u/_triangle_of_bermuda

Paywalled, briefly:

The 2024 class-action lawsuit alleges PFAS migrated from Perdue’s Zion Church Road plant into groundwater, private wells and residential properties.

The Maryland Department of the Environment first identified elevated PFAS levels in facility wastewater in 2023 although the poultry giant did not notify citizens until more than a year had passed.

In a consent motion filed Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court, the residents asked a judge to accept an amended complaint naming Johnson Controls Inc., Johnson Controls Fire Protection LP, Tyco Fire Products LP, Chemguard Inc. and 3M. These companies supplied the fire fighting foam which contributed to the wastewater contamination.

Residents maintain Perdue is responsible for spreading the chemicals through its handling and disposal of contaminated wastewater.

Attorneys for the residents said adding defendants does not lessen Perdue’s responsibility.

“Perdue was responsible for managing its wastewater, and its handling and disposal of PFAS-laden waste has contaminated groundwater, surface water, soil, and private wells in Salisbury,” attorneys Phil Federico and Chase Brockstedt said in a statement.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/10/06/perdue-pfas-lawsuit-salisbury-3m-johnson-controls/

Paywalled, briefly:

Mayor Rick Meehan continues to campaign to revive the Ocean City Boardwalk tram, but a previously unreleased safety report obtained by The Baltimore Sun concluded that the service could not safely return.

The report cited seven incidents in 2024 alone, including the death of a 2-year-old boy. Police later identified equipment and licensing violations related to the incidents.

These findings are only coming to light now, two years after the town suspended the service.

“The council gave up a little too early,” Meehan told The Sun last week.

Meehan is now challenging the decision to end the service permanently.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/10/05/ocean-city-boardwalk-tram-safety-report/

The worst part of the beach is up by the boardwalk, where all the snow fence that was protecting the dunes got washed away and landed in this area. Then, closer up to the ocean the beach is actually pretty wide and still in good shape. I assume that’s because it was probably underwater the whole time and not being hit by the waves

I thought the cat was looking at the ducks swimming in the flood water

WESTOVER, MD - The assertion follows a state filing by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) seeking the removal of Somerset Board of Education chairman Matthew Lankford, alleging that Lankford engaged in labor law violations by dragging school employees forward to publicly interrogate and intimidate them over Facebook posts.

"Our critics say it’s 'wrong' to turn a routine school board meeting into a tribunal where a teachers' union attorney has to be physically escorted out by security," Lankford stated. “We are showing Somerset County’s youth exactly how a functioning democracy works when you replace the pesky Constitution with a microphone."

It all started last November when far right extremist candidates were elected to a majority of seats on the Somerset County school board, inclu­ding the heavy-handed chairman Lankford.

The State Board of Education is already considering multiple complaints against Lankford due to several controversial educational policies championed by the chairman.

Board attorney Gordana Schifanelli vehemently denied any wrongdoing by the chairman, noting that the board's decision to maintain a hefty legal defense budget is a vital investment in Lankford’s right to remain unbothered by state regulations.

"Chairman Lankford has done nothing wrong besides attempting to transfer book-selection authority away from trained librarians," Schifanelli wrote. "If the state forces us to stop fighting with our own chairman, we might accidentally have to pass an English curriculum, and nobody wants that."

Paywalled, briefly:

A former senior Worcester County Public Schools administrator pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony theft of more than $118,000 and was sentenced to five years in prison, according to court records.

Denise R. Shorts was the school system’s former assistant superintendent and chief academic officer for prekindergarten through 8th grade, as well as its Title I grant coordinator.

Shorts admitted using a school system purchasing card to make $118,741.89 in personal Amazon purchases.

Of that total, $84,365.82 was intended for materials or services funded through Title I, a federal program intended to support students from low-income families.

The purchases included pool equipment, clothing, cosmetics, and furnishings for Shorts’ Florida vacation home.

Investigators said Shorts altered invoices to disguise the items or their shipping addresses. The discrepancies were uncovered during a routine state audit in July 2025.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/09/23/denise-shorts-worcester-schools-theft-sentence/