Around Maryland

All it takes is gas and a spark. Fire safety experts say the aftermath of an explosion in Harford County shows the magnitude of what gas leaks can do: A Bel Air residence was leveled, killing both the homeowner and a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. contractor. The blast also spread debris throughout Arthurs Woods Drive and rendered 16 homes uninhabitable.

The National Aquarium opened its 10,000-square-foot Harbor Wetlands exhibit this week, creating a first-of-its-kind hybrid experience where native animals can flourish in a free, outdoor, hands-on classroom and park setting. “It is the product of about 14 years of work that the National Aquarium has done,” said Charmaine Dahlenburg, the director of field conservation at the Aquarium.

A day after the remnants of Hurricane Debby blew through the Baltimore region, businesses began reopening, neighborhoods cleaned up storm debris and some awaited the restoration of electrical power. Less than 300 customers remained without power Saturday afternoon, Baltimore Gas and Electric reported at 5:50 p.m.

With schools set to start in a couple weeks, most parents of kindergartners are working to make sure to get required vaccinations for their children before sending them off to school. But not all parents. Over the last decade, more parents have opted their children out of vaccination requirements through the use of nonmedical religious exemption – especially in recent years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electric bills in Baltimore have been especially high this summer after weeks of scorching temperatures. But it’s not just the heat that’s driving up the cost. Another factor, some elected officials and environmental and consumer groups argue, is regional grid operator PJM Interconnection’s failure to plan for the future. That has set utility customers up to pay more. The star of this drama is the coal-fired Brandon Shores power plant that sits against the backdrop of the Inner Harbor.

The gates opened Saturday on the 75th Montgomery County Agricultural Fair at the fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In the cattle pavilion, young 4-H members paraded their Heifers, which they’ve been raising since last fall, before judges and a wide-eyed audience of suburbanites and city dwellers. “The shows and the judging are fun to watch — you don’t get a lot of exposure to farm animals in Chevy Chase, it’s good to be able to see,” said Tom Walton, who visited the fair with his wife and two children.

Perched on a nest atop a green navigation marker in Maryland’s Harris Creek, the osprey glared, spread its wings and started hopping as a boatload of people drew near. “That’s a pretty big nestling standing up,” observed Barnett Rattner, a veteran scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Eastern Ecological Science Center. “Last week, there were two.”

Baltimore has reached a $45 million settlement with the pharmaceutical distributor CVS as part of a lawsuit the city is pursuing over its opioid epidemic, Mayor Brandon Scott announced late Friday afternoon. The settlement adds to $45 million the city had already secured from a separate drug supplier earlier this year. The decision comes as Baltimore is barely a month out from a scheduled trial date with opioid companies and manufacturers after six years of litigation.