Around Maryland

The only way to explain the legendary radio DJ “Weasel” is by the music. Not some shock jock, he’s guided Baltimore through the history of song: hillbilly string bands from the 1920s, zydeco from New Orleans, Motown and Go-go, punk and new wave, you name it. He’s played Spanish Conjunto bands, even those awful dogs barking “Jingle Bells.” “That’s a masterpiece!”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich wants the U.S. Department of Transportation to delay for at least 60 days a final decision on Maryland’s plan to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270. In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Elrich (D) urged the federal government not to render its final verdict on the proposal until the public has had an “adequate” opportunity to review a new — and voluminous — environmental analysis.

Mental health, affordable housing and disparities related to diversity are the top three needs facing Frederick County, according to a study commissioned by The Community Foundation of Frederick County. Devereux Consulting, of Silver Spring, interviewed 35 community leaders for the Frederick County Human Needs Assessment’s 2022 update to a 2018 study. The update was posted to the Community Foundation’s website Monday.

Peter Turcik still remembers the shot. Leaning forward in his kayak, holding his camera still, he snapped a vertical picture of the sunken ship, with the setting sun as its glistening background. I actually laid down in the kayak to get down to the water level so that I’d get the composition that I wanted,” he said. “And I remember it was pretty buggy out. So, I was trying to hold still, while flies bit in my legs.” That was in August 2016 in Mallows Bay, an alcove in the Potomac River known for its array of sunken “ghost ships,” including vessels hurriedly constructed for merchant shipping in World War I, then scuttled after the war.

Carroll County government is forging a relationship with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to hire a medical director who will oversee operations for the county’s new Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services. The Board of Carroll County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $52,000 annual independent contract with Johns Hopkins, which will hire the position. The medical director will work six to eight hours per week overseeing all operations of the county’s EMS department, but could eventually move to a full-time position, if needed.

People attended a tree dedication ceremony in Howard County on Saturday to honor a man who died trying to rescue someone from the flood waters that ravaged Ellicott City in 2018. Eddison Hermond died while trying to help rescue a woman and her cat behind La Palapa Grill & Cantina while churning, brown waters ripped through Ellicott City’s flood-prone downtown. “Eddison was taken too soon by his courageous and unselfish acts during the Ellicott City flood,” Blossoms of Hope board chair Joe Barbera said.

A squeegee worker’s defense attorneys called this month’s high-profile killing of a bat-wielding man an act of self-defense for a “14-year-old child paralyzed by fear.” The 48-year-old Hampden man who was killed instigated the confrontation, the attorneys said, when he parked his car, got out with a baseball bat and crossed several lanes of traffic near the Inner Harbor to confront a group of squeegee workers.

The City of Annapolis is implementing new security measures at City Hall. Starting Friday, all visitors will be required to pass through a “100% security checkpoint” at the entrance to the seat of city government at 160 Duke of Gloucester St. Annapolis police officers will conduct the new procedures on all visitors who can either pass through a magnetometer or submit to a wand screening. The equipment is being supplied by the police department.