District 5 council member Kristin Mink said the firefighters violated the county鈥檚 Trust Act, which prohibits county personnel from voluntarily cooperating with the agency.

Mink said she does not blame firefighters, who had to think fast and were faced with contradictory county rules. Such unanticipated scenarios are something the council needs to think through, she said.

The story continues.聽.

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We want to know what you and your family are excited about for the coming school year and what are your concerns as the fall semester starts.

Fill out our short survey below. Your responses will help inform WTOP’s back-to-school coverage.

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The survey is conducted using Survey Monkey. If you can’t see the survey below, .

Fill out the survey by Aug. 2 so you aren’t left “at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by” (bonus points if you get the 90s TV reference!)

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Artemis is a smart pit bull and has shown remarkable resilience and thrives in a home environment where she can build trust, learn and feel secure.

She is an opinionated girl with a big personality and a strong voice.

Artemis is deeply devoted to her people and has proven to be an eager and highly trainable companion. She has mastered an impressive list of commands, including sit, down, stay, wait, recall, touch, look, go to bed and has shown she loves to learn.

Artemis understands household routines, responds well to praise and rewards. She enjoys interactive games, training sessions and learning new skills.

At 2 years old, Artemis weighs about 58 pounds.

For the right family, Artemis will be an incredibly rewarding companion: devoted, clever, endlessly entertaining and always ready to share her opinions.

To learn more, visit the Humane Rescue Alliance鈥檚 website at .

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These purrfect聽felines arrived as bashful, unsure kitties after losing their home quite suddenly, but their gentle hearts and sweet spirits shine through.

They are truly lovely cats who long to be cherished as beloved family members. Zack is a handsome fellow with the cutest little milk mustache, and Zoe is a precious girly kitty with a bright sparkle in her eye.

Both are in the 14-pound range 鈥� plenty of love to go around with this pair.

With kindness, patience and a warm home to call their own, Zoe and Zack will blossom beautifully.

Meet these lovely angels, adopt them, and get ready to fall in love. To learn more, visit the Humane Rescue Alliance鈥檚 website at聽.

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The groups believe that聽the proposal, crafted by Maryland鈥檚 Department of Labor, essentially allows builders too much flexibility to select 鈥� and potentially double-count 鈥� measures that would reduce the building鈥檚 overall energy use.
鈥淚t creates a lower baseline standard, and makes a bunch more things flexible,鈥� said Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery). 鈥淚n the end, the impact is lower levels of efficiency.鈥�

Charkoudian is among those who believe that the agency鈥檚 changes to the International Energy Conservation Code, or IECC, could violate state law, which allows the state to adopt a code more stringent than the IECC 鈥� but not less stringent.

In response to questions from Maryland Matters, the state agency simply noted that it 鈥渁ppreciate[s]鈥� the comments that have been submitted so far, and shared at a public meeting in Baltimore County this week.

鈥淯pon the close of the public comment period, the Department will review all stakeholder input and make determinations about any further changes or modifications,鈥� agency spokesperson Dinah Winnick said.

A public comment period on the regulations is open until July 27.

Charkoudian is a member of the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review, or AELR, the legislative committee that reviews regulations before they take effect. In an interview Friday, Charkoudian said she has asked AELR to place a hold on the regulations so legislators can discuss them with the Department of Labor.

Committee Chair Del. Sandy Rosenberg (D-Baltimore City), said no decision has been made on Charkoudian鈥檚 request, but the committee gives 鈥渟ignificant weight鈥� to the opinions of committee leaders on the subject matter they cover. Charkoudian is also vice chair of the Economic Matters Committee.

For one thing, the 2024 version of the IECC requires that newly constructed large buildings, including warehouses, data centers and apartment buildings, generate a certain amount of renewable energy on-site, such as with a rooftop solar panel array.

But Maryland deleted the requirement, said Erin Sherman, a Maryland-based senior associate for the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on energy policy.

鈥淸It] is not a lot of renewable energy. It does not cover the entirety of a building鈥檚 electricity load in most cases. It鈥檚 a modest, likely cost-effective 鈥� in many cases, if not all cases 鈥� requirement. That is gone,鈥� Sherman said at Thursday鈥檚 public meeting at a Labor Department office in Hunt Valley.

The requirement is for 0.75 watts of renewable energy per square foot for the largest three floors of a new building, which isn鈥檛 a large amount, Sherman said. And buildings would receive reduced energy bills in exchange for the energy they generate on-site.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e concerned about up-front costs, I would suggest you don鈥檛 need to be. That modest solar array would pay for itself,鈥� Sherman said.

Maryland鈥檚 proposal would also allow builders to double-count certain energy efficiency measures, reducing the overall amount of energy efficiency work that they are required to do, relative to the 2024 IECC.

鈥淲e strongly oppose double-counting of any kind. A code user should not be able to take double credit for a single efficiency measure in more than one section of the code,鈥� said Sarah Newman of the Responsible Energy Codes Alliance during Thursday鈥檚 meeting.

If the measures become law, buildings will face higher bills and place greater strain on an already overwhelmed electricity grid, Sherman said, potentially causing an increased cost to the entire customer base, which pays for infrastructure upgrades. More energy use also means more climate pollution, Sherman noted.

鈥淚nstead of high-performance, grid-smart, clean energy-powered buildings, buildings will get higher energy bills. Those lucky enough to build brand new offices or warehouses will pass costs on to other ratepayers through higher peak demand than they otherwise would have,鈥� Sherman said.

But Lori Graf, chief executive officer of the Maryland Building Industry Association, a trade organization representing homebuilders, said Maryland鈥檚 version of the IECC code 鈥� which will cover large multifamily residential buildings 鈥� would give construction companies more flexibility with energy efficiency credits, thereby reducing their costs and stimulating housing construction.

Every time the state adopts new codes, additional requirements tend to add costs for builders, Graf said. The 2021 version of the code was particularly difficult for builders to adopt, she said.

鈥淭he energy efficiency stuff was a little bit challenging,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ome of the requirements for insulation and some of the other things were very challenging 鈥� and had to, in some cases, require redesign.鈥�

But it appears that this version in Maryland will be more flexible, and better received by the builders, said Graf, who added that her organization is still evaluating the proposed rules and plans to submit comments.

The reductions in energy efficiency requirements are all the more upsetting for Maryland climate advocates because of the recent cuts to the EmPOWER Maryland energy efficiency program. Under EmPOWER, all utility customers pay a surcharge on their bills, and those funds are used to provide home and building owners with free and reduced price energy-efficiency upgrades, including new appliances, insulation and weatherproofing.

During the most recent General Assembly session, lawmakers cut the program for the next few years, in an effort to lower the surcharge during a period of high electric bills. It鈥檚 estimated that their cuts will reduce the size of the program by about a third, though regulators are still determining precisely what cuts will be made to the program, starting in 2027.

Though advocates acknowledge Marylanders would pay a lower cost in the short-run, they believe that fewer investments in energy efficiency will result in higher energy use, necessitating costly infrastructure upgrades in the future.

鈥淭here are some shortsighted decisions that elected officials are making in response to a real concern that Marylanders have over energy affordability,鈥� said Anne Havemann, deputy director and general counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

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The letter Tuesday from state Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis is in response to a letter from Department of Justice officials last week raising questions about Maryland鈥檚 compliance with federal election laws, and dangling a threat of criminal prosecution.
The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ sent聽similar letters聽a week ago to election officials in Maryland and other states, demanding an outline of how each would maintain state voter rolls and prevent voting by people who are not eligible to do so.

DeMarinis, in a three-page response dated July 14, lays out state and federal laws he said his agency follows regarding maintenance of state voting records.

鈥淎s the State Administrator and staff of the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE), we serve as the definitive and trusted source for all electoral information within the State,鈥� DeMarinis wrote. 鈥淚t is absolutely vital that the public possess a clear and accurate understanding of the detailed, often complex, and statutorily-defined administrative processes that govern election law.鈥�

DeMarinis鈥� letter also addresses concerns about misinformation spread on social media.

鈥淣arratives surrounding voter registration, especially those circulating on various social media platforms, frequently misconstrue the law or certain rights,鈥� DeMarinis wrote. 鈥淭his often leads to the proliferation of misinformation 鈥� inaccurate information spread unintentionally 鈥� and disinformation 鈥� false information spread with the intent to deceive. The integrity of our elections hinges on our ability to counteract this trend.鈥�

President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to give a national address Thursday night about election issues, has used his Truth Social platform in recent weeks to criticize Maryland over a聽mail-in ballot snafu. At the time, Trump promised an investigation by Justice.

In DOJ鈥檚 letter earlier this month, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general in the department鈥檚 Civil Rights Division, demands information on 鈥淢aryland鈥檚 compliance with federal law governing voter eligibility.鈥�

Dhillon goes on to raise concerns 鈥� without specifics 鈥� that noncitizens could be allowed to vote in Maryland. She gave DeMarinis five days to respond. The letter also threatens DeMarinis with federal criminal conspiracy charges and civil rights violations.
DeMarinis, speaking at the time, characterized the pressure tactic as 鈥渁 nice love letter鈥� and a 鈥渄raconian step.鈥�

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment Thursday on the DeMarinis letter.

Maryland is one of a handful of states that has, so far, successfully rebuffed demands for聽highly detailed voter records.

A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland last month聽dismissed the department鈥檚 lawsuit聽for the records. The DOJ appealed the case to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, but no hearing has been set in that appeal.

In his response to Dhillon, DeMarinis lays out the myriad of federal and state laws governing voter rolls.

鈥淭he right to vote is a sacred right that has been expanded through sacrifices of many before us,鈥� DeMarinis wrote. 鈥淚t is a privilege and honor to work in this field empowering individuals to make their voices heard.

鈥淭he State Board works diligently to ensure that every eligible Marylander can register to vote in accordance with federal and State laws,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎nd as referenced above, election officials in Maryland continue that diligent work to maintain up to date voter rolls.鈥�

He said maintaining that list and culling those who have moved, died or are otherwise ineligible to vote, is a complicated process that has to balance the rights of voters.
鈥淚mproper cancellation leads to disenfranchisement of an eligible voter. That is why it is a detailed process. It must be certain,鈥� he wrote.

鈥淢aryland鈥檚 process errs on the side of removing any doubt in the cancellation before potentially disenfranchising a voter,鈥� his letter said. 鈥淎s the Maryland Declaration of Rights states 鈥榯he right of the People to participate in the Legislature is the best security of liberty and the foundation of all free Government; 鈥� and every citizen having the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution, ought to have the right of suffrage.鈥欌��

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Since she’s gone into her foster home, she’s made great progress! Her foster shares that Layla has proven to be incredibly smart and eager to learn. She loves people and gets along with other dogs.

She has mastered stairs, sits for treats and is doing great with potty training (she holds it through the night!). She鈥檚 very trainable and making steady progress with her leash skills.

Layla is a 1-year-old pup who weighs about 36 pounds.

Since she’s a puppy, she can be a bit mouthy and likes to chew, so she鈥檒l need a bit of supervision and plenty of her own toys to stay occupied! She’s a very affectionate girl who learns quickly and is a real joy!

Layla is looking for a home that can give her time, space and patience so that she can truly blossom and show the full beauty of her darling soul!

To learn more, visit the Humane Rescue Alliance鈥檚 website at .

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Jersey is an awesome kitty who鈥檚 eager for cat toys, great meals, maybe a cozy lap to snuggle in 鈥� but most of all, he wants love and kindness. He’s a 1-year-old domestic shorthair who weighs 6 pounds.

“He鈥檚 the absolute sweetest and loves pets and head butting onto you,” Jersey’s foster said. “He does little 360掳 spins to make sure you pet every part of him, from his head to his belly to his butt! He鈥檚 very well behaved and stays calm under pressure.”

To learn more about Jersey, visit the Humane Rescue Alliance鈥檚 website at .

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The song has had many lives over the years, first as a hit for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Denver in 1971. Several years ago, 鈥淐ountry Roads鈥� became West Virginia鈥檚 official state song. And now the song has been adopted as the U.S. Men鈥檚 National Team鈥檚 new anthem for the World Cup.

After the U.S. team beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in Santa Clara on Monday night, U.S. players and coaches belted out lyrics for 鈥淐ountry Roads鈥� arm-in arm on the field as the stadium speakers blared the song.

Little did most of the members of the team probably know, the song originated during a car ride down Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland, over a half century ago.

Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, two local singer-songwriters, were on their way to a cousin’s reunion at the Izaak Walton League in Gaithersburg in the summer of 1970. Cruising down Clopper Road, Danoff strummed his guitar while Nivert drove.

“On the way, we鈥檙e passing farms, cattle, sheep and horses and chicks and ducks and geese,鈥� Nivert told me in 2020 for the MoCo鈥檚 Most Famous podcast.

Danoff started singing the words 鈥渃ountry roads鈥� over and over.

鈥淭he seed of the song started on Clopper Road,” Nivert said.

Many believe the song was called “Take Me Home, Clopper Road” at one point, but that鈥檚 not true, according to Nivert. Regardless, the duo knew they were on to something.

They originally wanted to give the not-yet-complete song to Johnny Cash, but they instead approached John Denver, who loved it.

On Dec. 30, 1970, Danoff and Nivert were with Denver at their basement apartment in Georgetown. They played two verses and a chorus for him.

“John said, ‘Oh my gosh, let鈥檚 stay up and just finish it. It鈥檚 really good,'” so they stayed up all night.

They rewrote the second verse and the chorus. The three rearranged the lyrics and title and 鈥淭ake Me Home, Country Roads鈥� was born.

The next day, New Year鈥檚 Eve, Danoff and Nivert were the warmup act for Denver at The Cellar Door in D.C. During Denver鈥檚 set, he brought them up and introduced a song they had just written. 鈥淲e hope you like it,鈥� Denver said, according to Nivert.

The song was so new, they were all reading from a lyric sheet they had taped to the microphone. The crowd went wild. The song became Denver鈥檚 first big hit, peaking at No. 2 on the charts in August, 1971.

Danoff and Nivert later married and formed Starland Vocal Band, best known for their 1976 No. 1 hit, 鈥淎fternoon Delight.鈥�

We were 鈥渢wo hippies in a basement,鈥� Nivert said. “Someday we鈥檙e going to write a hit song,鈥� they would say. And then 鈥淭ake Me Home, Country Roads鈥� came into their lives.

鈥淭he song is just it鈥檚 own wonderful gift from the universe,鈥� Nivert said.

A gift that keeps giving.

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One of our favorite moments has included the discovery that this pretty lady enjoys a game of fetch. While she may not be the fiercest runner or most eager retriever, the delight with which she gallops after the ball makes more than up for this!

And before we could get out the basic manners rule book, Gamora was already sitting like a star and practicing hand targeting. And when fun and learning are done, she is ready to enjoy a good chew toy and snooze.

A volunteer recently shared this about the 3-year-old: “Gamora really loves toys. She was a little nervous when we first met but quickly warmed up with treats and a stuffy. Oh, my goodness, what a sweetheart!!”

And another said, “What a gem! I love her, so easygoing and sweet.”

Who needs more fun and more love? Gamora is here for it!

To learn more, visit the Humane Rescue Alliance鈥檚 webpage at聽.

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Faheem is full of fun, curiosity, and that irresistible kitten sparkle. This domestic shorthair is 6 months old and weighs 7 pounds.

He’s super playful, even playing independently with his toys while racing around his den! Faheem would love a family who can spoil him with great toys, tall cat towers, fab meals and plenty of love. Make your dreams come true 鈥� come meet Faheem and let this little gentleman win your heart.

To learn more, visit the Humane Rescue Alliance鈥檚 webpage at聽or stop by 71 Oglethorpe St NW between noon and 7 p.m. daily.

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As we know from our history books, Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

These truths are self-evident.

Also true: Jefferson owned over 600 enslaved people, including Sally Hemings, with whom he had a decades-long relationship, fathering at least six children with her. The relationship started when Jefferson was 41 and Hemmings was 14. Jefferson never freed Hemmings.

鈥淚 did hateful things,鈥� the character Tom/Mike says in a Shakespearean aside near the end of act one.

The term founding father takes on quite a different meaning.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, many celebrations are planned. Sally & Tom is not one of those celebrations. It鈥檚 a serious, and sometimes funny, exploration into how history will, and should, remember Jefferson.

It鈥檚 a play-within-a-play written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Suzan Lori-Parks who has made a career debunking myths.

A theater group called The Good Company puts on a show called “The Pursuit of Happiness” in the present day about Hemmings and Jefferson. The playwright Luce plays Sally and the director Mike plays Tom. They flash back to Monticello in 1790.

Things get complicated. Art imitates life, and vice versa.

Mike and Luce are romantically involved. Arguments, some intense, ensue as to how to portray the relationship. Should the angry speech by Hemmings鈥檚 brother stay in the show or be cut? Should one of the characters slap another? Was it love? Was it rape? Do we really know?

The play’s clever set design works perfectly for the play-within-a-play concept and features excellent individual performances 鈥� especially by Renea S. Brown, who shines as Sally and Luce. Brown, known for her extensive Shakespearian work, will surely win awards for her performance.

The show, perhaps a tad long at almost three hours, is told through Hemmings鈥檚 perspective. It’s is called “Sally & Tom,” not “Tom & Sally,” for a reason.

“Sally & Tom” is about race, power, myths and how we view history through the lens of the present. You leave thinking and asking more questions than you had before the show. And that鈥檚 the point.

“Sally & Tom” is currently playing at Round House Theatre through Sunday. The show includes one intermission. Limited tickets are still available .

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