Baltimore has seen its share of woes. This week, it’s time for “whoas.” As in, “Whoa, have you seen the viral video of Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh giddily dancing in the locker room after his team beat the Houston Texans, 34-10 on Saturday?” Those are some kind of moves for a 61-year-old, second-generation football coach from Ohio who has been known to toss off some really stiff press conference quotes like “Discipline is not a light switch. Discipline is a way of life.” Who knew that he also had some more flexible moves in him (even if they’re not exactly Beyonce’s Les Twins level)?

 

I travel quite a bit for work, and while I don’t talk much on my flights, I make a point of chatting with my Uber driver once I land. It’s often not the city I’m visiting that I learn about, however, rather it is the country the driver has emigrated from. Many Uber drivers are immigrants. In their home countries, they might have held very different occupations, including as lawyers or physicians.

Howard Community College is planning to build a 50,000-square-foot workforce training center on its Columbia campus as the institution looks to attract more students interested in specialized trades. The Workforce Development and Skilled Trades Center will provide training in green technology, welding, manufacturing and other fields to bolster the school during a difficult time for community colleges across the country.

More than any policy issue, life experience has emerged as a flashpoint in a U.S. Senate race between two elected officials shunning the “career politician” label as they race to define themselves to Maryland voters as the most real. Six weeks after clashing in a forum over their backgrounds, Democratic candidates David Trone and Angela Alsobrooks eagerly tout their personal histories — he as a self-made multimillionaire from a struggling Pennsylvania farm family, and she as a mom and lifelong Marylander inspired by her parents and grandparents to pursue a public service career.

Sam rents an apartment in Salisbury with his young son. In September 2023, he received a notice that his property manager was not renewing his lease. He was given just 60 days to remove all personal belongings and turn in his keys with no explanation for this decision or any way to appeal it. Sam tried to reason with the landlord about how this abrupt move would impact his job and the challenges it posed for his son, who has a disability and would have to switch schools midyear.

Ebony Thompson, Baltimore’s first female solicitor, was confirmed Monday by the Baltimore City Council, making Thompson permanent in the role she has held for the last year. The council voted unanimously in favor of Thompson, who joined the Baltimore City Law Department as the deputy solicitor in January 2022. Thompson has served as acting solicitor since January 2023 when then-Solicitor Jim Shea retired.

It is time — well past time — to create a Black Watermen’s Memorial in Maryland. I met with Vincent O. Leggett recently to discuss this idea and brainstorm over the concept. As noted on his organization’s website, Vince is the founder and president of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, which documents, promotes, and educates on the significant contributions of African Americans to the Bay’s maritime industries and culture.

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Monifa McKnight said in a statement Monday she was asked by school board members last week to “step away” from her post. McKnight said the board didn’t give a justification for its request and hadn’t communicated concern about her performance — and she said she would fight the attempt to oust her.

 

Baltimore County’s landfill has a new lease on life. Officials had expected it to be played out in three years. But now they have come up with a plan they believe will keep the trash coming to the landfill in White Marsh until at least 2060. “Finding new landfill capacity is very difficult,” said Nick Rodricks, the chief of Baltimore County’s Bureau of Solid Waste Management.

 

State Del. Karen Simpson is seeking the support of the Frederick County delegation in trying to repeal a 1917 law that prescribes road work as a punishment for “vagrants” and others accused of violating municipal laws in the city of Frederick. In an interview on Monday, Simpson (D-3) said that Section 9, Subtitle 5, of the Code of Maryland contains a number of provisions that seem to target certain groups of people, including those without homes, for forced labor.