Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will attend and speak at the funeral of Congressman Elijah Cummings in Baltimore on Friday, Cummings’ office has announced.

Cummings, the passionate advocate for civil rights and Baltimore, died a week ago at the age of 68 from complications due to longstanding health challenges.

Other speakers at the Friday service, according to the release from Cummings’ congressional office, include Baltimore native and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former U.S. Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton, former NAACP leader and Baltimore congressman Kweisi Mfume, University of Maryland School of Law professor Larry Gibson, former City Health Department commissioner and former head of Planned Parenthood Leana Wen, and several of Cummings’ immediate family members, including his widow Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.

Rockeymoore Cummings, chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, is expected to be among those to run for her late husband’s seat.

An overflowing crowd is expected Friday morning for the 10 a.m. services at New Psalmist Baptist Church in Northwest Baltimore. Bishop Walter S. Thomas Jr., pastor at New Psalmist, where Cummings regularly attended services, will deliver the eulogy.

Thursday, the late Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee will lie in state for public viewing at the U.S. Capitol. Born and raised in Baltimore, the son of former South Carolina sharecroppers is the first African American elected official to be so honored.

It is a special recognition that since 1852 has been bestowed less than three dozen times previously for former presidents, statesman, and military leaders in the history of United States. “Of the many things I learned from my father—and neither he nor my mother completed elementary school because they went to work in the fields—was to treat everyone with equal respect and not to speak or act out of anger,” Cummings told us in a 2014 Baltimore profile.

The service at the Capitol will include an arrival ceremony, a scripture reading from Baltimore native and Maryland U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, wreath-laying presentations from leaders of the House and Senate, and music from the Morgan State Gospel Choir. The event will be live streamed and recorded by C-Span.

Yesterday, Morgan State University, where Cummings had sat on the board of directors, hosted a viewing and services for the former legislator that included remarks from two-dozen city and state leaders, including Baltimore native and former Maryland U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski. Earlier this year, Cummings gave the commencement address to Morgan’s 143rd spring graduating class.

Cummings’ career in public service began in the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served for 14 years and became the first African American in state history to be named speaker pro tem.

Among the mourners at Morgan was 59-year-old Noreen Wright, a nurse, who brought her 9 and 12-year-old grandsons, telling The Washington Post that she wanted them to witness history. “He’s an icon,” Wright said of Cummings. “He’s someone that the next generation can look at to see how it’s supposed to be done.” With tears in her eyes, according to The Post, Wright described Cummings as a modern-day civil rights leader. “He’s like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to me,” she said. “He stood for the rights of people.”

Police responded to the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday during morning services following reports of an active shooter. The shooter has been identified as Robert Bowers, who walked into the synagogue with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and three pistols and began shooting, killing 11 and injuring six more.

Bowers is being charged with 29 federal counts, including several hate crimes.

“They’re committing genocide to my people,” he told a SWAT officer after being shot and captured, according to a federal criminal complaint released ­Sunday. “I just want to kill Jews.”

The Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish organization that fights anti-semitism and bigotry, says that this shooting is the the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in America.

The names of the victims were released on Sunday, the oldest being 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, who lived in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood and was a faithful member of the Tree of Life temple. Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan, 86, were married at the Tree of Life synagogue in December 1956, and died together there on Saturday along with brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal.

This tragedy has sparked worldwide outrage with local officials and clergy speaking out about the horrific loss.

The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation held a special service on Sunday morning to mourn with the families who lost their loved ones in the shooting. Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen addressed the congregation detailing how devastated she is at the loss of life in the Jewish community.

“My heart is so heavy this morning,” she said to the congregation. “And my heart is heavy with fear. Not fear that I, or someone I love will be the next target, though that is real. My heart is heavy with fear that we will send our thoughts and prayers; that we will go on Facebook and Instagram and with a tear on the face of a yellow emoji express our sadness and that we will think that is enough. That is not enough.”

Senator Ben Cardin, who attended the service on Sunday, took to social media to express his outrage about the act of hate.

“Heartbroken and horrified by the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue,” he said in a tweet. “Just appalling. I’m thinking of and praying for the entire Squirrel Hill community today. And I’m grateful as ever for our first responders. We cannot—we WILL NOT—accept this as normal. I refuse.”

Governor Larry Hogan also expressed his grief on Twitter, even reaching out to the Governor of Pennsylvania to offer assistance “to help our neighbors.”

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh,” he wrote. “Our prayers are with the victims and those were were injured.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen took to Twitter to plead for a stop to gun violence.

“Horror strikes again,” he wrote. “My heart goes out to Pittsburgh. We must end the hate. We must stop the gun violence. We have it in our power to save lives. Hate, silence, and failure to act have deadly consequences.”

On Saturday, in one of the slimmest votes in American history of 50-48, Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States amid controversial sexual misconduct claims from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. He was sworn in promptly after the vote by both Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy—whom he is replacing—in a private ceremony.

This is considered a major victory for the Trump administration and Senate Republican leaders who have made stockpiling conservative judges a signature issue. At 53, Kavanaugh is young enough to serve on the Supreme Court for decades if not more.

“I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court,” President Trump tweeted Saturday afternoon. “Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!”

Maryland officials were not pleased with Kavanaugh’s confirmation and made their grievances known on social media:

Senator Chris Van Hollen, who voted no to the confirmation, believes that the allegations against Kavanaugh should have prevented him from obtaining the seat on the high court.

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous also expressed his opposition to the confirmation.

Officials on the other side of the aisle were pleased with the decision to vote him in.

Before the vote, Governor Larry Hogan declined to say whether he would confirm Kavanaugh if he were a senator.

“I’m glad that actually happened, that there was an FBI investigation,” Hogan told The Sun. “I have frankly no involvement in that. I’ve never taken any position on any Supreme Court nominee. I’m not qualified to make those decisions. I’m not a member of the Senate. I haven’t seen the report. I haven’t watched the testimony. I’m working 15, 18 hours a day, seven days a week. I’m not sitting home watching television. I’ve followed what’s happening, but I don’t feel educated enough to make that decision.”

Former U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski watched the Supreme Court nomination hearings Thursday of candidate Brett Kavanaugh and said she found the testimony of the Stanford University professor who has accused him of sexual assault to be sincere.

Mikulski was one of just two women in the U.S. Senate when she witnessed the testimony and treatment of law professor Anita Hill, who told the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had repeatedly sexually harassed her when he was head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“I, of course, found Professor [Christine Blasey] Ford very credible,” Mikulski said Saturday following an event at the Baltimore Convention Center to promote the city’s efforts to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 U.S. Census. “Not only in her personal presentation, but that on her own she had spoken about this with a therapist and a friend previously.”

It is worth noting, added Mikulski, who began her career as a Baltimore social worker, “that she [Ford] remained so distressed years later that she wanted to have a different front door on her own house.”

When Mikulski moved up from the House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate in 1986, she became the first Democratic woman ever elected to the upper chamber of Congress. Five years later, she saw first hand the machinations behind the appointment of Thomas, who was tapped by then-President George H.W. Bush to fill the seat of retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall appointment, and Hill’s testimony.

After Ford and Kavanaugh’s own testimony last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary committee, divided along partisan lines, initially voted to move his confirmation forward without further FBI investigation into Ford and two other women’s allegations of sexual assault. Later, at the behest of Arizona Senate Republican Jeff Flake, President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans agreed to an additional background check of Kavanaugh—a limited investigation, however, that is now drawing scrutiny as inadequate.

“First of all, I’m glad the Senate is finally returning to regular order and re-opening the background check on Judge Kavanaugh,” said Mikulski, who earlier jokingly described herself as a “C-Span junkie” in retirement. “They need to actually look at the facts of the case involving Professor Ford and there are the other allegations as well.”

Later Saturday, NBC News reported the FBI, as part of its background check, will investigate the allegations of Ford and Deborah Ramirez, who alleges inappropriate sexual behavior by Kavanaugh when both were in college at Yale. But the agency, at the direction of the White House, will not investigate the allegations of a third accuser, Julie Swetnick, who alleges she witnessed Kavanaugh “engage in abusive and physically aggressive behavior” toward women while in high school at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda and that he was present at party where she was drugged and gang-raped.

Also at the direction of the White House, it has been reported, broader area of investigations are off limits—including Kavanaugh’s drinking in high school and college, interviewing certain witnesses, as well as questions of whether he lied to the Senate during his testimony.

“Judge Kavanaugh, who is a D.C. appellate judge, deserves to have all the facts presented, too,” Mikulski said. “He wants to clear his name, and a further background investigation can add to his cause.”

In 1991, Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee, including Orrin Hatch of Utah and Charles Grassley of Iowa, both of whom remain on the committee, were excoriated for their harsh and often insensitive cross-examination of Hill. Democratic senators, including top-ranking member Joe Biden, were scrutinized for failing to recognize the significance of Hill’s claims.

Other women, who made similar allegations to Hill’s sexual harassment charges against Thomas, were not called to testify.

“To anybody out there who wants to be a whistle-blower, the message is: Don’t blow that whistle because you’ll be left out there by yourself,” Mikulski said in 1991, regarding the lack of support among her male Senate colleagues for Hill. “To any victim of sexual harassment or sexual abuse or sexual violence, either in the street or even her own home, the message is nobody’s going to take you seriously, not even the United States Senate.”

Today, there are 23 women in the Senate. Seventeen are Democrats and six are Republicans. Four Democratic women serve on the Judiciary Committee.

Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who also attended the U.S. Census event Saturday, suggested Friday in a tweet that the Judiciary Committee call more witnesses to testify under oath, including “the retired federal agent who administered Ford’s polygraph.”

Cardin told MSNBC in a weekend interview that Kavanaugh had “crossed the line” and “demeaned the process” during his often emotional, and at times angry and belligerent, testimony last week.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who filled Mikulski’s seat after her retirement two years ago, said in a Facebook post midday Saturday that he supported “the effort to postpone any further votes in the Senate until the FBI reports on these credible and deeply troubling allegations. The truth is nonpartisan.”

Van Hollen also said that, with his combative testimony Thursday, Kavanaugh revealed he is not an appropriate appointment to the country’s highest court.

“Talk to your friends and your family—and then have them talk to five more people that they know,” Van Hollen continued. “Please tell your friends in other states to keep calling their undecided Republican Senators and tell them what’s at stake.”

After Thursday’s testimony from Ford and Kavanaugh, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, along with three other Republican governors, said he deemed the allegations against the judge “credible.”

“It’s very disturbing. It gives me great pause. There are credible charges and big concerns. They need to be heard,” Hogan told The Baltimore Sun. “They ought to take whatever time it takes to make sure these accusers are heard and he has a chance to respond to them.”

Previously, Hogan had declined to comment on the Kavanaugh nomination, except to say he would not call for an investigation by the Maryland state police.

On Friday, after receiving a request from the Montgomery County state house delegation to investigate sexual assault charges against Kavanaugh, Montgomery County Chief of Police and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said they would only do so, per procedure, at the behest of a victim.

If the election were today, 54 percent of likely Maryland voters would cast their ballot for incumbent Republican Larry Hogan in the race for governor, according to the latest Goucher College poll. Thirty-two percent say they would vote for Democratic candidate Ben Jealous.

Green Party candidate Ian Schlakman and Libertarian candidate Shawn Quinn each received one percent of the support of likely voters.

Nine percent of voters remain undecided. Another quarter of likely voters indicated they could change their mind, leaving some hope for Jealous, who trails Hogan significantly in fundraising efforts and only began airing his first television commercial after the poll concluded. Interestingly, by a margin of 47 percent to 36 percent, likely voters say they value a governor who is more focused on bringing about change than ensuring stability.

Statewide, likely Republicans voters favor Hogan by 91 percent to 1 percent margin. Currently, registered Maryland Democratic voters only break for Jealous by 10 points—48 percent to 38 percent.

“The cross [tabulations] tell the story,” St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly commented on Twitter. “The lesser known GOP candidates running against Cardin, Frosh, and Franchot are getting crushed. But Hogan is receiving strong support from core Democratic voters.”

In the first half of the Goucher College survey released yesterday, a significant majority of Marylanders backed policies—typically viewed as progressive Democratic initiatives and supported by Jealous—while also strongly supporting Hogan. Seventy-one percent of Marylanders now back raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour—up from 66 percent in February 2018—with 25 percent in opposition. By a margin of 54 percent to 33 percent, Marylanders hold a favorable opinion of a Medicare for All/single payer healthcare system. And 62 percent of Marylanders support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

The single, one-hour televised debate between the two candidates is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday and will be broadcasted on Maryland Public Television.

“Ben Jealous has faced a months-long barrage of negative ads and has a substantial disadvantage in campaign fundraising—and it’s prevented him from defining his candidacy to the public and making gains on his opponent,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. “Hogan’s electoral strength continues to be grounded in political moderation and the confidence the public has in him to handle economic issues. We have less than two months to see whether Hogan can maintain his bipartisan voting coalition or if Jealous can turnout enough progressives to make up the difference.”

The Jealous campaign appeared to suffer an unforced error earlier this week when they vetoed a Hagerstown Herald-Mail reporter from the upcoming MPT debate panel and then rescinded the move after an up road from other local media outlets.

The economy/jobs (25 percent), education (13 percent), racial/social justice (13 percent), President Donald J. Trump/national political concerns (13 percent), and healthcare (11 percent) were highlighted by likely voters as the most important issues in making a vote for governor.

Overall, 66 percent of likely voters expressed more confidence in Hogan in terms of economic development and job creation, 51 percent had more confidence in Hogan in handling education concerns, and 51 percent had more confidence in Hogan in regards to healthcare issues.

Sixty percent of likely voters said their opinions toward embattled President Trump, the GOP’s national standard-bearer, “will have no or little effect on their choice for governor.”

A Hogan endorsement, the poll found, holds less sway perhaps than his strong survey numbers suggest. Just 38 percent of likely voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by the governor. Meanwhile, Democratic incumbents Sen. Ben Cardin and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh both maintain significant leads on their challengers.

Fifty-six percent of likely voters in the state indicate they will vote for Cardin and 17 percent for Republican challenger Tony Campbell. Independent Neal Simon captured eight percent support.

Fifty-eight percent of likely voters in the state indicate they will vote for Frosh and 26 percent for Republican challenger Craig Wolf.

“Ben Cardin and Brian Frosh are both in a strong position to easily win their reelection bids in November,” said Kromer. “They both earn strong support from their Democratic base, as well as a solid percent of independent voters.”

Shortly before 8 a.m. this morning, Austin Wyatt Rollins, walked into Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County with a handgun and began shooting students. Two students—a 16-year-old female and 14-year-old male, were shot and remain in critical and stable condition, respectively.

School resource officer Blaine Gaskill responded to the scene in less than a minute and fired a round at the shooter, who was pronounced dead. It has yet to be confirmed if Rollins’ fatal injury came from Gaskill’s bullets or the shooter’s own.

Parents of Great Mills students were directed to report to nearby Leonardtown High School for reunification. Shortly after the shooting was reported, Governor Larry Hogan reassured residents via Twitter that the situation was being addressed.

“We are closely monitoring the situation at Great Mills High School,” he said. “[The Maryland State Police] is in touch with local law enforcement and ready to provide support. Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders.”

Other local officials and politicians were quick to offer “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of the shooting.

“My thoughts are with the Great Mills High School community as we grapple with yet another school shooting,” Rep. Elijah Cummings tweeted. “I pray for the victims of this horrendous tragedy and my heart goes out to their families.”

Sen. Ben Cardin expressed his anger and frustration saying that at a minimum, universal background checks and a ban on assault-style weapons are needed. He said he believes the momentum for gun reform is building and is fueled by student activism.

“These students are literally just not taking ‘no’ for an answer,” Cardin said. “I can tell you that Americans are listening to our students. I think our political system will respond.”

Rep. Steny Hoyer praised the first responders, more specifically Gaskill who “answered the call this morning with swiftness, professionalism, and courage.” Hoyer believes now it’s time for Congress to act.

“We sympathize. We empathize,” Hoyer said. “We have moments of silence. But we don’t have action. Wringing our hands is not enough.”

According to the Never Again Movement, this incident at Great Mills marks the 11th time a gun has been discharged in a K-12 school since the Parkland shooting in Florida on February 14. 

Last week, students at Great Mills participated in the National School Walkout to protest gun violence.

“Headed to St. Mary’s County to be with the students, teachers, and families of Great Mills High School,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen. “Much gratitude to all the first responders. We must stop the epidemic of gun violence.”

With deep roots in the city, not to mention its national headquarters, the NAACP kicks off its annual national convention in Baltimore this weekend.

Elected officials scheduled to speak at the convention over the next several days include Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)—all considered possible Democratic presidential contenders in 2020—are also scheduled to appear.

The convention officially begins Friday with an opening press conference slotted for Saturday at 9:30 a.m., during which the NAACP has said it will be making an announcement about the future of the organization. The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization has been without a president since its board of directors announced it was letting go of Cornell Brooks last month. 

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he had declined an invitation to address the convention. The White House said later it would be open to meeting with NAACP leadership for a dialogue. 

Among the recent issues in contention between the civil rights organization and the new president have been the Trump Administration’s efforts to collect detailed voter data from state governments.

In a statement, Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP national board of directors, described the nation as finding itself “in a new period of turmoil” with looming cutbacks in education funding, civil rights enforcement and health care. 

“This year’s convention takes place at a pivotal time for our country, and for our association,” said Russell.

“Our theme for 2017 (“steadfast and immovable”) reminds us that as an organization, our intent is to fulfill the vision and mission of our founders, and we will leave Baltimore united and committed to making our nation a better place for all,” said Derrick Johnson, vice-chair of the board of directors.

The five-day conference features seminars, committee meetings, workshops, exhibits and panel discussions, as well as keynote addresses from NAACP staff, civil rights and faith leaders, elected officials, and media and youth leaders.

Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the NAACP’s Baltimore City branch, who put in the city’s bid to host the convention three years ago, said five-day event offers an opportunity for Baltimore leaders to engage with city and national leaders in addressing concerns that are common across the country. She said the convention is expected to bring 5-6,000 visitors to the city.

“Baltimore has specific problems [to address], in criminal justice, for example, but many of the issues here are also issues in Chicago and Detroit and other cities across the country,” Hill-Aston said. “There are national level issues that we need to address, discuss and find solutions for.”

The Baltimore branch of NAACP, the second chartered in the country, was founded in 1912 and was led by numerous notable civil rights figures in the past, including Carl Murphy, Lillie Carroll Jackson, Juanita Jackson Mitchell and Enolia McMillian.

Baltimore, of course, is also the birthplace of Thurgood Marshall, the legendary civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court justice who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, thereby ending the country’s legal doctrine of segregation. Marshall, for whom the University of Maryland law school library named its library in 1980, founded the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in 1940.

For three decades, another Baltimorean, Clarence Mitchell Jr., led the NAACP’s office in Washington D.C., where he became known as “the 101^st Senator” for his efforts in helping pass the key civil rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s.

Two recent NAACP presidents also have deep connections to Baltimore. Former NAACP president Kweise Mfume, current chairmen of the board at Morgan State University, was born and raised here, and Ben Jealous, a Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, spent summers visiting his grandparents in Baltimore.

Today former FBI director James Comey told the the Senate Intelligence Committee that he believes he was fired by President Donald Trump because of concerns with the Russia investigation. Due to this mistrust, Comey testified, he documented their private conversations, appointed a special counsel to probe the administration, and accused White House officials of telling “lies, plan and simple.”

In numerous, seemingly uncomfortable, conversations with President Trump, Comey said he was asked for his “loyalty” and to abandon the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. 

Several Maryland representatives had varying reactions to the bombshell testimony, including U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, who called the details “disturbing.” 

“There is no reason to doubt the integrity of Mr. Comey’s recollection of how Mr. Trump repeatedly used the weight of the presidency to ask a law enforcement official to drop an investigation,” Cardin said in a statement. “Such inappropriate actions cannot be simply written off to a learning curve.”

Cardin said it should further encourage his colleagues to cosponsor his legislation to create an independent, 9/11-style commission to investigate Russia’s actions during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

Other local representatives had a different takeaway from Comey’s testimony today.

“I am disturbed by Mr. Comey’s statement that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked him to refer to the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email servers as a ‘matter’ instead of an ‘investigation,'” Rep. Andy Harris said in a statement. “If true, this would in fact demonstrate a clear bias by Ms. Lynch and an attempt to influence public perception of Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign.”

The testimony was also of special interest to Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, which is running an investigation into possible Russian collusion. Today, he announced that Rep. Trey Gowdy, of South Carolina, was chosen by the Republican Steering Committee as the new Committee Chairman, subject to final approval.

“I offer my sincerest congratulations to Rep. Gowdy on his new role as Chairman of the Oversight Committee,” Cummings said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him in a constructive and bipartisan manner on an agenda that serves the interests of the American people.”

 Cardin concluded his statement with another note of bipartisanship, urging both sides of the aisle to investigate Russia’s interference with the American political system.

“It is time for Republican leadership in Congress to acknowledge publicly how dangerous the president’s actions and rhetoric have been to American rule of law—the very foundation of our nation,” he said. “We need an independent commission to get to the heart of Russia’s interference in our country and to make public its findings and recommendations for how we can avoid this kind of nightmare in the future.”

Shortly after the Comey hearing, Sen. Chris Van Hollen went down to the Senate floor to urge Congress to pass sanctions on Russia. 

“Right now the world is looking at the United States and asking why we haven’t imposed tougher sanctions on Russia for its unprecedented and multifaceted campaign to undermine our elections,” he said. “There is no excuse for inaction. The United States must show Putin that we will not stand idly by while he attacks our democracy. We need to be unified in our resolve and put patriotism over partisanship.”

The man at the end of the human chain who slips and is nearly swept away himself is Jason Barnes, the owner of All Time Toys, another Main Street business that was caught in the flood.

According to WBAL, Barnes, who had just purchased the toy and collectibles store two months ago after working there for 10 years, was working when the water virtually erupted through his basement door.

“He went ahead and started to exit the basement as his door imploded in and all that water came rushing in,” Barnes’ stepfather Chris Penning told WBAL. “As he went upstairs, he knew virtually all of his inventory was gone and everything he dreamed of for the last 10 years was quite possibly lost in all this.”

Barnes, who had once dreamed of writing stories about superheroes, then saved 29-year-old Jamie Knight from the floodwaters.

Interviewed the next day, Knight told a reporter how grateful she was for the heroics of Barnes and fellow rescuers.

“Thanks a lot, man,” she said. “I really owe you. I wish I could repay you somehow.”

A list of Ellicott City businesses damaged by the flood reads like a Chamber of Commerce roll call, including restaurants such as Portalli’s Italian Restaurant, The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar & Restaurant, and Bean Hollow coffee shop; boutiques such as Sweet Elizabeth Jane and Craig Coyne Jewelers; and businesses such as Insight180, a branding agency, and Shoemaker Country, a family-owned furniture-making business.

The extent to which each business is affected will likely vary depending on its position along the steeply sloping Main Street and whether or not the business owner had flood insurance. Some on higher ground are hoping for the best, but most business owners have not yet been able to survey the damage as officials barred access to Main Street while emergency crew worked Sunday and Monday to clear the approximately 180 vehicles and other debris left behind after the waters receded. Determining a monetary value for property lost in the disaster could take months.

On Sunday, Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Elijah Cummings toured the downtown with Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman. Kittleman’s spokesman Andrew Barth told Baltimore that “like most people,” the governor “was shocked by the severity of the damage. There are just big, empty holes there.”

Retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski also visited Monday morning, saying, “I have never seen devastation like this.”

Speaking at a press conference after her tour of the destruction, Mikulski said that officials “are working as Team Maryland from every level of government” to aid in the recovery process. Indeed, the county and state have already declared the site a disaster area, and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin attended a community meeting about the flooding Monday evening.

The storm has already become politicized, with one Maryland lawmaker suggesting the severe storm may be a result of climate change and others pointing out the inadequacy of storm management systems in towns and cities all over the country.

At the Monday evening community meeting, County Executive Kittleman told the overflow crowd that he believed the disaster could not have been prevented, but acknowledged that he has tasked the Howard County planning department with drafting a master plan to address flood-prone areas.

“It is an opportunity to make some changes,” he said. “Make no mistake, we will rebuild.”

---

Baltimore City Businesses Hit, Too

Though Ellicott City was hit the hardest, North Baltimore also saw devastating effects after the Jones Falls jumped its banks and flooded Woodberry’s Meadow Mill complex with more than 13 feet of water, leaving cars in the parking lot stacked on top of each other.

The converted industrial property—which houses local businesses such as La Cuchara and Nepenthe Homebrew, as well as production facilities for Stone Mill Bakery and Mouth Party Caramel—has seen similar devastation occur during major floods throughout the years, the most recent being in April 2014.

Anticipating significant damage, Stone Mill Bakery owners Alfie and Dana Himmelrich instructed their staff to evacuate before the storm hit. Fortunately, the crew was able to move its delivery vehicles and necessary equipment to higher ground and, after an intense day of cleanup, the bakery is back up and running.

“We had been through it before, so we knew what to do,” Dana says. “Especially for businesses like us where we bake everything fresh daily, being down for any length of time is damaging, so the sooner you can get back up, the better.”

Neighboring business Nepenthe Homebrew, a shop that sells specialty beer-making tools and ingredients, wasn’t as lucky. After locking up at 6 p.m. Saturday, husband and wife owners Brian Arnold and Jill Antos returned to their store Sunday morning to find it completely wiped out. The flooded space was riddled with ruined merchandise and shelves that had toppled over—a sight which they had seen before in the aftermath of the 2014 flood.

“Our first thought was ‘Not again,’” Arnold says. “This time, it happened really suddenly.”

Nepenthe saw $100,000 worth of damage two years ago, and though an exact estimate has yet to be made, its owners anticipate that the destruction is worse this time. Though this has happened once before, Arnold explains that complex commercial leases are tough to negotiate, so moving wasn’t an option.

“Our shelving somehow managed to stay upright the first time, so we were able to salvage some of the merchandise from the top shelves,” Arnold says. “But we’ve been expanding inventory over the past two years, so now there’s more that we’ve lost.”

Arnold says that, though the destruction is severe, the outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming. A GoFundMe page supporting cleanup efforts has raised more than $8,000 in one day. Neighboring Hampden restaurant Le Garage has also pledged its support, launching its own initiative to raise funds. Throughout August 7, Le Garage will donate a portion of all Restaurant Week prix fixe and beer flight sales to Nepenthe’s fundraising campaign.

“The debt of gratitude that we owe people who have helped, donated, and even just sent well wishes, is bottomless,” he says. “Last time, I remember standing on the banks of the river just watching the water and sobbing because we had no idea what to do. This time, I went straight home, posted on social media, filed a flood claim, put together a to-do list, and got to work. We didn’t have that emotional reaction until we started getting messages from people.”

Adds Dana Himmelrich: “In times like this you see how people come together to help however they can, and that was really evident yesterday. If there is a bright side to be had, it’s that.”

See a full list of fundraising events and opportunities to help rebuild the flooded areas.