Adam Willis

Maryland, Constellation reach $341M deal over pollution through Conowingo Dam The Conowingo Dam would power Maryland homes and businesses under a new deal that requires Constellation Energy to spend millions to limit pollution.

Maryland, Constellation reach $341M deal over pollution through Conowingo Dam

With an email, Salisbury plant gets a pass on EPA rules for toxic gas In July, Trinity Sterile got a waiver from the EPA to keep releasing the same amount of toxic chemical ethylene oxide until at least 2028.

With an email, Salisbury plant gets a pass on EPA rules for toxic gas

The crown jewel of U.S. farm science is in Beltsville. Will Trump shut it down? The Trump administration plans to close the Maryland's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, or BARC, just outside Washington. The USDA wants to move the farm research “closer to the people,” but p...

Hidden in the D.C. suburbs are thousands of acres of experimental farmland, home to the scientists who helped eradicate screwworm & invented the Roma tomato.

USDA's Beltsville lab is the crown jewel of American farm science. Will Trump close it forever?
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The crown jewel of U.S. farm science is in Beltsville. Will Trump shut it down? The Trump administration plans to close the Maryland's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, or BARC, just outside Washington. The USDA wants to move the farm research “closer to the people,” but...

The crown jewel of American farm science is in Beltsville. Will Trump close it forever?

Is offshore wind doomed in Maryland? The Baltimore-based US Wind project off Ocean City is Maryland’s only offshore wind farm close to construction, but federal tax breaks and courtroom battles may decide its fate.

It's been a rough summer for Maryland's fledgling offshore wind sector. Trump wants to revoke approval for the state's only permitted farm, which also looks very unlikely to meet the admin's new deadline for huge tax breaks.

Is offshore wind doomed in Maryland?
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"The state’s fledgling industry may face its doomsday in President Donald Trump, who has a longtime grudge against turbines." Great read by @adampwillis.bsky.social

Is offshore wind doomed in Maryland? The Baltimore-based US Wind project off Ocean City is Maryland’s only offshore wind farm close to construction, but federal tax breaks and courtroom battles may decide its fate.

Is offshore wind doomed in Maryland?

Trump admin plans to revoke permit for offshore Maryland wind farm The Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to curtail the offshore wind industry nationally.

Attorneys for Trump's Interior Department asked a federal judge today to cancel the permit for US Wind's wind farm off the coast of Maryland

This is expected – the administration indicated last month that it intended to revoke the permit. Background here:
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Trump admin plans to revoke permit for offshore Maryland wind farm The Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to curtail the offshore wind industry nationally.

Trump attorneys told a federal judge yesterday that the administration plans to revoke the permit for the only approved wind farm off Maryland's coast – another major blow to a local offshore wind industry that was already on its heels:
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Heat deaths reach 29, Maryland’s deadliest summer since 2012 High heat in Maryland has killed more people so far this year than in all of 2024.

Heat is the deadliest form of extreme weather. This is officially the deadliest heat year in Maryland since 2012 — and we’re only part way through the heat season. W/ @adampwillis.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com:

Elimination of EPA solar program to cost Maryland more than $60M The Trump administration’s decision this week to ax a Biden-era rooftop solar program will cost Maryland more than $60 million intended to build the local workforce and lower electricity costs for tho...

Maryland had drawn down less than $1 million of $62 million it was awarded through EPA's "Solar for All" when the Trump admin terminated the program this week

The program was meant to lower utility costs for low-income households by building rooftop solar: www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cl...

On Tilghman Island, USDA announces $6M to stem blue catfish invasion of Chesapeake Tilghman Island Seafood does its part to cull the blue catfish, but the region lost control of the population years ago.

On Tilghman Island, USDA announces $6M to stem blue catfish invasion of Chesapeake

They speak for the Gunpowder River. That includes warning about E. coli. Volunteers with the Gunpowder Riverkeepers are uncovering dangerously high E. coli levels in parts of Baltimore’s beloved river, raising concerns about water safety, pollution and what’s at stake for ...

Tubing down the Gunpowder River is the perfect way to spend a summer day— except when E. coli levels are soaring, as they have frequently this year. I spent time with the Gunpowder Riverkeepers to see how they’re working to protect the river. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/gunpowder-ri...

Maryland will require giant ‘windscreen’ to shield South Baltimore from CSX coal dust Maryland environmental regulators to impose new restrictions on a coal export terminal in South Baltimore, blocking CSX dust from polluting neighborhoods.

NEW: Maryland will issue its permit today for the CSX Coal Piers in Curtis Bay, the first since the facility's 2021 explosion. The permit requires CSX to build a "windscreen" to shield the neighborhood from dust. Neighborhood activists say it's not enough:
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cl...

Baltimore’s heat island marathon has no winners — only survivors The unsanctioned footrace that loops along a particularly scorched stretch of North Baltimore.

In Baltimore’s hottest new race, ‘experience the suffering of the world we’ve created’

Baltimore’s heat island marathon has no winners — only survivors The unsanctioned footrace loops along a particularly scorched stretch of North Baltimore.

A new Baltimore marathon subjects runners to the worst the city has to offer: traffic, direct sun & the heat of a July afternoon

"Experience the suffering of the world we’ve created," said its director, who presided over the carnage while sipping cold beer
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What if Everything We Know About Sacagawea Is Wrong?

Fascinating look at a Hidatsa oral tradition contradicting the slim written record on Sacagawea. What if she was Hidatsa all along and didn't die soon after the Lewis & Clark expedition, but well into her old age?

What if everything we know about Sacagawea is wrong?
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/m...

Sport fishing could help cure the Chesapeake’s catfish problem, but anglers need to bite One scientist hopes his Eastern Shore fishing derby boosts the fish fight.

In the Chesapeake Bay, blue catfish have all but taken over, multiplying prolifically and eating just about anything.

One Eastern Shore scientist is on a mission to weed out the invasive river monsters. He hopes his annual fishing tournament can help:
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Sport fishing could help cure the Chesapeake’s catfish problem, but anglers need to bite One scientist hopes his Eastern Shore fishing derby boosts the fish fight.

Sport fishing could help cure the Chesapeake’s catfish problem, but anglers need to bite

Crisfield, annual budget ~$4M, hoped FEMA would fund an $80M seawall, then Trump cancelled

“It’s a rural, conservative community that really needs this,” said one official. “It needs this project for its economic future & it needs this project to keep the community a community.”

Scientists expected that as soon as 2050, Crisfield could see flooding that spreads through much of the town each day at high tide.

If the water overtakes Crisfield, some may stay. But many more wonder: Is a community that experiences costly floods every day still a community?

After FEMA axed aid, is an Eastern Shore town lost to the bay? If the water overtakes Crisfield, some may stay. But many more wonder: Is a community that experiences costly floods every day still a community?

After Trump cut billions for FEMA disaster prevention, a declining & conservative town on Maryland's Eastern Shore is left to fend off rising waters on its own.

“We will not be here if we don’t have a major intervention,” the mayor told me. “That’s it.”

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cl...

After FEMA axed aid, is an Eastern Shore town lost to the bay? If the water overtakes Crisfield, some may stay. But many more wonder: Is a community that experiences costly floods every day still a community?

After FEMA axed aid, is an Eastern Shore town lost to the bay?

This story from @adampwillis.bsky.social is really worth your time!

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cl...

After FEMA axed aid, is an Eastern Shore town lost to the bay? If the water overtakes Crisfield, some may stay. But many more wonder: Is a community that experiences costly floods every day still a community?

a great story in The Banner today from @adampwillis.bsky.social on flooding, the future and the Eastern Shore town of Crisfield.

EPA says Maryland permit for Ocean City wind farm is invalid The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week told Maryland regulators that an air quality permit issued for an offshore wind project near Ocean City was not valid.

EPA says Maryland permit for Ocean City wind farm is invalid

Mourners honor Dontae Melton Jr. after his death in police custody When nearly 200 family, co-workers and friends came together Saturday at DreamLife Worship Center in Randallstown to honor Dontae Melton Jr., a somber mood was often broken by celebrations of life.

‘He said he needs help’: Mourners honor Dontae Melton Jr. after his death in police custody, @adampwillis.bsky.social reports. (📸: Ulysses Muñoz)

5th times the charm? New Chesapeake clean-up plan encourages some, disappoints others The Chesapeake Bay Program is working on its fifth plan to restore the bay by year's end.

New Chesapeake cleanup plan comes with soul searching and the Trump effect

Mourners honor Dontae Melton Jr. after his police custody death When nearly 200 family, coworkers and friends came together Saturday at DreamLife Worship Center in Randallstown to honor Dontae Melton Jr., a somber mood was often broken by celebrations of life.

‘He said he needs help’: Mourners honor Dontae Melton Jr. after his police custody death

Trump administration may close Maryland refuge popular with birders Patuxent Research Refuge’s North Tract in Laurel has cut visiting hours. Could the Trump administration could close it entirely?

If a forest closes, does it make a sound?

The unraveling of Brian Matusz Brian Matusz was once the Baltimore Orioles’ next great hope. How did an ‘all-American’ kid lose his way?

Once, Brian Matusz was seen as Orioles hope and “all-American kid.” In a matter of years, he lost his career, his community, his marriage and then his own life. Impressive, tragic reporting by @leeosanderlin.bsky.social & @danielleallentuck.bsky.social
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/brian...