With less than three weeks before the Nov. 5 general election, the two candidates for Maryland’s 6th congressional district met at a forum in Hagerstown on Wednesday morning to answer questions on a wide variety of topics. Republican Neil C. Parrott and Democrat April McClain Delaney — who are seeking to win the seat currently held by Democrat David Trone — participated in an event held by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

On Oct. 7, we recognized the first anniversary of the horrific attack by Hamas on Israel, the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and the kidnapping of hundreds of Israelis, Americans and others whose fate remains unknown. Thousands of innocent civilians — Israelis, Palestinians and others — have been tragically lost over the past year.

You know there’s definitely a higher power at work when the same week that concerned scientists are pushing for federal endangered species protections for Maryland’s diamondback terrapin, the coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team is promising major changes to save a floundering season. Yes, yes, we know there’s far more to life than college football.

Years ago, when Warren’s Barbershop was located in the Snowden River Shopping Center, David Clark walked into the shop. He was new to the area and working as a door-to-door salesman. Shop owner Julius Warren Jr., commonly known as Mr. Julius, asked Clark if he knew how to cut hair. Clark had cut hair a little in college, but nothing too extensive. Still, Mr. Julius brought him under his wing.

 

In the future, Maryland consumers in Montgomery County could forget about plastic bags at the grocery store. Those will be banned — with some exceptions — if a new bill passes the council this week. Under the “Bring Your Own Bag” bill, if customers want a paper bag, they’ll pay 10 cents per bag — double the rate they now pay if they don’t opt to bring their own reusable bags to the store.

Baltimore County is beginning to consider life after County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. if he wins a U.S. House of Representatives seat on Election Day. It’s unclear who will succeed the two-term Dundalk Democrat, who first won office in November 2018, but several people have come forward to throw their hats into the ring.

The Baltimore County Council is poised to pass a resolution opposing a proposed $424 million, 70-mile energy transmission line. The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would cut through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. All seven members of the council voiced support for the resolution during a public hearing Tuesday.

Don’t let the mascots or the celebrity-filled commercials fool you — the cost of auto insurance is up across the country. And here in Maryland, industry experts can’t quite agree on how bad the damage is. Rates for full coverage increased by 15% nationwide in the first half of 2024, despite industry signs that rate increases could slow, according to a report from Insurify, an online aggregator of various kinds of insurance policies.

Maryland has never elected a Black woman to the U.S. Senate. Indeed, voters in the Free State have only sent a handful of Black men to the U.S. House of Representatives since Reconstruction and just one white woman to the Senate. So when Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic Senate nominee, sat down with members of the Baltimore Sun Editorial Board on Monday, we asked her about the historic nature of this moment: Shouldn’t this be heralded? Shouldn’t voters be energized by this important opportunity? (Photo Credit: Amy Davis/Staff)

For all the focus on this year’s presidential contest, the struggle for control of Congress — also a toss-up, according to most analyses — could be as consequential, or more so. Much depends, too, on whether the legislative branch will be able to function and get anything done, whoever wins. You can write a list of important bills passed in the past four years, topped by the Inflation Reduction, Bipartisan Infrastructure and Chips acts.