Three former Baltimore mayors have announced their support for a ballot measure that would allow a private company to redevelop the aging Harborplace pavilions at the Inner Harbor. Former Mayors Kurt Schmoke, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Bernard C. “Jack” Young encouraged voters to say yes on Question F.

For weeks, a coalition of City Council members, labor leaders, community organizers and Mayor Brandon Scott have warned that a measure to shrink the Baltimore City Council will take away vital representation from Black residents and poor neighborhoods. Well, it turns out those residents are largely the reason the measure, known as Question H, is on the ballot this November.

Apartment dwellers in Maryland face too many barriers to buying electric vehicles (EVs) because of a lack of charging infrastructure, according to authorities in Montgomery County who are promoting financial incentives to get more property managers to install chargers. An analysis of car registration data found that at least 25,000 EVs are now on the road in Montgomery County.

The Mental Health Association of Frederick County has announced a new online database to make local community health and human service resources easier to find. The MHA Guide to Community Health and Human Service Resources, available on the organization’s homepage at fcmha.org, has been in progress for about a year and a half, according to Suzi Borg, MHA’s director of crisis services.

More than 200 community members attended a special event at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) – a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) – kicking off the health care provider’s new Courtney Speaker Series with Baseball Hall of Fame member Cal Ripken Jr. During the program, Ripken also announced a new collaboration between the foundation he co-founded in honor of his father and UMMS.

The battle for Maryland’s open Senate seat is the costliest political race in the state’s history, as Democrat Angela Alsobrooks defends the historically blue seat from a Republican offensive launched by Larry Hogan. The pair have known each other for years. They worked together during Hogan’s second term as governor and Alsobrooks’s tenure as Prince George’s County executive. Now, they offer competing pitches to Maryland’s deeply Democratic electorate.

Securing financial assistance for once-in-a-generation infrastructure projects and cash-strapped state programs is a top priority for Maryland leaders heading into the next presidential administration. So it may not have been surprising Tuesday when President Joe Biden returned to the Port of Baltimore to highlight his administration’s infrastructure investments just one week before voters will finish selecting his successor — someone who, according to the Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris supporters in Maryland, will either mean a continued helping hand or the proverbial rug being pulled out from under them.

As much as we fret that the preferred costume this Halloween will either feature orange makeup and long red ties or tailored women’s pantsuits in neutral tones, we have to express our fondness for the child-oriented, secular holiday with its playful nature. When else, particularly in these politically fraught times, are we encouraged to knock on the doors of neighbors essentially requesting a handout that is usually granted?

Comptroller Brooke Lierman on Wednesday scolded the University System of Maryland and five of its institutions for lacking “any sort of rhyme or reason” in the procurement processes they used to award dining service contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. University representatives pointed out that they weren’t in their current roles when the contracts were first sent out for bid, and they were unable to explain some decisions that their predecessors made.

With the return of college football comes an easy agreement on what to watch while completing house chores. My husband and I enjoy college sports for slightly different reasons. He enjoys feats of athleticism. The educator in me is drawn to the coaching staff. I’m interested in how coaches make decisions to lead, support and develop the athletes in their care. In the strategic reflective moments of a timeout, coaches can refocus a team to accomplish a goal.