Around Maryland

After the 116,851-ton container ship Dali slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing it into the Patapsco River, an alarming fact became widely known: The structures designed to protect it from ship strikes installed half a century ago were no match for the huge vessels plying the waters today. The Maryland Transportation Authority, which owns the Key Bridge, never upgraded the original system of small protective cells near its piers as cargo ships quadrupled in size over the years.

Baltimore’s Brooklyn community continues to heal amid the trauma that lingers a year after a mass shooting killed two people and injured 28 others. Multiple people opened fire at a neighborhood celebration on the night of July 2, 2023. It became the worst mass shooting in Baltimore’s history, taking the lives of Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18, and Kylis Fagbemi, 20.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Daniel Egtvedt heard then-President Donald Trump say that if he didn’t “fight like hell,” he was “not going to have a country anymore.” Coming from his home in western Garrett County to “stop the steal,” Egtvedt joined the crowd of marchers moving from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. There, he watched the “unfolding chaos,” prosecutors said, as rioters scaled walls, waved flags and edged closer to the building, where Congress was set to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.

Maryland utilities are averaging more than $700 million a year in gas infrastructure spending, worsening the energy burden on low-income communities and hampering the state’s efforts to hit its ambitious clean energy and emissions reduction targets. That’s according to the Office of People’s Counsel, the state agency representing Maryland utility customers in federal and state rate cases. The warnings were included in the OPC’s most recent report, unveiled last week.

Whether you’re looking for the best spot to watch fireworks paint the night sky or you’re scouting some daytime events for the little ones with early bedtimes, we’ve got you covered this Fourth of July.

No doubt the fireworks display over Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will draw your attention to the sky this Fourth of July — but don’t forget to also keep an eye on what’s happening at street level. Baltimore’s holiday festivities this week are expected to draw large crowds downtown for a variety of events throughout the day and into the evening. Visitors are strongly encouraged to use public transportation, including mass transit, the Charm City Circulator and rideshare options.

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge will cost the state an estimated $141 million in lost toll revenue over six years and may bring toll increases a year sooner than expected. That projected loss makes up the lion’s share of the revised forecast that includes a decrease in toll revenues across all facilities. “The forecast reflects a $153 million decline in toll revenues throughout the 2024 through 2030 forecast period,” Chantel Green, director of finance for the authority, said during a meeting of the Maryland Transportation Authority board Friday.

Starting Monday, Metro is changing its shuttle bus service for riders affected by the shutdown of four Red Line stations in Montgomery County, Maryland, aiming to improve travel times and decrease bus congestion. The “Limited 2” shuttle, which stops at Forest Glen, Silver Spring and Fort Totten stations, will be replaced by two new, “more-efficient express shuttle loops,” Metro said in a news release.