Schools spokeswoman Liliana Lopez confirmed in a text message that the post was eliminated and that the decision was budget-driven.

“The news that Marcus Jones’ position is being cut really goes to show the impact of budget decisions,” Bridgid Howe, president of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ.

The school system’s fiscal and academic year ended with a push to find $36 million in cost savings after the superintendent’s budget request was not fully funded by the county council.

The personnel change also follows shootings at Wootton High School in February and James Hubert Blake High School in April.

“Safety and security should 100% be a top priority for the system, and I’m eager to hear what the plan is going to be without it being a chief-level position,” Howe said. “It’s important that the system explain what the new structure is going to look like in order to support schools.”

In an email to º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ, Lopez added that the Department of School Safety and Security is being “restructured into the Department of School Safety, embedded within the Division of School Leadership and Improvement.”

“There will be no operational changes at the school building level, and security staff will still report to their building principals,” Lopez said.

Still, “this personnel shift is causing some concern” among parents, Howe said. She would like Superintendent Thomas Taylor to “explain the new structure so that parents can be reassured that their children can be safe every day in the school buildings.”

“It’s not just about children of course, it’s about staff as well,” Howe said, “and it really needs to be a top priority.”

Howe also said she wanted to give credit to the superintendent, saying the office had been more transparent about safety and security than in the past. She cited after-action reports released in the aftermath of the shootings at Wootton and Blake high schools.

“That, I think, is progress,” she said.

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And in neighboring Montgomery County, the county executive race has drawn attention in part because three candidates are currently serving together on the county council.

Who’s who in the Prince George’s state’s attorney race

All three candidates are women, and two of them — Interim Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson and Deputy County State’s Attorney for Charles County Karen Piper Mitchell — have extensive experience as prosecutors.

Jackson was named interim state’s attorney when Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy won the 2025 special election for that office.

The third candidate, Wanika Fisher, is a Prince George’s County Council member and a former Maryland state delegate. During her time in Annapolis, she served on the House Judiciary Committee and has also worked as a defense attorney.

The race for Montgomery County executive

Three Montgomery County Council members are among the candidates competing to be the county’s top elected official. In a year where county leaders struggled to pass a budget, the candidates have differed sharply over how to address a projected shortfall.

Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass and Will Jawando have highlighted their own approaches to avoiding a 6% property tax called for by current County Executive Marc Elrich, who is term-limited and running for a seat on the county council.

Friedson has emphasized fiscal accountability, noting he voted against tax increases aimed at shoring up the county’s budget gap last month. He has served on the council since 2018 and previously worked at the Maryland comptroller’s office.

Glass has also served on the county council since 2018. He has said the county’s education budget deserves more scrutiny and, in January, called for a task force on data centers. Before serving on the council, Glass was a journalist at CNN.

Jawando, like the others, was first elected to the council in 2018. His campaign has focused on his push to close an education budget gap while rejecting a 6% property tax increase. Jawando has also said more needs to be done on housing affordability. Before serving on the county council, Jawando worked in the Obama White House.

Also running for county executive in the Democratic primary are Mithun Bannerjee and Peter James.

Bannerjee, a Silver Spring resident with a background in electrical engineering, has campaigned on increasing homeowner tax credits and providing free childcare by increasing taxes on those earning more than $1 million a year.

Peter James, the owner of a robotics and artificial intelligence business, has pledged to eliminate traffic and said he would generate billions of dollars in income for county residents.Republican voters will see two candidates on their ballots.

Esther Wells, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, has campaigned on fiscal discipline, restoring the $692 Homeowner Property Tax credit and zero-based budgeting.

Shelly Skolnick, an attorney from Friendship Heights, supports lowering property tax rates and retrocession, the return of the District of Columbia to Maryland with a carve-out for the federal zone.

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That’s how Jason Enos, whose Germantown, Maryland, home backs up to Black Hill Regional Park, described the evening in May when his wife Sara happened to glance up from her book and tell him, “There’s a bear on the deck!”

They turned off their indoor lights and Enos grabbed his camera to try to capture the moment from inside their house.

“As much as both of us would have enjoyed giving him a scratch on the head and rubbing his fuzzy little ears, we know better than that,” he told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ.

As , Enos worked fast to get as many photos as he could — he’s a wildlife photography enthusiast.

He and Sara then wondered how they could discourage the bear from getting too comfortable.

“It was exciting, it was certainly memorable,” he said. But “we both knew immediately, of course, it’s not a good thing for a bear to be a floor up off the ground on our deck.”

So he turned the latch on the glass door to the deck — a sound he hoped would let the bear know that humans were nearby.

It worked. The bear ambled off the deck and off the property.

Their instincts were correct, said Jonathan Trudeau, the game mammal section leader for the .

When bears come that close to a home, making enough noise to let them know a human is nearby will likely send them on their way.

“If you have a, you know, video doorbell where you can talk through your doorbell,” that can allow humans to keep their distance, while letting the bear know they should move along.

Trudeau said the key is alerting the bear, without alarming the bear.

“If you’re close, you don’t want to startle that bear, because it will trigger that flight or fight reflex,” Trudeau said. “Most times, they’re going to have that flight response.”

Homeowners might be startled to find bears so close to their homes, especially in the close-in suburbs surrounding D.C.

“Mid-May is about the time we expect to see bears starting to move,” Trudeau said. “Everyone’s out of their den at that point, so everyone’s out and looking for food.”

There is research on the movements of bears in Maryland, Trudeau said. It’s being done with cooperation between the University of Maryland and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources.

Enos said he believes he knows what drew the young bear to his deck.

“I’m sure it was probably because I neglected to bring in my birdfeeders that night,” including one packed with suet — designed to attract woodpeckers, but also very appetizing to bears.

Trudeau said residents should “completely remove your birdfeeders this time of year.” He suggested taking in birdfeeders until November or December, when birds need the food and bears are napping.

Enos also posted some of the photos he got of the bear on a neighborhood list serve to let his neighbors know there is a bear in the area. And he had advice for them: “We don’t want to attract them to our houses as much fun as it is to see them. It’s not the best environment for the animal to be in.”

Trudeau said if you see a bear in your neighborhood in Maryland, you can . If it’s outside business hours and you have concerns about a bear, especially if it’s safety related, you can contact the .

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She said she’s working to change that.

“There’s a lot yet to do in the District,” she told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.

Pirro was asked about a recent shooting, in which 44-year-old Shawn Dewayne Williams, of Southeast D.C., was identified as a suspect in the killing of 44-year-old Melissa Wallace-Pulliam of Northwest.

Williams reportedly shot and killed Wallace-Pulliam at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Porter Street NW on Tuesday morning.

He then hopped on a bus headed north on Wisconsin Avenue that was stopped minutes later by D.C. police.

The bus was being evacuated when police officers rushed in and, according to Interim D.C. police Chief Jeffery Carroll, Williams “brandished a handgun.”

At that point, police officers fired, killing Williams.

“This year we’ve had multiple high-profile domestic violence instances here in the 2nd District. This is the second domestic homicide that we’ve had this year,” Carroll said.

D.C. court records indicate Williams had been arrested on domestic violence charges in 2023 and in 2024.

In each case, those charges were dropped by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“It preceded me,” Pirro said. “What I’m training my prosecutors to do is to recognize that there are some men who are so hell-bent on killing a woman, that they will do anything to kill her.”

In one of the cases against Williams, there was a charge indicating he had strangled the alleged victim.

There are studies that indicate nonlethal strangulation is a of women.

“Strangulation just became a felony a couple of years ago,” Pirro said. “But in terms of detention, it is still not sufficiently listed so that we can detain these defendants automatically.”

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While some fireworks are legal in D.C., fire officials across the region are reminding residents that fireworks purchased legally in one jurisdiction may be illegal to possess or use in another.

At a recent news conference, D.C. Deputy Fire Chief Edward Kauffman outlined what is permitted in the District.

“Legal consumer fireworks in the District include sparklers that are less than 20 inches in length, fountains, cones, colored lights and paper caps,” Kauffman said.

However, many fireworks remain prohibited.

“Any firework that moves, flies or launches a projectile is illegal in the District of Columbia,” he said. “Individuals found possessing or using illegal fireworks will have those fireworks confiscated and may face fines and penalties beginning at $2,000.”

, but restrictions apply.

“The sale of permissible fireworks to people under the age of 18 is prohibited unless the minor is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian,” Arlington County Battalion Fire Chief Matthew Cobb said.

Cobb said fireworks may only be used on private property with the owner’s permission.

“Fireworks are not allowed to be discharged on county, state or federal property, such as streets, at schools or parks or any public right of way,” he said.

In Alexandria, all fireworks are prohibited.

“Our city ordinance prohibits all sale, use, manufacture and possession of fireworks within the city limits,” said Alexandria Deputy Fire Chief Garrett Dyer.

He urged residents to be aware of local laws.

“Just be mindful that what is legal in one jurisdiction may be unlawful in another,” Dyer said.

Like Alexandria, fireworks are banned in both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland, including sparklers.

“While they seem harmless, fireworks continue to cause serious injury, fires and property damage throughout our community,” Montgomery County Battalion Chief Jeffrey Ewart said.

Ewart said recent incidents have resulted in severe traumatic injuries, destruction of homes, more than $1 million in damages and stress for pets.

“Sparklers alone can burn at temperatures up to 1,800 degrees,” he said.

In Montgomery County, possessing or discharging fireworks can result in fines of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail per violation.

by calling 311 between July 3 and July 6. During the rest of the year, complaints can be submitted through the department’s online hotline form.

In through the county police department’s non-emergency public safety line at 301-279-8900.

Additional information is available through the Maryland State Fire Marshal, Fairfax County and Arlington County.

More information on the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s website can be found

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The primary fight has been intense for Maryland’s 6th District, which includes Frederick County, Allegany County, Garrett County and parts of Montgomery County.

Incumbent Democrat Representative April McClain Delaney is hoping to hold on to her seat.

At the top of her agenda: affordability.

Her “Costs Down Opportunity Up” plan would, “really push back against the assaults on our workers, and our agencies, the tsunami of cuts that has happened to SNAP and Medicaid, and you know, all these tariffs which are driving inflation,” McClain Delaney said.

McClain Delaney said she’ll fight to restore rights for groups that she said have seen theirs rolled back.

“This assault against women and choice and equal pay,” she said is among her priorities along with the rights of immigrants. “I’ve been a firm fighter in never funding a penny for ICE,” she said.

McClain Delaney said she’d increase transparency to restore trust in government. She also wants to see governments work together on behalf of their constituents.

“I really believe local, state and federal have to come together to get things done,” she said.

McClain Delaney is facing seven challengers for the party nomination for her seat, including David Trone, who held the seat from 2019-2024, then ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate.

In the Republican primary, Robin Ficker, a former Maryland State Delegate and disbarred attorney, is among a group of GOP candidates that includes Chris Burnett, a U.S. Marine veteran and attorney, and Mariela Roca, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former federal employee.

Trone, the founder of Total Wine & More, said the issues that concern him most are immigration, women’s rights — including reproductive rights — and money in politics.

“Immigration reform hasn’t happened in Congress in 30 years,” Trone said.

He said he believes the U.S. needs to have a “thoughtful policy” and could model its policy on Canada’s, which brings in immigrants who can work jobs that need to be filled. Trone said that would include filling jobs in nursing, engineering and education, for example.

Ficker said he also believes immigration is a top concern, but he’d take a different approach. Ficker said he wants to make sure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding continues. Failure to adequately fund ICE, Ficker said, “means open borders and we can’t live with that because it brings in enough unvetted immigrants in two and a half months to completely negate the vote of our legislative district.”

“It also allows California to have at least five more members of Congress, because these folks are counted in the census,” Ficker added.

Trone said he’s concerned about women’s rights, including reproductive rights.

“Women’s rights, we all know, have been eroded,” he said, citing the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that declared the constitutional right to an abortion. “We need to all push back against that.”

Finally, Trone said there’s a problem with money in politics.

“Basically, I dislike politicians to a significant degree. They’re short-sighted, they don’t work real hard and they don’t get stuff done for our country.”

Trone said he would support term limits.

“We need folks in Washington that are public servants,” he said. “We can’t take lobbyists’ money, we have to put an end to that completely. It corrupts the system thoroughly. We have to end that gravy train of dollars and go back to individual donations.”

In his 2024 Senate campaign, Trone spent $60 million of his own money.

Democrat Ethan Wechtaluk, a former federal employee, lists healthcare affordability as a priority.

“The current system is built around profit, not patients,” he told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ.

Wechtaluk said his first act would be to co-sponsor the Medicare for All Act and push for realistic implementation.

Wechtaluk said he would also like to see universal childcare.

“Childcare costs are a second mortgage for Maryland families, and the workforce pays the price.”

And finally, Wechtaluk said, he would not reform, but replace Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“It must be replaced with an agency operating under DOJ oversight with statutory civil rights protections,” he said.

Democrat Kiambo White told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ that he’s most concerned about education, business and employment development and government overreach, but didn’t specify how he would address those issues.

Ficker said when it comes to fiscal issues, “I would oppose higher taxes, I would restore fiscal discipline, I would fight inflation-driving policies and slash wasteful spending,” adding he’s someone who “puts taxpayers’ pocketbooks ahead of the special interests.”

Economic investment is critically needed in Maryland’s 6th District, and Ficker said to do that he would promote widening I-270.

“It’s the road to Camp David and I believe I can get administration approval.”

Ficker said he believes widening the interstate would help attract business. He cited the decision by Nucor Steel to locate a plant in West Virginia.

“That project should have been in Western Maryland rather than in West Virginia,” Ficker said.

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At the D.C. Fire and EMS training academy in Southwest D.C. the scene was set: there would be a demonstration on the hazards of fireworks, complete with two mannequins with sparklers that would cause their clothing and hair to burn once the sparklers were ignited.

The message behind the demonstration came from D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, who told reporters that given how dangerous fireworks can be, leave them to the professionals for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

Donnelly said that as a fire chief, an “extremely hard thing to do” is to talk to families affected by a tragic fire started by fireworks.

Fire chiefs from around the region joined Donnelly and Deputy Fire Chief Edward Kauffman, who told reporters, that “the consequences of illegal fireworks are not theoretical” and they have seen firsthand the devastation they can cause.

Kauffman explained that in June 2024, the Oxford Manor Apartments in Southeast D.C. caught fire after a firework launched from the street landed on a second floor balcony.

“The resulting fire destroyed more than 30 apartment units and displaced over 80 residents from their homes,” said Kauffman.

Nationally, Arlington County Battalion Fire Chief Matthew Cobb said that in 2024, fireworks were involved in “an estimated 14,700 emergency department-related injuries.”

Children under the age of 15 make up 32% of firework-related injuries, Cobb added.

Just over one third of those injured by fireworks are between the ages of 25-44. He added that 67% of all estimated firework-related injuries happened to males.

Asked why many people ignore safety rules around fireworks, Connelly said he believes its because people think it will happen to someone else.

“Everybody I’ve talked to that’s had severe injuries, or even minor injuries or a bad incident … didn’t think it would happen to them.” But he added, “It can happen to you.”

Kauffman said that the District will host “the most spectacular fireworks display in our nation’s history” during the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4th.

“More than 800,000 fireworks will be launched as part of a coordinated display over the National Mall and the Potomac River,” he said.

In his concluding statements before the firework demonstration, Donnelly again drove home the point, saying, “Come watch fireworks with the professionals in your communities. There’s plenty of opportunities. We want you to be safe.”

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The advisory from VDACS comes after the discovery of confirmed cases in calves in Texas and a dog in New Mexico.

“The last time it was in Texas in the Southwest, anyway, was in 1966,” Broaddus told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ.

Part of the strategy in preventing the spread of the fly has been the use of a “sterile insect technique” that Broaddus said is “a very effective, tried and true method of reducing” the wild fly population.

Under that strategy, sterile male flies are bred, then released to reduce NWS fly populations.

According to a news release from VDACS, as more sterile flies are introduced into the affected areas, it’s expected that the NWS will once again be pushed out of the United States.

Surveillance, treatment and following existing animal transport requirements are key to containing any spread of infestation.

“There’s really no substitute for good old-fashioned observation of your animals,” Broaddus said.

He added that the pest is actually the larval stage of an insect that looks like the common housefly.

The difference is the New World screwworm fly typically lays its eggs in wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, “cattle, sheep, goats, horses, animals like that,” said Broaddus. The fly can also infest wild animals and pets.

For farmers and pet owners, Broaddus said it’s important to “really be observant” and “look for wounds and look for signs of larvae in those wounds, because if it’s caught early, it can be treated very effectively.”

While some states have enacted quarantines to prevent any spread of potential infestations, Broaddus said Virginia’s standing requirement for a certificate of veterinary inspection for any animals coming into the state, combined with restrictions in Texas and New Mexico, “really give us a kind of a good belt-and-suspenders approach there to doing everything we can do to prevent that from coming in” to other states.

Broaddus said because the NWS does not survive in regions with sustaining temperatures below 46 degrees, Virginia is not at risk for NWS to become established in the Commonwealth long-term.

Asked about safety in the food supply, Broaddus said, “It does not affect the safety of any meat products, or anything like that, nothing to worry about there at all.”

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One bill, sponsored by County Council member Evan Glass, proposes a six-month moratorium on permits for the controversial facilities.

A competing bill from Council Member Will Jawando and co-sponsored by Council Member Kristin Mink, would impose a two-year moratorium.

Glass and Jawando are both running for county executive.

At Wednesday’s county council meeting, dozens of people signed up to offer their comments on one or both bills.

Darian Unger, a Howard University professor and chair of the Montgomery County Sierra Club, urged the council to pause to study the potential impacts of data centers. Data centers could, he said, help “save the world” if AI can develop clean energy and new medical cures.

But it’s possible the data center proposed for Montgomery County’s agricultural reserve in Dickerson could turn out to be “an enormous electricity-price-hiking, water-stealing pollution-emitting energy hog.”

Jeff Ferrell introduced himself as the senior vice president and owner representative of Terra Energy, which owns the property where Atmosphere Data Centers hopes to develop the center.

Ferrell told the council, “We share all of the concerns that you have: energy consumption, water withdrawal, discharge, noise, vibration, view shed, proximity to residential and agricultural properties.”

“We don’t come here to push back on those concerns. We come here because we believe, genuinely, we are addressing them,” he added.

While residents and business owners testified, some in the county council audience held up signs reading, “AI won’t pay my electric bills,” a reference to concerns over the possible impact data centers could have on the grid.

Cheryl Gannon, with the Montgomery County Civic Federation, told the council, “Significant pause is needed to deal with very complex issues, some of which are under the purview of state or federal regulators.”

Gannon favors Jawando’s bill: “We need this two-year moratorium to get this right for the future of the county.”

Angela Franco, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, said instead of holding off on issuing permits, the county should establish a regulatory framework “that allows it to remain competitive in attracting responsible data center development.”

Data centers, she said, “provide the critical digital infrastructure that supports high-growth sectors, such as cybersecurity, life sciences, artificial intelligence and advanced computing.”

Lamar Mutts, with the Eastern Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, told the council not to delay issuing permits.

“Data center construction creates thousands of hours of work for skilled tradespeople,” he said. “These are family-sustaining jobs that allow workers to build careers, support their families, purchase homes and contribute to local communities.”

Prabu Selvam, an emergency room physician and an at-large candidate for the Montgomery County Council, urged the council to reject data centers altogether.

“At some point, we need to stop delaying the decision and make one. If it were my decision, no new data centers in Montgomery County,” Selvam said. “Just because a data center might be built somewhere doesn’t mean it needs to be built here.”

A date for work sessions on the two bills has not been set yet.

Montgomery County currently has a six-month moratorium on issuing permits for data centers as a result of an executive order signed by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich.

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Elrich said the order directs the Department of Permitting Services to “temporarily pause the acceptance and processing of permit applications for new data centers in Montgomery County.”

“It’s not a ban on data centers. It is not a statement that data centers should never be built in Montgomery County, and it’s not a judgement on any specific proposal,” he said. Instead, “What this does is create time for Montgomery County to establish clear rules and expectations before applications begin moving through the permitting process.”

While Montgomery County has zoning and permitting regulations on a variety of developments, “right now, Montgomery County doesn’t have regulations that specifically address data centers,” Elrich said.

The county executive also said he was eager to create specific regulations and have them in place before applications come in because, “I think it’s good for everybody to understand what the rules are going to be before going forward.”

Several proposals have been introduced at the Montgomery County Council, and councilmember Marilyn Balcombe, who serves on the Transportation and Environment Committee said, “The moratorium doesn’t mean that we stop. What it means is that we work harder,” to come up with regulations that will address community concerns.

Councilmembers Will Jawando and Kristin Mink also spoke at Friday’s event. Jawando said he and Mink proposed a two-year moratorium, and added, “We might not agree on every single issue related to the moratorium but the important thing is that we do agree that we need time to get this right.”

In a statement sent to reporters, Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez wrote: “With the moratorium in place, we now have the space to finish up working on the Data Center Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 26-01.”

That measure, she said, “establishes clear definitions and limits data centers to industrial zones under conditional use-review” with conditions around noise, environmental protections and siting.

Jawando mentioned California-based Atmosphere Data Centers, which has worked with the county’s planning board on locating a data center on a former coal-fired power plant in Dickerson. Jawando said he believed the developers have good intentions, “but good intentions are not assurances.”

Councilmember Evan Glass, who, like Jawando, is running for county executive, attended the event, but was not invited to speak. After the executive order was signed, he spoke with º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ.

“I’ve introduced two pieces of legislation, one creating a task force, which would have been studying this right now, and another one when that failed, to create a six-month pause,” Glass said. “So while none of the speakers today supported any of my proposals, I’m glad that they do now, and I’m glad that they’re moving forward.”

Caroline Taylor, with the Montgomery Countryside Alliance said she was glad to see the six-month moratorium in place. She said there are concerns about noise, possible impact to water infrastructure and “rate-payer impact: who’s paying for this industry’s energy use?”

Elrich said that while his action won’t stop the planning board’s work with the Atmosphere Data Centers group, it will not provide a permit for the facility during the moratorium.

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Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson told reporters Thursday that Larry Simpson, 68, was charged with “17 counts of attempted common law murder, 17 counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed carjacking,” and 17 counts of the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony.

Simpson was also indicted on eight counts of reckless endangerment and seven counts of reckless endangerment in a car. Due to his criminal record, Simpson was also indicted on two counts of illegal possession of a firearm with a felony conviction.

Jackson said the violence stretched from College Park to Riverdale to Greenbelt last month.

“The number and the nature of the charges reflect the seriousness and scope of the alleged conduct, as well as the devastating impact that it had on the 17 victims across six different locations,” Jackson said. “Mr. Simpson was arrested soon after he attempted to carjack his third carjacking victim,” on May 18.

The case drew added attention, not just for the rapid-fire nature and the violence of the string of crimes, but because Simpson had a previous conviction for murder. In 1987, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but was released after serving just over 35 years behind bars.

Jackson explained Simpson had successfully completed a drug and alcohol program in October of 2023.

“The record reports that he was placed on one year of unsupervised probation,” Jackson said. “The crime spree for which he has been indicted today occurred within about two and a half years of his release.”

Asked about Simpson’s release, Jackson said, while there are cases where second chances may be appropriate, “This case serves as a reminder of the stakes that are involved really in decisions about early release.”

She also said that the conditions that are set for early release must be carefully considered.

“This case also highlights the fact that a structured reentry process is really what’s best when persons have served a period of time, a long period of time in jail,” Jackson said.

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The D.C. Responsible Rat Management Coalition has launched a yearlong study in the Kingman Park neighborhood. The study will use two methods to try to bring the rodents under control. These include cutting food sources and introducing a new rodent contraceptive.

Trying birth control for rats isn’t completely new. The D.C. Department of Health announced it was piloting the use of a rat contraceptive in its blitz on rats in April. Max Broad, executive director of D.C. Voters for Animals told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ, “I do have to applaud them for trying something novel.” But he pointed out that unlike D.C. government’s efforts, the Coalition won’t be employing rodenticides.

“We’re trying a new contraceptive — it’s an edible contraceptive — from the fertility nonprofit called Wisdom Goodworks,” Broad said. How does anyone get a rat to take birth control? Broad explained that it’s been designed with the rat palate in mind — and to be more attractive than the food scraps that rats root around for in and around trash cans across the District.

In terms of whether the contraceptives actually work, Broad said, “We’re still really understanding these contraceptives and how effective they are, and that’s why we’re doing this research study.” But he said, “I’m hopeful that their work shows some positive results.”

Broad said no rat abatement effort is complete without attacking a problem that humans have control over: food waste and how it’s handled. “There are two methods of prevention,” he said. “One is better sanitation and the other is exclusion, excluding rats from getting into trash cans and these buildings where they can take harbor.”

The rat population Broad said, “is going to get bigger and bigger as long as we feed them with food in our trash.” Rats “can produce litters of 8-to-10 pups every couple of months,” and one of the drivers of that is an easy to access food supply, he said.

Among the advice Broad has for residents, he said to try to reduce the amount of food waste you generate, and compost as much as you can using D.C.’s secured composting stations. He also advises “waiting until pickup day” to put any food waste in the trash.

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Voters can cast their ballots from June 11 through June 18. Election Day is June 23.

The early voting process gets underway days after the State Board of Elections outlined an updated set of guidelines on how mail-in ballots will be tabulated.

The state board held a meeting on Tuesday after more than 437,000 mail-in ballots had to be replaced last month due to an error by the vendor that sent out the ballots.

That mistake led to voters getting the wrong ballot: An undetermined number of voters got ballots that didn’t match their party registration, so the replacements were sent out.

David Naimon, president of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said in last week’s briefing with Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich that voters have had questions about the replacement ballots and the potential impact on the tabulation process.

“We’re getting a lot of questions about that,” said Naimon. “A lot of good information about this and other subjects is available at the county website” he said, noting it could be accessed by going to .

There are 14 early voting sites in Montgomery County from June 11 to June 18.

Lawrence Halloran, a substitute member of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, emphasized that no vote will be counted twice, noting that the state-issued replacement ballots have a unique bar code.

Halloran said that if a voter sent in their original ballot, and then filled out the replacement ballot, “we know it’s a second ballot. The first one is put aside. It’s not counted unless and until it’s determined that nothing else has come in from that voter.”

Halloran, a Republican, emphasized that the precautions in making sure that ballots are secured and counted accurately “are not new processes.” He continued, “There’s always replacement ballots. Voters ask for a replacement if they spilled coffee on it, if they destroy it,” or if they filled out a ballot incorrectly.

“So we know how to replace ballots, we know how to track the first one, and the second one, and make sure only one gets counted,” he said.

Halloran added that the processes are tried and true and that “the safeguards and procedures are well-established and they are firmly in place.”

Naimon, a Democrat, pointed out that when the canvassing process begins, they can only be opened by bipartisan teams at the public mail-in ballot canvass. The deadline for counting ballots is July 6 at 10 a.m.

Halloran had advice for voters who may be frustrated by the ballot printing snafu, saying, “the best recourse” is to take that replacement ballot and either mail it, take it to a drop box, an early voting site, or your local voting precinct.

If a voter who signed up for the mail in ballot then decides to vote in-person, they’ll have to fill out a provisional ballot, and Halloran said, an added form to fill out, and it won’t be tabulated until after the July 6 deadline.

“So, it’s best to really get that replacement ballot and vote it,” Halloran said.

Naimon had some advice for making the process as easy as possible: “If you do choose to vote in person for early voting, the busiest time is the last day, especially in the last hours of the last day.” The least busy times, he said are on Saturday and Sunday.

“During early voting,” he said, “you can check the current wait times on our website or by texting EV and your ZIP code to 77788.”

On Election Day, Naimon said the first few hours after the polls open are the busiest times.

Naimon also made the pitch to get more election judges to work the polls. “We definitely still need more election judges,” he said.

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“Extreme heat — it’s not just a physical story, it’s a mental health story,” said Dr. Lorenzo Norris, the senior associate dean for education and an associate professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

He told º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ that people are most familiar with winter weather and its effects on mood and mental well-being.

“We definitely know that extreme heat can increase irritability, frustration and anger,” said Norris, adding that research on the effects included a JAMA study that showed an increase in mental health-related visits to emergency departments during hot weather events.

Extreme high temperatures can also increase anxiety, Norris said.

“Heat can also cause a disruption in our sleep. That for me is massive, because sleep disruption can pretty much affect everything,” he said.

Another symptom people may experience on the hottest days of summer, said Norris: “Studies have been shown it can affect your attention, your cognition.”

“All of these things, in and of themselves, can exacerbate mental health conditions,” he said.

When patients notice the negative effects on their mental health, Norris said, they should seek the care of a medical professional.

Norris is eager to help patients recognize the importance of paying attention to heat and its impact on their mental health.

If patients don’t understand that high temperatures can cause or exacerbate those feelings, “We’re not going to take the necessary precautions to make sure that we are practicing good self-care, hydrating ourselves, staying cool, checking on each other,” he said.

Older patients and people with existing mental health conditions are at the highest risk of experiencing those symptoms and seeing them worsen, said Norris.

“First and foremost, if you’re experiencing significant mental health symptoms of any type, you should actually be working to speak with a health professional,” he said, and that could include calling 311 to be connected with local services or calling 911 when needed.

Aside from checking in with a health professional, patients can make sure they have access to cool environments and check their hydration levels.

“Dehydration plus extreme heat is a very big problem and then the third thing is, and I will continue to harp on this, because heat does affect sleep — protect your sleep,” Norris said.

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The funds cover the same items that are eligible under the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including fruits, vegetables and meat.

The idea, D.C. Department of Human Services Director Rachel Pierre said, “is to make sure that healthy meals are going to families.”

An estimated 72,000 children will get the benefit this summer in the District.

“We are confident that the vast majority of children are automatically enrolled,” she said.

Still, Pierre urges recipients in the District to and verify their benefits are up to date.

In Maryland, enrollees can check their status on . Families in Virginia can .

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