Closure

Maryland is moving to toughen regulations on the fast-growing medspa industry - a move designed to narrow a "loophole" and prevent deaths such as one last year following a liposuction treatment at a Timonium facility. Regulations being discussed by state officials would bar plastic surgeons from performing liposuction and other procedures in medspas and medical offices unless the facilities are inspected by the government or third-party accrediting bodies, Maryland Secretary of Health Joshua Sharfstein said.

Baltimore County police are warning residents about several road closures expected for the Maryland Hunt Cup Steeplechase on Saturday. Beginning at 2 p.m., eastbound traffic will be diverted from Tufton Avenue onto southbound Dover Road. The following roads will be closed from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to police: Worthington Avenue and Tufton Avenue; Belmont Avenue and Butler Road; Mantua Mill Road and Geist Road; Tufton Avenue and Falls Road; Dover Road and Tufton Ridge Road. Police say traffic is expected to return to normal by 6 p.m.

A portion of Broening Highway will be closed this weekend for utility construction work and motorists are urged to use alternate routes, the city transportation department said. The closure to through traffic will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, between Holabird Avenue and Dunhill Road with detours in effect. The roadway will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday. Local traffic will be allowed access to area businesses. The $27.1 million project, which will conclude in fall 2014, includes new lighting and upgraded traffic signals, repaving and reconfiguring the Keith Avenue ramp to accommodate two-way traffic.

Three incidents on Baltimore-area highways, including a three-vehicle collision in Anne Arundel County that closed all westbound lanes on MD 100 at 8:33 a.m., disrupted Monday morning's rush hour, according to the state Department of Transportation. The collision in Anne Arundel County occurred on MD 100 West at Harmans Road, DOT said. In Baltimore City, a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 95 South at the 55.7 mile marker (toll plaza) has closed one of 12 southbound toll lanes at 8:32 a.m., DOT said.

Because of budget cuts mandated by the federal sequestration, the Smithsonian Institution will begin closing galleries in some art museums to the public. Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough said Tuesday in a news release that the temporary closings would begin May 1 and would continue through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. He said that the closings are necessary because a hiring freeze has reduced the number of security guards available to patrol galleries. The Smithsonian is losing 5 percent of its federal budget from March through September, or about $41 million.

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation says it will implement temporary lane closures along a portion of Pratt Street for construction work beginning on Monday morning. Officials say two lanes of Pratt Street will be closed to through traffic at the intersection of Eutaw Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then at 3 p.m., a single lane of through traffic will remain closed along Pratt Street throughout the night. The closures will be performed weather permitting. Adrienne Barnes, a public affairs specialist for the department, said the closures will allow crews to patch the roadway where utility work has been performed.

Harford County Public Schools students and faculty got some welcome news Tuesday: the school year will be ending three days earlier than expected. The school system - which has been closed six days for weather this school year - was granted a waiver for three of those days, Dr. Lillian Lowery, the state superintendent of schools, announced Tuesday. Harford County Public Schools were closed for three days near the beginning of the school year by the effects of what was left of Hurricane Sandy as the superstorm passed through the region.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday afternoon that it will delay the closure of all 149 federal contract air traffic control towers - including five in Maryland - until June 15. The announcement came just two days before the first of the towers was scheduled to be shuttered as part of across-the-board federal budget cuts approved by Congress. The FAA is required to cut $637 million from its $16 billion budget by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The extension will allow the agency to deal with multiple lawsuits, continue consulting with airports and review safety issues, the FAA said in its statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday released the closure dates for 149 air traffic control towers - including five in Maryland - affected by federal budget cuts. Martin State Airport in Baltimore County, Frederick Municipal Airport and Easton/Newnam Field in Easton will close on April 21. Hagerstown Regional Airport and Salisbury- Ocean City Wicomico Airport will close on May 5. In a memo to affected airports, the FAA outlined two options for the operator: Continue as a non-towered airport, relying on pilots to communicate takeoffs and landings on a common frequency, or provide and pay for tower services.

The cuisine and restaurants of Baltimore are getting another turn in the national spotlight. The March 25 episode of "Bizarre Foods America with Andrew Zimmern" features Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay. The last time Baltimore was the subject of a Travel Channel food show was in July 2009, when Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" took viewers into a gritty side of the city. Not all Baltimoreans were pleased with how the city came across. Zimmern's affable style is different from Bourdain's, but don't expect a chamber of commerce-style slide show.