As a lifelong Maryland resident and a community leader deeply involved in our state’s public health efforts, I’ve always taken pride in our state’s resilience and community spirit. However, the ongoing effects of former Gov. Larry Hogan’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic have left me disillusioned. Despite the national narrative that paints Hogan as a steady hand during the crisis, the reality for those who lived through his administration’s response is starkly different.

Just when Ravens fans thought there was nothing that could restrain the soaring feeling that came with last Sunday’s rock-solid 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium, a really asinine video is posted on social media to make Purple and Black Nation collectively cringe. Surely, you’ve seen it by now. About 32 million already have, or roughly six times the views needed in a week for a video to be regarded as “viral,” and this was logged in a day.

Would you rather see a light rail train zipping along Pratt Street or down Baltimore Street? Or should the Red Line skirt downtown traffic in a tunnel? The Maryland Transit Administration wants to know what you think. The agency is holding its next round of public meetings soon about the planned light rail project to connect East and West Baltimore via downtown. The focus of the meetings is to solicit feedback about options for the specific route.

Millions of dollars continue to pour into Maryland’s Senate election between former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), new campaign finance reports show. The candidates themselves reported big hauls over the past three months in the tight race to replace departing U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D). And those efforts have been supplemented by secondary fundraising committees and robust outside spending — including a pro-Hogan political action committee that has raised an eye-popping $27 million so far and has spent almost $11 million.

Bank of America topped analyst estimates for third-quarter profit and revenue on better-than-expected trading results. Here’s what the company reported: Earnings: 81 cents vs. 77 cents LSEG estimate; Revenue: $25.49 billion vs. $25.3 billion estimate; The bank said Tuesday that net income fell 12% from a year earlier to $6.9 billion, or 81 cents a share, on higher provisions for loan losses and rising expenses.

As a Black and Indian woman and former prosecutor-turned-politician, Wanika Fisher has been dubbed the Kamala Harris of Maryland. The two, who share many of the same viewpoints on issues, are even part of the same sorority. So, when Donald Trump questioned the racial identity of Harris this summer — asking “is she Indian or is she Black?” in a room filled with Black journalists in Chicago — Fisher also couldn’t help feeling attacked.

The state of Maryland has unleashed a team of computer experts and enthusiasts on a number of the state’s websites. The mission: to see if they could find weak spots in the state’s domains that end in “maryland.gov,” “us.md.gov” or “state.md.us.” “We found more than 40 vulnerabilities,” said Chris Krawiec, senior director of cyber resilience with the Maryland Department of Information Technology.

 

In the budding but expansive effort to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Maryland Transportation Authority is looking to lease storage space at Tradepoint Atlantic for up to the next five years. The 2.7-acre space in Sparrows Point is needed “for storage needs related to the Key Bridge collapse,” according to the Maryland Board of Public Works, which is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its regular meeting Wednesday in Annapolis.

 

Former U.S. Commerce Department official April McClain Delaney (D) has opened a wide fundraising lead over former state Del. Neil C. Parrott (R) in the state’s most competitive U.S. House election, fueled in part by the more than $2 million she has loaned her campaign. Through the end of September, Delaney had spent more than five times as much money as Parrott in the race for the 6th District seat, according to Federal Election Commisssion campaign finance reports released Tuesday.

The state needs to be “smarter” about how it funds workforce development programs after a $4.7 million cut in federal funds this year with more cuts expected next year, Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu told lawmakers Tuesday. “We’re very dependent on the federal funds,” Wu told a virtual meeting of the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee. “So we are in a situation where state investments in workforce are going to be critical in the coming years.”