Around Maryland

Corey Smedley, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s nominee for a new county fire chief, says his goal if appointed is to “figure out how to put himself out of business” by preventing disasters. “One of the things that we’re going to do when I first get here is we’re going to dust off [incident] reports and evaluate what have we learned from that?

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates made a bold prediction, suggesting the city’s homicide rate could drop below 200 this year. Bates spoke at a budget hearing Thursday morning before the Baltimore City Council Ways and Means Committee, citing some encouraging numbers showing declines in violent crime and increases in prosecutions. Bates said the current pacing for homicide in 2024 is 181.

Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University are set to begin an “urgent assessment” of bridges across the United States in the wake of the Key Bridge collapse, believing the risk for another ship strike to be higher than previously thought. The team, currently made up of three Hopkins staff and a small group of students, including one from Morgan State University, will use global shipping data to modernize what engineers believe are outdated risk assessment models.

As planning continues for the redevelopment of Harborplace, a walk along the Inner Harbor Promenade highlights efforts to attract more visitors to Baltimore’s waterfront in the meantime. “Shade stations” were recently installed near the Inner Harbor Amphitheater to give respite on hot days. This week, Inner Harbor visitors relaxed on the Adirondack chairs that sit under wooden pergolas. The structures are also bordered by Chesapeake Bay native plants.

Stella Stakolosa grinned when she saw the image projected on the screen Tuesday morning in a classroom at College Park Academy, a charter high school in Riverdale Park, Md. “Mom, it says Stella!” the young girl exclaimed to her mother, Megan Stakolosa. Stella pumped her fist. Stella, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was the center of attention at the school where about 20 high school juniors and seniors spent the past semester working on a project to help her play lacrosse, her favorite sport.

First responders deal with traumas daily. They witness the aftermath of terrible car crashes. They hear desperate calls for help on the other end of a call. They see families devastated after a fire destroys their homes. They call loved ones to share terrible news. It is not an easy job to have and to answer that call every shift.

The Maryland Board of Public Works is set to approve an engineering contract of up to $100 million to advance the east-west Red Line transit project in Baltimore at a meeting next week. With approval next Wednesday from the Board of Public Works — comprising the governor, comptroller and treasurer — the state can move ahead with planning and engineering tasks for the Red Line.

A former top fire department official in both Prince George’s County in Maryland and the City of Alexandria in Virginia is the pick to be the next fire chief in Montgomery County, Maryland. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has nominated Corey Smedley to lead the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service after his last pick was abruptly withdrawn from consideration earlier this year.