Around Maryland

Did global oil companies know that fossil fuel use causes climate change while still trying to convince consumers otherwise? Attorneys representing Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and dozens of other states and municipalities believe they did, and think corporations should be on the hook to pay for mitigating the harms of warming oceans, rising temperatures and other environmental crises. The joint legal action by Annapolis and Anne Arundel, filed last year, took a major step forward last week when a judge ruled their cases should be tried in state court rather than before a federal bench.

As Maryland prepares to demolish the historic Nice/Middleton Bridge that connects the southern part of the state with Virginia over the Potomac River, bicycle advocates are seeking to delay those plans until the completion of an impact study. The bicycle advocacy groups, which include Potomac Heritage Trail Association, Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Association and Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club, allege in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that state agencies, including the Maryland Transportation Authority, violated state and federal environmental review laws by changing the project from its original conception and failing to study the impact of demolishing the bridge. The groups, who are asking for a temporary restraining order to halt the demolition, also allege that the authority lacks the power to destroy the bridge under environmental laws.

Baltimore’s Waterfront Partnership released its annual Harbor Heartbeat report card Thursday, depicting the stark increase in bacteria issues in the waters close to the city’s Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant. For several years, water samples collected by the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore found that the river near the troubled treatment plant’s outfall was safe to swim in 100% of the time — at least during dry weather. But during 2021 monitoring, testing showed the area was only safe 40% of the time it was sampled. At all of Blue Water Baltimore’s other sampling sites in the Inner Harbor and along its tributaries, that percentage either improved or stayed the same from 2020 to 2021, according to the partnership’s report.

The Major League Baseball playoffs begin this weekend. Next year, Orioles fans expect their team to be in them. The 2022 regular season concluded Wednesday, with the Orioles finishing 83-79 and missing the postseason for the sixth straight year — but far surpassing preseason expectations. And even as questions loom around the organization — the sons of 93-year-old owner Peter Angelos remain embroiled in lawsuits over control of the team and the club’s lease at Camden Yards has yet to be formally extended beyond next year — both fans and Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias are optimistic about the future. Elias said the team will spend more on its major league payroll in 2023, and fans look forward to cheering on playoff baseball in Baltimore for the first time since 2016.

The Maryland Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue team, based in Montgomery County, is halfway through its deployment to assist those affected by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. The search and rescue team, one of 28 task forces across the country, is led by Chase Fabrizio, a battalion chief with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, the host agency of the squad. The squad also includes members from Frederick, Howard, Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C.’s fire and rescue departments, as well as civilians.