On the night before the start of the Democratic National Convention, while dozens of delegates from Maryland were gathering at an Irish pub along the Chicago River for their welcome party, I was on the South Side of Chicago, in the ornate but crumbling headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, for a tribute to the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

In accepting her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke enthusiastically of a “new way forward,” about healing divisions, about moving past cynicism and bitterness. She spoke of her background as a prosecutor, about her “unlikely” personal journey and warned, once again, about the dangers inherent in returning Donald Trump to the White House.

Two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion and opening the floodgates to a patchwork of abortion restrictions across the United States. Now, in Maryland, abortion rights are on the ballot. I’m not just talking about this November’s ballot initiative that would enshrine reproductive freedom into the Maryland state constitution.

FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary Potomac Edison has started construction on a new substation in Morgan County, West Virginia that is expected to enhance reliability for 1,800 area customers, including some in Maryland. The new substation is expected to be completed and operational in 2025, serving approximately 1,600 customers in the Great Cacapon area and 200 in Little Orleans, Maryland.

Parents may barely have heard of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, but the expansive changes to public education are already shaping their children’s lives in school. Parents are seeing more spots available in public prekindergarten, putting thousands of dollars back in their pockets. Their children’s teachers are better paid. They soon may see class sizes rise or fall dramatically, depending on where their kids go to school.

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris said Sunday night he is hopeful a new stadium can open in time for the 2030 season. “There’s no way to predict a specific date, but I think that’s a reasonable target,” he said before the team’s final preseason game. The team’s contractual obligations at Commanders Field end in 2027, but the Commanders can continue playing there indefinitely.

 

 

Dressed in suffragette white, Angela D. Alsobrooks strode off the Democratic National Convention stage this week after the most important speech of her political career — straight into a bear hug from Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, her longtime mentor and a Maryland political legend. Before a national audience, Alsobrooks had firmly established her ties to Vice President Kamala Harris — another mentor — and she leaves the convention with fresh momentum in a tight Senate race against former governor Larry Hogan that could determine which party controls the agenda.

Before school bells ring Monday morning in Montgomery County, Maryland, the public school system held its 5th annual Back-to-School Fair at Westfield Wheaton Mall on Saturday. A big section of the mall’s parking garage was used as space for the fun and games, immunizations and health checks. Meanwhile, row after row of tables bearing useful information were staffed by personnel ready to answer any questions by students and families.

Max Green’s childhood in Cumberland was filled with constant reminders of those who’d already left. The abandoned Footer’s Dye Works factory. The shuttered storefronts along Baltimore Street. The dozens of vacant Victorian homes downtown. Green and his friends grew up hearing a steady refrain from their parents and teachers: “There are no jobs here.”

A new summer nutrition program that one advocate called a “game-changer” reached 586,734 children this summer, 43,000 more than state officials had expected, according to recent numbers from the Maryland Department of Human Services. But officials said there is still time to sign up for the program, and were encouraging families to do so before the Aug. 31 deadline, in order to get $120 per child for grocery assistance.