Around Maryland

The Baltimore-DC Building Trades unions released a poll by the Democratic research and strategy firm GBAO finding widespread support (57%-36%) among Montgomery County voters along the route included in the I-270/I-495/American Legion Bridge traffic relief proposal supported by Governor Larry Hogan and other elected officials. Additionally, two-thirds of voters (66%-33%) cited the project’s economic impact as a convincing reason to support the plan when read the statement: “This project alone would provide an estimated $3.7 billion boost to the Maryland economy and 7,500 new, well-paying jobs in construction and other industries – including union jobs with benefits.”

The day before a regional panel gets set to take a second look at Maryland’s $3 billion plan to deal with traffic from the American Legion Bridge up to Gaithersburg, the state’s transportation secretary offered support for dedicated bus lanes in Montgomery County. In a letter to the Montgomery County Council, Transportation Secretary Greg Slater stated that the agency was looking to “further reaffirm our commitment to a multimodal effort” — such as the Corridor Cities Transitway or the Maryland 355 Bus Rapid Transit project — which could be “in conjunction with” Gov. Larry Hogan’s plan to widen Interstate 270 and add toll lanes up to Interstate 70 in Frederick.

Three-time swimming gold medalist Becca Meyers will not travel to Tokyo for the 2021 Paralympic Games, because the deaf-blind Timonium resident’s mother will not be allowed to accompany her as an aide due to COVID-19 restrictions. Meyers said she was disappointed and angry that U.S. Olympic officials have not found a way to accommodate her after months of requests but said she’s determined to stand up for the rights of future Paralympians.

Maryland’s health and education departments are encouraging schools to expand COVID-19 testing programs in the fall and offering to help pay — a total of $182 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The money would fund routine testing in public and private schools to catch coronavirus cases as early as possible. “We are encouraging them to sign up to participate in this program,” said Jon Weinstein, director of the Maryland COVID-19 Recovery Program.

A different sort of viral video thrust a spotlight on the boardwalk here last summer. In a street brawl, a man is knocked to a bench and cold-cocked. He clutches his face. Two men beat him, and he slumps to the ground. More violent videos — beatings showing young men, both Black and white — followed, alarming the City Council and threatening the beach town’s family-friendly reputation. Officials called emergency closed-door meetings to figure out how to bring order to the boardwalk after dark.

Animal shelters in Baltimore, Harford and Carroll counties are at or approaching their capacity, with some facilities reaching a point where they stopped accepting owner surrenders or have been forced to lower adoption fees. The Baltimore County Animal Shelter, located on Manor Road in Baldwin, reached its maximum capacity after animal welfare responded to a complaint that resulted in the seizure of 48 dogs, said Elyn Jones, a public information officer for the health department.

Cindi Rittenour sat by the water at a memorial garden for her sister and four Capital Gazette journalists while she waited for a jury’s verdict to decide whether the gunman who killed them was insane or not. Minutes later, her phone rang. Deliberations had finished much earlier than expected.

A 17-year-old student seated on Baltimore County’s school board chastised his adult counterparts this week for failing to confront what he described as deep division and incivility within the governing body. Christian Thomas, a rising senior at Eastern Technical High School, delivered the critique Tuesday during his first public school board meeting, stating he was “ashamed” the board had allowed conflict to fester. “Over the past few months as I’ve been preparing to join you all on the board, I’ve been watching,” Thomas said.

Three years after Jarrod Ramos burst into the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, and shot and killed five people, a jury is set to decide whether Ramos is criminally responsible for the attack. The trial began June 29 in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Ramos already pleaded guilty in October 2019 to 23 counts related to the June 2018 slayings of Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiassen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.