Emergency

Editor: It is with dismay that I read your June 15 editorial "Cutting Through," concerning the proposed emergency- only connection between Tollgate Village and Bel Air Acres Your statement "Such a link, no doubt, would turn into a shortcut, possibly an irritating one," completely misses the truth and focal point of the issue, namely that the Harford County government, the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, other emergency groups and the overwhelming...

In what parents and health organizations called a life-saving measure, Gov. Martin O' Malley signed into a law Tuesday a bill that will require all Maryland schools to maintain an emergency supply of epinephrine in order to respond to a growing trend of severe allergic reactions among school-aged children.  “Receiving a dose of epinephrine in the critical minutes following exposure to a food allergen can mean the difference between life and...

Maryland is under a state of emergency as a winter storm that forecasters described as "extremely dangerous" brought potentially record-breaking snow totals and gale-force winds to the region. Accumulation rates as high as 2 to 3 inches an hour were expected to bury the region in up to 2 feet of snow by daybreak Saturday. If the forecasters are right, another 5 to 9 inches of snow is possible before the precipitation ends Saturday evening, with total accumulations of 20 to 30 inches, or more, predicted.

Members of the Harford County Council agreed Tuesday to hold funding for a large portion of the planned Emergency Operations Center replacement in next year's capital budget. The plan to replace the building near Routes 1 and 543 in the Hickory area is expected to cost more than $40 million, according to current county budget estimates. "My biggest concern is the necessity of moving forward at this time when I share a little bit more concern with our debt service issues than the county executive does," County Council President Billy Boniface said.

The County Council last week sent a letter to Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe Hairston asking him to change a policy that closes school athletic fields from use during school emergency closures — even if the emergencies don't affect the fields. In a letter to Hairston sent March 20, the council pointed to the days after Hurricane Irene, when the lack of power forced the cancellation of school for a week. "Even though the fields were free of debris, all outside activities were forced to stop because of this superintendent's rule," said the letter, which was signed by all seven members of the council.

With mounds of snow making Baltimore sidewalks impassable Saturday, many pedestrians took to the middle of the streets, following paths carved by plows or trucks. And that drove Don Dziwulski a little nuts. A 12-year-veteran of the Baltimore Fire Department and one of its supervising paramedics, Dziwulski has about all he can handle on a normal day, when calls for assistance - and life-and-death decisions - come thick and fast. Saturday afternoon, driving an ambulance around the snow-covered city was made even tougher by having to slow down, and even stop, for pedestrians who just wouldn't get out of the way. "I'm trying to be a gentleman right now," Dziwulski said at the wheel of a red-and-white Ford F-450 truck, its siren blaring and lights flashing, as he carefully maneuvered his way around a man on Harford Road who appeared to be too busy talking on his cell phone to consider stepping aside.

After hearing hype that rivaled the Super Bowl, after sweeping the supermarkets clean and stockpiling enough food for a winter's hibernation, the Washington region braced Friday for a storm that was expected to leave at least 20 inches of snow on the ground by late Saturday. The District of Columbia declared a snow emergency, ticketing cars parked on emergency routes and changing traffic signals to handle an early evening rush hour. The school systems that bothered to open at all - in the District and the Maryland counties of Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and Anne Arundel - sent everyone home early.

Baltimore County officials announced Thursday that they have launched a $76 million radio system for police, fire and other emergency crew members designed to improve sound quality, cover more territory and make transmission more reliable. County Executive Kevin Kamenetz told a gathering at the Circuit Court building in Towson that emergency communications equipment is "one of the most important public safety investments that any community can make. " Like new bulletproof vests for the police or a new fire engine, he said, the new digital system improves emergency crew members' "ability to protect our community.

He'd served the force for a third of his life, but tragedy struck Cpl. Duke G. Aaron III in an instant. One July day in 2004, Aaron, an officer with the Maryland Transportation Authority, had just returned to his patrol car after writing a traffic ticket when a speeding motorist — a Maryland man who later tested positive for cocaine — rammed his vehicle from behind. By the end of the day, the burly Aaron, 29, of Pasadena, was dead. It was the sort of news the family of every emergency responder dreads, and the two strangers who visited Jennifer Aaron, his widow, the next day knew there was nothing they could say to make it better.

David Taylor suffered a classic weather-related heart attack while shoveling sidewalks at his Columbia apartment complex, but the response from Howard County emergency officials credited with saving his life was faster and more complex than any routine medical call. In full storm response mode, the county had 30 people from a variety of agencies manning computers and phones at its emergency operations center. They coordinated both a quick medical rescue for Taylor at his apartment, and also sent another vehicle to get Dr. Julie Miller, the Johns Hopkins Hospital cardiologist on call for heart attacks, who was snowbound Thursday morning at her Clarksville home.

A Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy, who was rushed to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center Thursday night after experiencing a medical emergency, is "improving," a sheriff's office spokesperson said Tuesday. Meanwhile, the sheriff's office is conducting an internal inquiry into what happened to the deputy and the length of time it took to find him, Sheriff Jesse Bane said. Bane identified the deputy Tuesday as Sgt. Noel Raufaste of the agency's Police Services Division. Raufaste, who has been with the agency 10 years, was on duty at the time he became ill, Monica Worrell, spokesperson for the sheriff's office said.

If a team is going to have one of those unforgettable, ridiculous, are-you-kidding-me kinds of seasons, then it has to beat clubs it's not supposed to beat and get contributions from players no one was counting on. It's too early to proclaim that these upstart Orioles are going to make noise all year, but as the quarter pole of the season grows closer, they are starting to win games in a manner that can make even the most cynical Orioles fan start...

Local homeland security officials in Baltimore and across the country are fighting a proposal to change how $2 billion in federal emergency management money is distributed — a change they say would jeopardize regional efforts to respond to terrorist attacks, major storms and other disasters. The proposal by the Obama administration would require local governments to compete more for homeland security money rather than receiving it based on population and risk. It also would shift oversight to states, taking control away from major cities and their surrounding counties.

Zachary Fratella may not garner as much attention as some of his Goucher teammates, but that's understandable. Senior attackman Kyle Boncaro leads the offense in both goals (54) and points (81), and he set the single-season record for goals in the team's 10-7 victory over Drew in Saturday's Landmark Conference tournament final at Gopher Stadium in Towson. Senior Matt Lynch is the Gophers' top playmaker with 37 assists, and senior attackman Rory Averett, who ranks second on the offense in goals (48)

Baltimore health officials have launched a program they hope will give paramedics more information to treat the elderly and people with disabilities. They are asking people to fill out Gold Card forms that will list crucial health information, such as whether someone suffers from diabetes. The Gold Card can then be displayed visibly in a person's home or carried in a wallet. If there is ever a medical emergency this will help medical staff with treatment options and decrease the likelihood of complications, health officials hope.

Businesses in China and India, the emerging markets that Gov. Martin O'Malley has been trawling for trade relationships, are beginning to bite. This month, the governor announced the opening of a Chinese bank in Baltimore and conducted a forum for Indian business leaders, priming them to open U.S. subsidiaries in the state. The events could be a turning point for investment in Maryland from these countries. "Europe is struggling and global companies want to go to stable environments," said Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of the Organization for International Investment, a Washington-based nonprofit business association for U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies.

The June 16th 2-car accident on I-95 brought back bad memories ("Accident on I-95 in Harford County causes injury and traffic delays"). Having experienced many I-95 shutdowns over the 30-plus years that I used I-95 to commute to work, I can tell you that every alternate artery is also jammed: there is no way out and no way around it. And this happens on an average work day! What on earth would we do if there is a crisis, and I-95 and every alternate road and highway is a parking lot?

The new John Hopkins Hospital opens this weekend and that means there is a new emergency room for adults and children. Beginning Sunday at 7 a.m., the public, police, ambulance crews and others will need to go to 1800 Orleans Street. The current entrances on East Monument Street will close. The new entrances are next to the front entrance to the new hospital. Patients also are being moved this weekend from the old hospital buildings. A parking garage is directly across the street from the entrance for non-emergency visitors.

Prosecutors alleged Friday that the 28-year-old man charged with murdering Phylicia Barnes asphyxiated the teenager in her sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment, and then moved her body using a 35-gallon plastic tub. Michael Maurice Johnson, the ex-boyfriend of Phylicia's older half-sister, was seen by a neighbor sweating and struggling to move a container from the apartment, Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg said at a hearing while arguing...