Been without power since 6pm on the 4th. BGE tracker keeps giving false info and resetting the counter. Saw some trucks around today but I think they are all gone for the day. Are a lot of people still without power or is it just a few of us? I'm by the royal farms on telegraph.
Today I learned that five unelected people on the Board of Appeals tried to have two dogs killed based on hearsay in 2021. The dogs spent 13 months in limbo before the Circuit Court finally intervened and saved their lives.
I stumbled upon this case while researching something else, and it horrified me. The deeper I dug into the decision, the more concerned I became about this unelected body that holds so much power over our lives.
Here’s the short version of the case:
In January 2021, a neighbor accused two dogs of killing their cat. One witness. No physical evidence. The witness didn’t even show up to the hearing, but had given the county two conflicting statements. Both made it in front of the Board. When the petitioner asked about the contradiction, the Board ignored him. At the end of the hearing, five of seven Board of Appeals members voted to euthanize the dogs. Based on hearsay.
Thirteen months and a Circuit Court appeal later, the dogs went home. The Circuit Court found there wasn’t sufficient evidence.
What haunts me about this case is that the Board had to know that the evidence against the two dogs was flimsy at best, but they voted for the dogs to be euthanized anyway. The cruelty the five members of the board showed with their vote is deeply disturbing.
Sources:
Who are these people?
To serve on the Board of Appeals, you must be a registered voter of Anne Arundel County. That’s basically it. No background in administrative law needed. No government experience required.
This body put a family through hell, and there were no consequences for the Board members. They made their decision and moved on. The family couldn’t. They fought the County for over a year to get their dogs back, racking up legal fees and gathering 5,000+ signatures on a petition. No one should have to go through all of that just to stop this kind of injustice from occurring. There has to be accountability when Board members show such poor judgment.
FYA: The five who voted for euthanasia:
Side note: I’m naming the Board members because they’re public officials. I don't name the others involved because they are not public officials.
Additional sources:
Silver lining:
In 2024, the County Executive introduced legislation, passed by the County Council, that shifts the burden of proof to the state and requires “beyond a reasonable doubt” to classify a dog as vicious.
Source: https://www.aacounty.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/Legislative summary - Bill No. 1-24.pdf
My questions to the community:
Have any of you dealt with the Board of Appeals? Is this normal for them, or was this case an outlier? Have there been any reform efforts? I genuinely don’t understand how this type of entity still exists in 2026, and I’m horrified by the thought of how many people may have had something similar happen, but weren't able to put up the same fight and their dogs were euthanized.
I am a longtime and avid fisherman who recently bought in the area, are there any communities that allow non residents to purchaae passes to their community water amenities?
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Severn having a very loud hailstorm right now ... I'm damned glad I have a garage.
I have a 5 years old who is about to start kindergarten. We are considering moving to Crofton, Gambrills, or North laurel to be in a good school district and for commuting to DC, Union Station. Any advice would be helpful. Diversity, STEM programs, and extracurricular activities like tracks are some things on our list for school. The budget is $550k, maybe $600k if we really have to.
I work at the RoFo off camp meade road. These two came in today and stole about a 1000 dollars collectively before threatening my brother and sister who were on shift with a knife. Any information would be appreciated.
So the county has cooling centers at police station public lobbies, libraries, and Senior Centers.
Oh, except libraries and Senior Centers are closed July 3-4 for the holiday, so, yeah sorry about that...thanks for nothing...
Public service announcement for anyone ordering food around Annapolis: please look closely at where your delivery is actually coming from before you spend your money. There is a new place called Wonder on Riva Rd and it's not what you want.
It's a corporate ghost kitchen pushing a lineup of celebrity chef and branded concepts out of a virtual food hall location. It looks like you’re ordering from lots of different restaurants, especially on GrubHub (wonder owns GH). In reality they microwave meals in the back and put on the finishing touches. All of the food was pre-prepared at a central location.
Atlas is bad enough but this is a whole new level of corporate dining. I wonder how long it will be around?
Edit: for example Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson. The address will show as 2496 Riva Rd, Suite 450
TLDR: coming out of a bad unemployment spell. The one thing that can make or break me is my vehicle. Looking for help to keep it running for at least 6-12 months.
NOT LOOKING FOR ANYTHING FREE. I’M HAPPY TO PAY FOR GOOD, HONEST DIAGNOSTIC WORK—I’M JUST TRYING TO AVOID GETTING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF WHILE I GET BACK ON MY FEET
Hey everyone,
I’m coming out of a really rough stretch of unemployment and just recently started a federal job. Things are finally headed in the right direction, but financially I’m still digging myself out of the hole those months created.
The one thing that can make or break me right now is my car.
It’s a 2017 Chevy Cruze with about 134k miles. I’m not trying to restore it or make it perfect—I just need to keep it reliable enough to get me to work for another 6–12 months while I pay off debt and get back on solid footing.
Current symptoms:
Losing coolant weekly (I’m topping it off every week).
Sluggish acceleration, especially from 0–20 mph.
Occasionally when I first start driving, the accelerator feels almost unresponsive for the first quarter mile.
Sometimes at highway speeds it’ll rev to around 5,000 RPM and seem like it won’t shift or accelerate, then suddenly “drops” and starts pulling normally again.
Some days it drives almost okay, other days it’s noticeably worse.
I’ve had multiple shops look at it over the past year and haven’t gotten a clear answer, so I’m looking for recommendations for an honest, diagnostic-focused mechanic in Anne Arundel County who won’t immediately throw parts at it or tell me I need a new engine without explaining why.
If you’ve had a great experience with a local independent shop that actually takes the time to diagnose intermittent issues, I’d really appreciate the recommendation.
I just got notified that I will be able to take the written exam for the fire academy and although I am excited there’s a second part after the written exam which is an oral process. Anyone that’s been through the process tell me what it involves of? I haven’t heard of other agencies using a two step process besides written and physical ( cpat).
I'm moving to Crofton in about a month, I've got two cats - an adorable 10-month-old bobtail kitten and an adorable, lovable, irascible jerk of a grumpy 15-year-old floof monster.
Said floof monster got to spend today at an emergency vet with a diagnosis of gastroenteritis. First time for him at the e-vet, not his first time with gastro or similar, but by far his worst bout. I suspect that he's probably going to need a specialist (likely internal medicine) in the future. And just in case he decides to be dramatic the day after we move, I want to have figured out where I would like to take him without having to resort to a panicked "vets near me" search.
I have a friend who likes Family Veterinary Clinic. I like the idea of Veterinary Housecall Service specifically because my grumpy boy HATES going to the vet (he gets gabapentin before scheduled visits and still screams and tries to bite the vet and pees on techs, so having a vet come to us? If that makes the appointment easier for him? I'm for it).
And during shutdown times, I had an emergency with a previous pet that resulted in me going to Cats and Dogs Emergency in Bowie and it was a generally positive experience with them considering the circumstances. But also sometimes you get lucky and have a good experience at an otherwise terrible location. Are they a decent vet hospital with good specialists? Or are there others that you would recommend?
So please, what vets and vet hospitals around Crofton do you like?
Hello! My husband and I want to move from our townhome to buy a single family home because we now have a baby with plans for more and two dogs. We want this to be a forever home so schools are important. We both work near fort Meade and don’t want to commute over thirty minutes. Our budget is 900K. I think we have narrowed it down to Severna Park, Crofton, and Odenton (where we live now); however, we are open to other suggestions! Looking for specific neighborhood recs as well. Thanks in advance!
I’m not a heat person by any means but I’ll get fomo if I don’t find something to do
So what are some recommendations for this weekend? What are some fun indoor things to do that everyone’s doing to beat the heat