He thought he was too old to be an EMT. At 76, he’s saved countless lives.; The Washington Post, August 1, 2025

Kyle Melnick, The Washington Post ; He thought he was too old to be an EMT. At 76, he’s saved countless lives.

"The day a man collapsed in a parking lot in Bethesda, Maryland, EMT Ed Levien rushed in an ambulance to the scene, where the injured man repeatedly called for Jesus.

“Jesus isn’t here,” Levien recalled telling him. “You’ve got to put up with me.”

The man looked at Levien’s mustached face, his thinning gray hair and his round glasses and replied, “Okay, Pops.”

That’s how Levien, one of the oldest EMTs in Maryland, got his nickname a few years ago in the volunteer job that — to his surprise — has become an unintended second career and reshaped his identity.

“I never had an impact on anyone until I started doing this,” Levien, who previously worked in advertising, told The Washington Post.

Levien began working as a volunteer EMT when he was 65 years old, far surpassing the age of his colleagues at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. After recovering from an unexpected injury — with the help of strangers — he decided to help others for as long as his body would allow."

Wes Moore and the Bronze Star He Claimed but Never Received; The New York Times, August 29, 2024

 Reid J. Epstein, The New York Times; Wes Moore and the Bronze Star He Claimed but Never Received

"Doug Sterner, a military historian and Vietnam veteran considered to be a leading researcher on military service claims, said that minor exaggerations about military service were common, but that imprecision about awards was more serious.

“Every veteran — I mean every veteran, even if they won’t admit it — has told a war story or embellished a little bit, but usually not about awards,” said Mr. Sterner, who helped draft the original version of the Stolen Valor Act, a law that criminalizes some false claims of military accomplishments, though not such assertions about a Bronze Star. “When you start embellishing about awards, then it becomes a problem.”"

Moms for Liberty is winning its fight to remove books from one Maryland school district; The Baltimore Banner, September 13, 2023

Kristen Griffith , The Baltimore Banner; Moms for Liberty is winning its fight to remove books from one Maryland school district

"Carroll County is among a growing number of Maryland school systems seeing pushes to remove books from their libraries as a national movement takes root here. The American Library Association reported in March that 2022 saw the highest number of book challenges since the organization was founded 20 years ago. The 1,269 attempts nearly double the challenges in 2021.

The Maryland Association of School Librarians has supported librarians facing book challenges in Wicomico, Worcester, Calvert, Somerset and Baltimore counties. But Carroll is the only one to change its book selection procedure in response."

Court Blocks Maryland’s Library E-book Law; Publishers Weekly, February 16, 2022

 Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; Court Blocks Maryland’s Library E-book Law

"In a rebuke to Maryland state legislators, a federal judge has granted the Association of American Publishers’ motion for a preliminary injunction, blocking Maryland officials from enforcing the state's new library e-book law."

Maryland lawmaker-doctor won’t face ethics violation for tuning into legislative meetings from the operating room; The Baltimore Sun, November 19, 2021

 PAMELA WOOD, The Baltimore Sun; Maryland lawmaker-doctor won’t face ethics violation for tuning into legislative meetings from the operating room

 "Hill had initially defended her decision to join video meetings while at work as a doctor, saying her patients knew about it and she wasn’t putting them in any danger.

A Board of Physicians investigation found that one patient did not know Hill tuned into a legislative meeting, while the other patient was told about 10 minutes before surgery, but no consent paperwork was on file. Both legislative meetings where she appeared on camera from the operating room were streamed on the General Assembly’s website and YouTube channels."