Around Maryland

Debbie Geneau was on her way to the bank in Bakersfield, California, one afternoon in July 2020, when three cars headed in the opposite direction crashed. One hit the divider and went airborne, landing on top of Geneau’s Dodge Charger, killing the 65-year-old office manager. The driver responsible for the chain-reaction crash fled the scene. It took nine months for police to figure out who she was and arrest her. She was charged with a hit-and-run resulting in death or permanent serious injury and with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. “The biggest thing for me was that I wanted justice for my mom and some type of closure for my family,” said Geneau’s daughter, Dawn Elliott, of Edmond, Oklahoma.

Serving others has always been James Bors’ mission in life. Bors attended the Naval Academy in the 1980s, served in the Navy for seven years after that and eventually became a father, husband, teacher and parishioner in Annapolis. When asked what motivates him to give so much of himself, Bors paraphrases Scripture: “And he who receives a lot, is able to give a lot.” On June 18, Bors took the latest step in his lifetime of service. He was ordained by Archbishop William E. Lori at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore and assigned to St. Jane Frances De Chantal Church in Riviera Beach, a stone and brick Catholic parish a short walk from the Patapsco River.

Before beginning his latest research project, Nicolas Delsol had never even heard of Misty of Chincoteague, one of the fabled feral ponies from the barrier island of Assateague, along the Maryland and Virginia coast. Local legend has it that the horses descended from survivors of a Spanish shipwreck 500 years ago, though that has never been proven. But now Delsol, a French-born archaeologist, has evidence that the story may be more than just a myth. Delsol unearthed a genetic connection between the wild breed and horses from 16th-century Spain.

After years of discussion and planning, the University of Baltimore has issued a request for proposals to develop a prime lot and expand its campus in Midtown. UB leaders are seeking ideas and bids for the redevelopment of a former U.S. Postal Service vehicle maintenance garage at 60 W. Oliver St. The site spans a city block and is bordered by Maryland Avenue and the Jones Fall Expressway, next to the public university’s library.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and a coalition of organizations are pushing for the National Institutes of Health’s next agency to open its headquarters in the city. It joins a number of other cities and states across the country vying for the headquarters, including Chicago, St. Louis and Texas. egislation authorizing the establishment of the new agency, called the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H), passed in March. The agency will invest in new technologies and other scientific breakthroughs in the fields of health and medicine in hopes of accelerating innovations that could significantly benefit patients nationwide.

The Frederick Police Department is one step closer to moving in to a new, more spacious headquarters, with the approval of a contract to design and renovate the department’s new home. The city’s aldermen approved a $19.8 million contract with Waynesboro Construction, which has an office in Frederick, on Thursday night for the design and renovation of the department’s new headquarters on East All Saints Street.

State and Howard County officials said the completion of a Maryland Route 32 improvement project will result in faster, safer trips for travelers. Gov. Larry Hogan (R), Howard County Executive Calvin Ball (D), Transportation Secretary Jim Ports and State Highway Administration chief Tim Smith cut a ribbon Thursday to signify the official completion of a five-year effort to improve the road.

A judge has dismissed an appeal by City of Annapolis attorneys in a long-running personal injury case brought by a man who crashed his bike on a city storm drain in 2017. In an opinion released Thursday, Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Richard R. Trunnell denied an appeal filed by Assistant City Attorney Joel Braithewaite, arguing that a jury erred in awarding a $300,000 judgment to Matthew Hager, of Annapolis, after he suffered serious facial injuries when his bike tire got caught in a gap in a city storm drain on Chinquapin Round Road.