Around Maryland

After a big surge in fatal crashes that claimed the lives of pedestrians in recent years, a new report from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association showed nationwide there was a more than 5% decline in such crashes in 2023 compared to 2022. But as encouraging as that sounds, the numbers are still much higher than those recorded nationwide before the pandemic, and still over 77% higher compared to 2010.

Ahead of July 4 celebrations next week, state fire marshal and health care officials on Wednesday outlined how to handle legal fireworks safely and cautioned against illegal fireworks in a demonstration showing the effects of firework explosions on the human body. Fireworks can easily cause surrounding structures, vegetation and clothing to catch fire, according to Acting State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray.

For the first time in about 15 years, Virginia officials voted to lift a prohibition on a winter dredge fishery for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland officials and nonprofit leaders quickly objected to and denounced the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s 5-4 vote on Tuesday. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said in a statement the reason blue crabs have seen a rebounding population since a steep drop in the 2000s can be “directly traced” to collaborative management between Maryland and Virginia.

The Maryland Department of Health on Tuesday released the results of new youth surveys on behavior and tobacco use, revealing a decrease in depression and suicidal thoughts among high school and middle school students. The percentage of high school students who responded that they felt sad or hopeless within the past year had been steadily rising since 2014. The percentage peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic at 39%.

Morgan State University is in the aquaculture business, and its Patuxent Environmental Aquatic Research Laboratory program was just awarded more than $600,000. The money will go toward aquaculture growth and to address the urban coastline climate. 8-month-old soft-shell clams, also known as steamers, reside at the Hatchery.

A portion of Maryland could feel the ground shaking Monday night as a small earthquake struck Montgomery County. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 1.8 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in Spencerville struck just before 11:30 p.m. at a depth of 5.9 kilometers. The USGS received over a dozen responses from its citizen scientist contributors.

After a big surge in fatal crashes that claimed the lives of pedestrians in recent years, a new report from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association showed nationwide there was a more than 5% decline in such crashes in 2023 compared to 2022. But as encouraging as that sounds, the numbers are still much higher than those recorded nationwide before the pandemic, and still over 77% higher compared to 2010.

Montgomery County residents may see more duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and small apartment buildings in single-family zoned neighborhoods after the county’s planning board earlier this month unanimously approved an attainable housing initiative. The Attainable Housing Strategies project would give developers and property owners the option to build “middle housing” in areas that had decades-old zoning policies for single-family homes.

Whether it’s been an educational challenge, praise for student achievement or even questionable state legislation, Cheryl Bost has usually had a few words to say about it. But Bost, an elementary school educator for 35 years who has served since August 2018 as president of the Maryland State Education Association, won’t be heard from so much come this August. That’s because she will retire from the education profession after July 31.