There are only 64 days left until election day. In this week’s episode, the gang recaps the CNN interview, the Maryland Senate Race, Gov. Wes Moore, & more. The Trail is a Center Maryland Podcast series about the 2024 Presidential Election. Each week, our hosts Damian O’Doherty, Candace Dodson-Reed, & Don Mohler discuss trending topics about this election cycle.

Growing up in Baltimore, Tavon McGee had limited exposure to camping sites and hiking trails — let alone national parks. That all changed in 2022 when he was introduced by a longtime friend to Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Although he had hiked on trails and camped in the wilderness, this was the first time he went to a national park. He liked it so much he got a national park passport and now is a regular visitor.

Restaurant bankruptcy filings have surged so far this year, echoing a broader rise in corporate bankruptcies across sectors. At least 10 restaurant chains, not including multi-unit franchisees, have filed for bankruptcy in 2024. August alone brought three Chapter 11 filings from notable eateries. The increase in bankruptcies comes as diners pull back their spending, labor costs keep rising and Covid-era government help disappears.

Metro riders can now ride all five Red Line Metro stations that were closed during the summer due to construction on Sunday. Here are the four stops opening up this week: Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glenn, Silver Spring. The fifth station, Takoma Park, reopened in late June, two days earlier than its expected opening date.

 

As has been widely reported, power bills are going up for Maryland families. One key reason is that the latest capacity auction for PJM, the electric grid that includes Maryland and the rest of the mid-Atlantic, resulted in wholesale prices more than nine times higher than in previous years. That could translate into rate hikes as high as 24% for households.

Life sciences are big business in Frederick. How big? They have an economic impact of $12 billion, according to the industry profile produced by the county. The International Economic Development Council recognized the county’s Office of Economic Development with the 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Level award, on Thursday, for its profile of the many facets of life sciences in Frederick.

Baltimore’s experiment this spring in publicly financing political campaigns wasn’t without controversy. For the first time in May’s Democratic primary, a handful of Baltimore candidates were able to draw on city funds to power small-dollar campaigns, an effort to level the playing field of expensive elections by providing matching funds to campaigns that eschewed large donations or support from corporations, labor groups and political action committees.

More than two years after Gov. Wes Moore pushed back on claims that he had misrepresented parts of his past, he said Thursday that he incorrectly claimed to be the recipient of a Bronze Star medal while applying for a White House fellowship in 2006. Moore’s acknowledgment of what he called “an honest mistake” came moments after The New York Times reported on the error in his application, which the newspaper received through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Baltimore leaders publicly explained on Thursday how the city intends to spend money received through opioid lawsuit settlements. Mayor Brandon Scott said the pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the opioid crisis. “These companies flooded our communities with addictive opioid pills with reckless and deadly abandon, leading to widespread misuses, addiction and, tragically, thousands upon thousands of overdose deaths,” Scott said.

The young man could not have been more than 25, tall and thin, even a little gaunt. When he smiled, he was all cheekbones and chin, with only two or three crooked teeth left in his mouth. It was startling to see a fellow so young and so deprived. We met on a day in June, along a branch of the Potomac River. He was a pleasant guy, eager as a farm boy to go fishing, but his near toothlessness made him seem much older than his years.