Dr. Janine Calabro, medical director at VEG ER for Pets, said many animals may find the noises from our celebrations stressful. “Dogs are probably the most common pets in which we see some of these problems,” she said.

Behaviors that can be triggered by fireworks vary from trembling to pacing, panting heavily, and looking for a place to hide. Calabro said it may help your dog to be allowed to retreat to a bathroom, quiet space, or even a crate if they’re usually comfortable there.

Often, humans try to reassure their dogs by stroking them and repeating that it’ll be OK, but Calabro said there’s something to watch for with that approach.

“If we’re getting real riled up and upregulated and stressed in the process of trying to calm them down, it may have the opposite effect,” she said.

Owners may be tempted to try gummies, but Calabro advised some caution there. “Some of those over the counter products can also have other things in them like xylitol or other artificial sweeteners that may be toxic to dogs” she said.

The first stop should be a check with your pet’s primary veterinarian.

Strong reactions to noise can be made worse if a dog has an underlying condition, such as musculoskeletal pain or a similar ailment, according to Calabro.

“If they hear a noise and they start and move suddenly” and experience pain due to the underlying condition, they may link the pain to noise and ultimately make their anxiety even worse.

Working with a trainer to desensitize your dog could help, Calabro said.

“I think it’s likely going to be a multi-pronged approach, particularly for pets who really are very fearful and have a very strong, negative reaction to these things,” she said, noting that medications may ultimately make up just one part of the solution.

One added way to help, according to Calabro, is to stick to routines leading up to and during the Fourth of July. “Trying to keep things consistent around the house can be kind of helpful,” she said.

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Jawando’s closest challenger is council member Andrew Friedson, who, with 34% of the vote, issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging it would be difficult to close the vote gap between them.

ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ reached out for comment from Friedson’s campaign Friday and had not received a response by midday.

Speaking to reporters at the Silver Spring Civic Center, Jawando said he takes nothing for granted, noting the winner of the Democratic primary will face a Republican, Esther Wells, in November.

However, Jawando also said, “157 days from today, I will get sworn in on Dec. 1, and we’re going to need to make sure that we hit the ground running.”

When asked to name his three priorities, Jawando said schools, “that’s why people come here, it’s a big return on investment.�

He also said he’d address housing.

“We need to make housing more affordable and that means building more near transit, but also not doing developer giveaways for luxury housing.�

And finally he said he’d prioritize “growing our economy from the bottom up, middle out.�

The election results are unofficial and more ballot counting resumes Saturday.

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The Talbot Avenue Bridge connects the historically Black neighborhood of Lyttonsville, Maryland, to what was once the white, restricted community of Silver Spring.

A plaque unveiled Thursday at the foot of the bridge honors an activist and community leader who fought to keep Montgomery County’s history of racial segregation from being forgotten.

“It means more to me and my family than I can easily say,” Charlotte Coffield’s daughter, Myra, said at the plaque’s dedication, attended by elected officials, residents and reporters.

In the future, the plaque will be embedded in the bridge itself.

The county said the bridge is a symbol of its “complex history,” a reminder of the days when Black residents of Lyttonsville knew neighboring Silver Spring was a “sundown” town and not safe for Black residents after dark.

Racially restrictive covenants — legal clauses that barred Black families from buying homes in certain neighborhoods — also prevented Black families from buying property in Silver Spring.

“We were allowed to work in the houses over here, but we weren’t allowed to own property or buy homes over here or to live over here at all,” Myra Coffield said.

In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled racially restrictive covenants unenforceable. In 1967, Montgomery County enacted a law barring discrimination in housing based on race.

“I knew Charlotte for a long time. She was kind of, the epitome of ‘good trouble,'” County Executive Marc Elrich said, referring to the term often used by the late Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis.

Charlotte Coffield worked to preserve the history and cultural heritage of African Americans in Montgomery County, particularly in Lyttonsville.

“My mother was born on Juneteenth,” she said. “Think about that. I mean, we were celebrating it as a holiday before everyone else did.”

The original Talbot Avenue Bridge, a steel and wooden structure that linked Lyttonsville and Silver Spring, was removed from the site for the Purple Line project. It will be installed at a park near the Lyttonsville Purple Line station.

Because of Coffield’s work, Maryland state Del. Jared Solomon said the new bridge “became a symbol of uniting communities, and I think the crowd here today is incredibly representative of that.”

“It’s really fitting that she spent the rest of her lifetime creating bridges for other people to cross both figuratively and literally,” Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando said.

Charlotte Coffield died in 2024 at age 91. Her daughter planned an outing for her mother’s last birthday.

“We could drive wherever she wanted to go. It’s no surprise where she chose,” Myra Coffield said. “She wanted to come here. We drove around the neighborhood, and we crossed this bridge, back and forth, and back and forth.”

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So when he was asked about the issues that will face those who win their party’s nomination in Maryland’s primaries Tuesday, he spoke with that perspective in mind.

“Everybody’s going to have to deal with the tax issue,” he said Wednesday. “I tried to make that clear when I put my budget out there.”

Elrich’s proposed budget included a 6% property tax increase that was voted down by same council on which he once served, and hopes to again.

“The county reached a point that, with all the damage that was done to the federal government and jobs … it is not possible to continue the level of services and the things we do, including schools, without some change in the revenues,” he said.

“If we’re going to live in the real world, we’re going to have to deal with how do you pay for these things, and I think council members are going to find it very uncomfortable to have to make cuts to social programs,” Elrich said. 

Elrich repeated a stance he’s taken in the past; the county’s commercial property tax rates should be increased.

“Two other areas, D.C. and Virginia, have figured out how to do it,” Elrich said. “For all of the Virginia envy there is, we ought to look at what they do, and I hope this council’s willing to open their eyes.”

Democratic county executive, at-large council primaries still undecided

As of late Wednesday, the showed Will Jawando leading the race among Democrats with 41% support. Andrew Friedson followed with 33% of the votes.

Evan Glass, who conceded Wednesday, trailed with 21%.

“I’ve been monitoring the election results, and as a former CNN journalist, I know when the hill is too steep to climb,” he said in a statement.

Glass also said the fight for improving schools, increasing housing opportunities and protecting the most vulnerable in the county “will not end with this election,” and he indicated he would continue to push for ranked choice voting in Montgomery County.

Glass “suffered a bit by being the man in the middle,” American University professor David Lublin told ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

“There was a bit of a polarization between Andrew Friedson and Will Jawando,” he said, with Friedson being seen as more pro-business and Jawando as more progressive.

Voters felt “they had to make a choice between the two people seen as leading, even though in the few surveys I saw, it’s not like they were miles ahead,” Lublin told ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

Regarding Elrich’s discussion on the fiscal realities elected officials face, Lublin said, in all the debates of raising taxes, “You had Democrats competing over who fought against taxes more, which is not your usual Democratic primary debate.”

And assuming Elrich wins one of the four at-large seats on the county council, Lublin said he may find more allies given the likelihood that the composition will be more progressive.

“The question is whether they can organize to actually push” a progressive agenda or if they split over issues, he said.

When it comes to the arguments about Virginia having the edge over Maryland in attracting business, Lublin said, “One big barrier we face is that the airport is on the Fairfax-Loudoun border,” a reference to Dulles International Airport, “and we can’t change that.”

Lublin said the county will have to find other ways to compete.

“You can’t fund all the nice things that progressive Democrats, and even not-so-progressive Democrats want to fund, if you don’t have the money,” he said.

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The federal education agency said its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened the probes under Title IX, a 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding.

“According to the complaint received by OCR, Maryland’s statewide guidance and district-level policies require schools to allow boys to compete in girls’ athletics and to use girls-only locker rooms, restrooms, and overnight accommodations,” the Education Department .

A Maryland State Department of Education spokeswoman said it was aware of the complaint and “remains committed to supporting all students and upholding the law.”

“We have no comment while the complaint is under review,” Raven Hill, of the department’s Office of Communications, wrote in an email to ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

Montgomery County Public Schools’ spokeswoman Liliana Lopez said the school district received notice of the investigation.

“MCPS remains committed to providing safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environments for all students and to complying with applicable federal and Maryland laws and regulations. As the matter is now under review by the Office for Civil Rights, we have no further comment at this time,” she said.

Frederick County Public Schools spokesperson Brandon Oland wrote in an email to ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ that at this stage, the probe is “the initiation of a fact-finding process” and “not a finding of fault or determination that any violation has occurred.”

“FCPS is reviewing the notice and will cooperate fully with any requests for information,” Oland wrote. “Because this is an active federal review, it would be inappropriate to comment further on the allegations or speculate regarding the outcome of the investigation.”

Trump administration actions against area schools include a Justice Department lawsuit filed in December against the Loudoun County, Virginia school board, accusing the district of discriminating against two Christian students who were suspended after objecting to a transgender student using the boys’ locker room.

The administration also claimed Title IX violations in a July 2025 lawsuit against school systems in Prince William, Arlington, Loudoun and Fairfax counties and the city of Alexandria.

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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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´, 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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ 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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

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 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

“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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