Economists have been predicting a recession for months, but the labor market has remained resilient, wage growth is higher than before the pandemic, and inflation continues to drop, now at 4% compared to 9.1% in June of last year. Despite this good news, consumers don’t feel confident about the future, according to the consumer confidence index, which is at a six-month low.

Government officials, nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs gathered at the University of Maryland Baltimore County last week to discuss how to uplift some of Maryland’s low-income families following a report that the COVID pandemic increased the number of households who were employed yet still struggled to meet basic needs.

Mondawmin Station and the surrounding area will receive a $20 million grant in federal funding for upgrades, members of Maryland’s congressional delegation announced Friday. The money is going toward the MDOT MTAs Mondawmin RAISE Transit Hub Project. Among the upgrades coming to the area are improvements to ensure the station and sidewalks within half a mile are ADA-compliant, as well as enhancements for the accessibility of pedestrians and cyclists.

 

With Maryland’s economy showing signs of weakness as it recovers from the effects of the pandemic, the state should take care to exercise restraint in pursuing additional, expensive energy and climate policies on the backs of utility ratepayers at a time when many are still having trouble paying their utility bills.

In my experience with community organizing, labor organizing and political campaigns, we often use a 1-5 ranking scale to assess people’s support for a cause. One equals strong support, 2 equals support, 3 equates with neutrality or unknown support, 4 means opposition and 5 equals strong or coordinated opposition.

Mississippi is far ahead of Maryland in initiatives to teach all children to read. We Marylanders should be aghast and ashamed. How come deep south Mississippi, with the highest child poverty rate in the country, ranks side by side with Maryland in the middle tier of states in fourth grade reading scores? More startling, how come between 2011 and 2022, Mississippi ranks first among states in gains in fourth grade reading while Maryland is tied for last?

The celebrations of summer have begun in Frederick County, and even the weather has chimed in with a brief preview this week of the sweltering days to come. A few hot days were hardly enough to diminish enthusiasm for the sunny and bright weeks coming our way. Days with high temperatures in the 90s are commonplace here. We have become adept at cooling off in pools, lakes, sprinklers and air conditioning.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily issued a ground stop for D.C. area airports on Sunday afternoon, delaying some of the region’s largest travel hubs. After a couple hours of uncertainty, the FAA said on Twitter that equipment repairs that had led to the ground stop were completed and that all departures to D.C. area airports had resumed.

 

A week after climate change-driven wildfires worsened air pollution and exacerbated environmental justice concerns in the region, advocates and health experts have urged Maryland’s environmental regulator to hasten efforts to reduce transportation emissions and electrify the state’s on-road vehicles by adopting the Advanced Clean Cars and Advanced Clean Trucks rules.

Along a flat road in rural Cecil County, where the sky is big and the towns are small, stands a long, nondescript building. Inside is one of the most important cultivation and processing operations for Maryland’s new cash crop — cannabis. SunMed Growers and its 150 employees are harvesting, testing and packaging as many products as they can in preparation for Saturday.