Around Maryland

Montgomery County residents living near or along the future Purple Line can find out the latest information about the project to build the light-rail line that will travel from Bethesda to New Carrollton during virtual community meetings scheduled in May, according to project officials. “Progress of the Purple Line has reached an exciting period, and our team looks forward to sharing this progress with the public,” Purple Line Senior Project Director Ray Biggs II said in a press release.

At the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, crews plan to refloat and remove the grounded Dali container ship within roughly the next 10 days, allowing more maritime traffic to resume through Baltimore’s port. The ship, which lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, has been stationary amid the wreckage since the March 26 collapse.

Baltimore set a record high Monday as temperatures reached 92 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The sweltering heat broke the previous record of 91 degrees in the region, set in 1974. Washington, D.C., also reached a new high: Dulles International Airport reached 91 degrees, topping the 89-degree record set in 2017, the NWS said.

The Black Health Equity Coalition of Frederick has received $153,000 in grants to fund trainings and programs, including conducting Frederick County’s first comprehensive Black health survey this summer. Earlier this month, the coalition announced that it received money from multiple sources over the last year, including $128,000 from the CDC Foundation, according to a news release from the coalition.

A monthslong project to demolish four historic buildings in Old Ellicott City is nearly complete, a crucial part of the county’s plan to protect the city from dangerous flash floods while also preserving its history. The four buildings were long the first many visitors saw as they headed west into Ellicott City down Main Street. They previously housed The Phoenix Emporium, Bean Hollow, Great Panes and Discoveries. Their exteriors are almost fully removed.

Izzy Patoka was only 8 years old when he became his parents’ interpreter. Like many Jewish refugees who fled Europe during the Holocaust, the Patokas didn’t speak English. So whenever an official-looking document came in the mail, they would ask their son to translate and to explain. “I always felt that I did not live up to what my parents expected because I was not a lawyer or a doctor at eight years old,” said Patoka, who is now chair of the Baltimore County Council.

Since it opened Sept. 15, the Meritus Crisis Center has seen 204 patients. Dalton Jones was one of them. “They are amazing,” he said of the staff at the six-bed inpatient Crisis Center. “They basically saved my life.” Meritus Health opened the facility to support the needs of those struggling with addiction as part of its mission to improve the health of the community.

Researchers scoured more than 35,000 data points from pet insurance companies to list top breeds, favorite dog names and costs of owning the top breeds, said MarketWatch Guides spokeswoman Claudia Phillips. v“Our team is full of dog lovers,” she said. “And costs are rising everywhere. We wanted to look at the data to see just how much it takes to care for one of these more popular dog breeds.”