly $500,000 to the Montgomery County Police Department.

In response to growing complaints from people who live near — and not so near — Thurgood Marshall BWI Airport, top local officials urged the General Assembly to address the noise and and potential health impacts associated with low-flying aircraft. Members of two legislative panels were told that the implementation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, or “NextGen,” in 2015 has triggered a significant increase in the number of flights over portions of Howard and Anne Arundel counties and other Central Maryland communities.