Montgomery County resident John Ols (Laytonsville) has caught a 640.5 lb blue marlin, earning him a world record of $6.2 million at this year’s White Marlin Open in Ocean City, MD.
Per the White Marlin Open: On the last day of the 50th Annual White Marlin Open, the Floor Real out of Ocean City, MD weighed a 640.5-pound blue marlin to take $6,200,000 of the $10.5 million dollar total purse. The blue was caught by John Ols from Laytonsville, MD.
Per the State of Maryland: Governor Wes Moore today announced that Early Charm – a company that creates, owns, and operates ventures that convert science to revenue – has officially opened its new production shop in Baltimore City, where it plans to create 115 new jobs over the next four years. The company has leased more than 26,000 square feet of space at 1300 Bayard Street in Pigtown, where it is growing its custom manufacturing operations for advanced materials and supporting the addition of 30 new ventures.
“We are excited to support Early Charm’s reinvestment in Baltimore City, where more than a hundred jobs will soon be added to the Pigtown community,” said Gov. Moore. “Investing in this new facility will allow Early Charm to continue growing its portfolio, boost manufacturing in local industry and make Maryland even more competitive.”
Maryland tax free week will take place from Sunday, August 13th until Saturday, August 19th this year. Below we have everything you need to know about how Tax-Free Week works in Maryland:
Facts About Tax-Free Week: From 12:01 a.m. on the second Sunday in August through midnight on the following Saturday, qualifying clothing and footwear priced $100 or less will be exempt from Maryland’s six percent sales tax. The first $40 of back/bookbag sales also qualify. A list of exempt and taxable items is available on the Comptroller’s Website at www.marylandtaxes.gov, or by calling the Taxpayer Service Section at 410-260-7980 in Central Maryland or toll-free 1-800-MD TAXES from elsewhere.
Snakes are an integral part of Maryland’s fauna, functioning as important predators. Snakes are limbless reptiles with elongate bodies that are covered with scales. All snakes lack external ear openings and eyelids and have long, forked tongues. Maryland is home to 27 species and sub-species of snakes, including two with medically significant venom, the copperhead and the timber rattlesnake. These two species are found in the viper family (Viperidae). The remaining species are in the family Colubridae, which is the largest snake family in the world.
Pit Vipers (Subfamily Crotalinae):
Today via social media, former Gaithersburg City Councilmember and current Montgomery County Councilmember, Laurie-Anne Sayles, announced her run for Congress. The full announcement and additional information on Sayles can be seen below:
“Today, I’m announcing my run for Congress in Maryland’s 6th District because Washington needs to work for us — for families in Garrett County to Gaithersburg and everywhere in between. We’ve got a lot of work to do as a country, and I get the job done.
Michael Jordan is an avid open sea fisher. During the fishing season, MJ spends time traveling the coast in his 8 million dollar fishing boat to participate in fishing competitions. MJ and his boat Catch 23’ have been registered for The awhile Martin Open for the last few years. Jordan is currently back in town enjoying Ocean City, MD for the tournament (video below).
The White Marlin Open is a 50-year-old deep-sea fishing tournament held annually in Ocean City, Maryland. Long known as the “World’s Largest Billfishing Tournament,” the Open has awarded over $105 million for catches of the gamefish that migrate up the Gulf Stream each summer. The first tournament was held in 1974 and drew 57 boats, 150 anglers, and paid $20,000 in prize money. The 2022 event drew 408 boats, over 3,500 contestants, and awarded over $8.6 million dollars in prize money, including the top individual prize of $4.53 million dollars which established a new world record award for the catch of a fish. Two Montgomery County fisherman claimed a total of $5.7 million in prize money last year.
The state had 26 third-tier winners of at least $10,000 during this jackpot run that started on April 21. There have been over 1 million winning tickets sold in Maryland during that time. More than $56.5 million in sales occurred during the roll, and based on approximately 25% of sales being returned to the state, the profit to the Maryland General Fund from those sales was about $14.5 million. The last Maryland jackpot win came in March 2014, when Maryland and Florida players split a $414 million jackpot. That winning ticket was sold at Lady’s Liquors in La Plata. Mega Millions tickets are sold in 47 states and jurisdictions. Odds of winning a $1 million prize are 1 in 12 million with overall odds of winning 1 in 24.” Featured image courtesy of Google Maps.
In Maryland, nearly 30,000 women with children have substance use or opioid use disorders, according to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health. This pilot program, which is slated to enroll 750 women, is funded by a three-year, $900,000 per year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This money will fund additional recovery support coordinators, pregnant parenting women navigators, and family support coaches to help enrolled women navigate administrative barriers.
Engage and enroll families in the Strengthening Families program so they can identify and build on evidence-based factors that support the whole family.
Governor Wes Moore is in Ashburn, Virginia for Washington Commanders training camp (yesterday he visited Ravens camp) and answered questions from various reporters. Ben Standig of The Athletic asked Moore about the timeline for A new stadium and Moore made it clear that he wants the Washington Commanders to remain in Maryland.
“We see the timeline as we’re moving now.” Moore said. “We’ve already allocated $400 million that’s going toward the blue line corridor, which is the area right around the stadium in Prince George’s County. We are not waiting, we are not delaying, we are not stalling. We are letting people know right now that we want the Commanders in Prince George’s County and we’re gonna move aggressively to make that the case.
A Montgomery County woman was killed in a crash that occurred on Interstate 70 near Braddock Heights Saturday morning, August 5, 2023. According to police, Jeanne Ngassa, 74, of Silver Spring, was driving a Toyota Corolla westbound on I-70 when a Mercedes traveling eastbound crossed the median and collided head-on with Ngassa’s car.
The Mercedes also struck a westbound Dodge Ram pickup truck head-on, causing the truck to catch fire. Ngassa was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Mercedes was airlifted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, and the Dodge Ram pickup driver was taken to a local hospital. No other injuries were reported, and the investigation is ongoing, per WFMD.
After working diligently for hours at the scene and at multiple substations, BGE crews successfully de-energized the power lines. As they worked, Maryland State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputies and personnel from Maryland State Highway Administration checked trapped vehicles, provided water to trapped motorists, and secured the scene.
“Coordination between the local jurisdiction of Westminster, Carroll County, and the state has been absolutely tremendous,” said Maryland Department of Emergency Management Secretary Russell Strickland. “We constantly plan, train, and exercise so responses like these can come together.”