Angela Alsobrooks says she has spent the last 27 years preparing for this moment. A Democrat in her second term leading Maryland’s second-largest county, Alsobrooks — the first woman and Black woman elected to the position — said her life’s work has culminated in this: a bid for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Dozens of Democrats have lined up to endorse her, including the state party’s leader, Gov. Wes Moore. (Photo: Kirk McKoy/The Baltimore Banner)

Jazz Lewis wound up at the University of Maryland, not by luck or privilege, but by the strings of a guitar. A Prince George’s County native, now a Maryland House delegate, Lewis said he paid for his college degree with a mix of scholarships and money earned from stints with his church band. As one of the first men in his family to attend college, he said higher education was by no means a given; he earned it.

Shades of the Bay, a store that specializes in sunglasses and flip-flops in Annapolis, Maryland, is located on Main Street right by the water. It’s the perfect spot to draw in people who are spending the day outside on a sunny afternoon, whether they are walking, fishing or boating. “I believe putting money back into my community is extremely important and I believe hiring people in my community is extremely important,” said Linda Mann, the owner of the business.