The battles ahead

Excessive heat and humidity today, with highs just shy of 100 and a line of storms late in the day. Keep an eye out for elderly neighbors and anyone else who might have a rough time keeping cool today. It’ll be better tomorrow, with less humidity and highs in the upper 80s.

maryland

Gov. Larry Hogan announced yesterday that he was diagnosed with “a very advanced and very aggressive” cancer, late-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Standing alongside his family and Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, Hogan said that he intends to keep working, despite starting an aggressive chemotherapy program within days. Hogan, though teary-eyed and with a voice that wavered a bit, still cracked some jokes through the press conference, pointing out that he has better odds to beat cancer than he did to defeat Anthony Brown in last year’s election.

“Most likely, I’m going to lose my hair — you won’t have these beautiful gray locks. I may trim down a little bit.”

While Hogan undergoes treatment, Lt. Gov. Rutherford may take a more visible role. The Sun’s profile of Rutherford notes than he’s operations-geared and likes “making the trains run on time.”

history

Baltimore County is asking Baltimore City to change the name of Robert E. Lee Memorial Park to Lake Roland Park.(The city owns the park, the county operates it.) The request comes as part of a wave of public backlash against Confederate symbols and war memorials, following the racist murder of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina. Last week, City Paper called on the city to remove several statues and memorials honoring the Confederacy and white supremacy.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Council President Jack Young say they’re on board with changing the name of the park.

death

A two-year-old girl died after being left alone in a car yesterday evening in the Belair-Edison neighborhood. Homicide detectives are investigating.

If you’ve never seen it (and if you can bear it), here’s the Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten’s long look at the tragedy of children left in cars – Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

justice

The 6 officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray have formally plead not guilty and are headed to trial in the fall. A trial has been set for October 13th under Judge Barry G. Williams in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Williams has a reputation as a fair, ‘no-nonsense’ judge.

goodnews

Johns Hopkins University will hire up to 300 Baltimore teens for summer jobs as part of a larger initiative of local hiring that’s on the way.

Maryland Zoo’s Tuffy the elephant has a plan to beat the heat (VIDEO)

School's out, pool's in. #elephant #splash #Tuffy #summer #MarylandZoo

A video posted by Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (@marylandzoo) on