Maryland
Funds shifted by MD for roads that received federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law cash
Money for Interstate 81 was in the plans of multiple governors, the Washington County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly said thanks, and the state’s new transportation secretary acknowledged both the “partnership” with local officials and their safety concerns.
Yet millions of dollars, $68 million to be exact, has been scheduled by the state Department of Transportation to be reduced on the project, designed to widen a 3.5 mile stretch of the highway.
The decision, coming after about $90 million in federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden were originally allocated by the state towards the project, represents a step towards fulfilling a worry that the area’s state senator expressed months ago.
More: State and local officials talk safety as funds discussed for I-81 project completion
“There’s not a shovel in the ground yet,” said Sen. Paul Corderman, R-Washington/Frederick, referring to phase II of the four-part project, during an interview Oct. 5 after Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld met with officials south of Hagerstown. “The state could very easily take that money and move it to another project, and that’s the concern.”
In a news release about the proposal on Wednesday, Corderman said that the “Moore Administration’s ‘Leave No One Behind’ promise is not being fulfilled.” Washington County’s senior state senator also said: “Western Maryland is suffering as a result.”
State commission working on increasing transportation revenue
The shift, coming as a state commission searches for ways to raise transportation revenue, was detailed in a Maryland Department of Transportation overview document released on Tuesday. The department’s budget, known as the Fiscal Years 2024-2029 Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP), is scheduled to be released in January, the same month as Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed budget.
A draft of the CTP document, which included full funding for the I-81 project, had been circulated earlier this year as Wiedefeld and department officials traveled the state. The Tuesday release from the department said: “In recent weeks, revenue projections have declined further.”
More: With gas tax revenue diminishing, Maryland commission meets to find new revenue for roads
Corderman, the top Republican on the state Senate’s Budget & Taxation Committee, indicated after the secretary’s October visit to Washington County that a priority for him was the “preservation of that funding” for I-81. “It’s just a number on a piece of paper at this point,” said the senator, after the secretary told the officials in the room about a more than $2 billion transportation budget shortfall created in part by diminishing gas tax revenues.
The project to improve Maryland’s roughly 12-mile portion of the road, which carries around than 19,400 trucks per day, according to state officials, has spanned multiple decades. The funding was also a topic of conversation between the governor’s chief of staff and a state delegate representing Hagerstown earlier this year.
A third of proposed ‘Major Expansion Project Reductions’ in 6th district
The road, part of a “critical freight corridor,” as deemed in a letter from the full Maryland congressional delegation to the previous presidential administration, has been a topic of interest over the years for congressmen and both of the state’s Democratic U.S. senators, Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen.
U.S. Congressman David Trone, D-6th, who currently represents the district that includes Maryland’s portion of I-81 and who is running to replace Cardin, who is not seeking reelection in the Senate, highlighted his vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in connection to I-81 funds for the state in a news release earlier this year.
A third (4 of 12) of the state’s proposed “Major Expansion Project Reductions” are projects that Trone highlighted his vote on in news releases in 2022 and 2023 about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The most sizeable proposed decrease of the state’s “Major Expansion Project Reductions” was in the district he represents, $105.6 million originally allocated to U.S. 15 in Frederick. There were proposed reductions, too, for road projects in Allegany and Garrett counties, also in the district Trone currently represents.
There were no “Major Expansion Project Reductions” proposed on the Eastern Shore.
Other transportation administration budgets proposed to be cut too
In addition to the major expansion project cuts, which represent construction funding after 2023, the State Highway Administration is slated to reduce roadway cleaning, mowing and litter pickup as a cost saving measure.
The Maryland Transit Administration, Port Administration, Aviation Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, and the secretary’s office are all listed in the document as receiving 8% cuts to their respective operating budgets.
“We must tighten our belts and make tough decisions now to create a sustainable, balanced budget that affirms our transportation priorities and makes key investments to grow Maryland’s economy,” said Wiedefeld, in a release.
More: State moves up 20 spots in economic momentum, but are Western MD, Eastern Shore seeing it?
Also in the release, the department indicated its intent to develop a prioritization system for highway and transit expansion projects to “evaluate project benefits in terms of meeting state transportation goals relative to cost,” adding that the system will be used to help prioritize projects included in the future Consolidated Transportation Program budgets.
“The Maryland Department of Transportation is maintaining planning, design, and engineering funding for all major and minor expansion projects listed,” said a department spokesperson, in an email, referencing page 17 of the overview document. “Most of these projects were not projected to begin construction for several years (e.g., I-81 was not projected to begin construction until FY26).
“These projects will be evaluated for construction funding as they advance through the design and engineering phases and additional Transportation Trust Fund revenue is available,” he said.
January 17, one week after the Maryland General Assembly is scheduled to convene, is the final day for the governor to introduce the budget and capital budget bills.
Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.
Maryland resident James Riordan assumed the mole on his cheek was harmless until his wife pointed it out and encouraged him to have it examined.
“I pointed it out to my dermatologist, and she probably would’ve seen it anyway,” Riordan said. A few days later, the biopsy came back as melanoma.”
Detecting melanoma
Dr. Kate Viola, a dermatologist at Dermatology Partners in Sparks, Maryland, said Riordan’s story is becoming increasingly common.
“About 100,000 Americans will be diagnosed with a melanoma this year, and over 8,400 of those patients will die,” Viola said.
She said people with a family history of melanoma, fair or light-colored skin, blonde or red hair, and blue or green eyes face a higher risk of developing the cancer. Patients with many moles or atypical moles, and those who are immunocompromised, are also more vulnerable.
Viola advises patients to use the “ABC” method to recognize a possible melanoma.
- A is for asymmetry; when one side of a mole does not match the other
- B is for border; when the edges of a mole appear jagged or blurred
- C is for color; when a mole shows multiple shades instead of one
Catching cancer early
Riordan said he was shocked to hear the word melanoma because he has had moles all his life. His cancer was caught early, measuring just 0.3 millimeters.
“There was a little part of me that was scared,” Riordan said. “However, when she first called me and told me how deep it was, I knew we had caught it early.”
Although he initially put off the biopsy for a few months, Riordan said he immediately wanted it removed once he got the results.
“I wasn’t in a hurry to get it checked because I didn’t think it was going to be anything,” he said.
“But when I came in and got the results, I wanted it off as soon as possible,” Riordan added.
Now cancer-free, Riordan carries a small scar on his face, which he considers a reminder of a life-saving decision.
“I love that it’s gone,” he said. “It’s well worth getting rid of the cancer.”
Viola said annual skin checks and daily sunscreen use are critical to preventing melanoma.
She stressed that people should not wait if they notice something unusual.
“Don’t put it off,” she said. “If something looks off, get it checked.”
Maryland
Another year, another rise: Maryland hospitals see 4th consecutive year of medical error spikes – WTOP News
Medical mistakes that led to either death or severe disabilities are apparently on the rise in Maryland, according to a new report from the state’s Department of Health.
Medical mistakes that led to either death or severe disabilities are apparently on the rise in Maryland, according to a new report from the state’s Department of Health.
The report, highlighting data from fiscal year 2023, marks the fourth consecutive year that Maryland hospitals have seen an increase in such incidents, starting with the increase in 2020.
In fiscal 2023, the Maryland Department of Health said there were 957 adverse events reported, including 808 Level 1 events.
Level 1 events are described as “an adverse event that results in death or serious disability.” The latest report marked a 5% increase in such incidences, according to the report.
Pressure injuries were the most frequently reported Level 1 event for the latest report, but were down 2% from the previous year. These types of injuries include ulcers, which commonly happen because of failure to turn and reposition patients with limited mobility and offload pressure in hospital beds, the report found.
Medical tubes and devices caused 30% of in-hospital pressure injuries. “Proper positioning and securing of medical tubes and devices is crucial to pressure injury prevention,” the report states.
Falls were the second-most reported event, with a 22% increase from fiscal 2022, according to the report.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that more than one-third of hospital falls result in injury, including serious injuries such as fractures and head trauma.
The state report mentions one fall patient in particular who was transferred from an outside hospital with leukemia. The nursing staff at the hospital assessed the patient as a “standard fall risk,” as they had no prior fall history.
However, that patient was later diagnosed as nonverbal with a subdural hematoma after they hit the back of their head on a closet door while walking to the bathroom, according to the report. At the time of the fall, the patient was reported as having a “sudden urinary and fecal incontinence.”
The report stated that the patient had become nonverbal during CT testing.
An investigation into that incident revealed the patient should have been classified as “high-risk” due to their “diagnosis, comorbidities, and medications,” the report said. Investigators also believe the IV pole was a factor in the fall.
“Since the patient’s risk for falls was not assessed accurately, appropriate interventions were not in place, such as a room closer to the nursing station or the use of a bed alarm,” the report stated.
Delays in treatment are the third-highest reported event, and may happen due to “inadequate assessments, communication failures, or human factors, such as timely diagnostic testing, labs, and imaging.”
The department said the trend of increased medical mistakes could be caused by workforce shortages and residual effects from the pandemic.
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Turtle power! The Maryland Terrapins host Towson looking to notch a big win in Week 3 of the college football season today. Kickoff takes place today at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT) on Saturday, September 13 and the only way to watch is streaming on Peacock.
• The only way to watch Maryland vs. Towson football is on Peacock Premium, NBC’s low-cost streaming service. If you need to know more about Peacock and how to get it on your TV for this game, we have you covered with our Peacock streaming guide.
Is the Maryland vs. Towson football game on TV today, or streaming only?
When: This afternoon’s non-conference college football matchup kicks off at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT) on Saturday, September 13.
Where: SECU Stadium, College Park, MD.
What TV channel is the game on? Peacock is not a TV channel and there is no TV broadcast for this game. This game is only available to watch live streaming on Peacock.
How to watch the game streaming live: You have to sign up for Peacock Premium ($10.99/month) to watch this game live on your TV, computer, phone or tablet with the Peacock app. To sign up, follow the sign up instructions on the Peacock home page and it will walk you through the steps to sign up quickly. Once you have signed up, you can download the Peacock app (for Apple/iOS or for Google Android) and sign in on your phone, computer, smart TV or other streaming device.
Maryland vs. Towson spread, latest betting odds
Point spread: MAR: -29 | TOW: +29
Over/Under: 50.5
- Get promo codes, signup deals and free bets from our Oregon Betting News home page.
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