Bedtimes had long passed by the time Friday night’s U.S. Open semifinal ended around midnight, but still some youth members of the Junior Tennis Champions Center remained glued to a television screen as Marylander and JTCC alumnus Frances Tiafoe gave a post-match interview. Tiafoe lost in five thrilling sets to No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz, but his U.S. Open run was nevertheless spectacular and captivating. The 24-year-old became the first American man to reach a U.S. Open semifinal in 16 years and the first Black man to do so since Arthur Ashe, the man whom the stadium Tiafoe played in Friday night is named after, in 1972. With the best performances of his career, including a win over legend Rafael Nadal, Tiafoe launched himself to international relevance and the edge of stardom.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools is considering a plan to switch to virtual learning on days with inclement weather. Superintendent Mark Bedell said no one plans to get rid of snow days altogether, but there is still much to be explored with the new learning tool. Last school year was extended through June 24 due to eight inclement weather days. During Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting, Chief Communications Officer Bob Mosier reviewed guidelines set by the Maryland State Department of Education, which dictate how virtual instruction can be used for the current academic year.

A Danish training ship hit the moored USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul on Sunday morning in the Inner Harbor, according to a statement from the U.S. Navy. No U.S. Navy personnel were injured and there was no serious damage to the Navy ship, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said in a statement. The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul was docked on the port side of the west wall in the Inner Harbor at 11:17 a.m. Sunday when the Danmark crashed into it during Maryland Fleet Week. A representative from Sail Baltimore, which brings visiting vessels to the harbor to showcase different cultures and maritime history, referred questions about damage to the Danmark to the U.S. Navy.

Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan’s small staff works from a windowless basement office beneath the historic Towson courthouse, fielding complaints, conducting interviews and writing investigative reports. Since the office launched in 2020, its work has brought scrutiny to various corners of county government — including its highest levels. Now the watchdog agency is set to expand, with increased county funds to double the staff from three to six people. “I’m really excited,” Madigan said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun this summer. “It’s going to be growth. It’s necessary growth.” Her office’s workload has swelled, with the number of annual complaints nearly doubling over the past year, to 155.

As we sprint toward November 8, 2022, there will no shortage of analysis or visits to The Front Porch regarding what is about to transpire. That journey begins today. In his book, Why We’re Polarized, Ezra Klein wrote, “We are so locked into our political identities that there is virtually no candidate, no information, no condition, that can force us to change our minds. We will justify almost anything or anyone so long as it helps our side, and the result is politics devoid of guardrails, standards, persuasion, or accountability.” That concludes this visit to The Porch, well not really, but it certainly could. The polarization and tribalism that grips our nation is at a fever pitch and is putting our grand democratic experiment on the ballot this fall.

Eddie O’Keefe wasn’t sure he wanted folks to know that Peabody Heights Brewery in Baltimore was an Asian American-owned-and-operated business. O’Keefe, whose mother is Korean, loves to support other Asian American-owned businesses in the area, but the vice president of the Charles Village brewery feared attracting attention to his business as hate crimes against Asian Americans spiked during the coronavirus pandemic. “It seems like things are turning the corner, and for all the hate that exists in the world, there’s thousands of people that want to know and experience and be a part of our culture,” O’Keefe said. “That’s cool.”

Two years after the launch of a major push to improve bus and rail service throughout the state, the Maryland Transit Administration has unveiled a list of potential north-south projects in the Baltimore region. The seven potential alignments released on Thursday were prepared in coordination with Baltimore and Baltimore County. As with the potential east-west projects unveiled over the summer, officials hope the list generates feedback from the public. The state’s top transit official said local input was helpful in crafting alternatives that have the potential to move people between Towson and Baltimore City equitably.

Wes Moore is a very popular guy these days. As the favorite to replace term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan (R), the Democratic nominee for governor is the object of fascination for an array of corporate, civic, philanthropic and political leaders – in Maryland, in the region, and across the country – and they are eager to get to know and curry favor with him. One way to accomplish this goal is to throw a fundraiser for Moore and his running mate, former state Del. Aruna Miller (D-Montgomery). Moore already has been a prolific fundraiser. His campaign finance reports to date have totaled hundreds of pages each and his campaign has attracted thousands of donors, large and small, from Maryland and from out of state.

Twenty-one years after the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in Lower Manhattan, one can ask whether the United States has yet learned the principal lesson of that shocking, savage day. It is a lesson well-known to military planners, yet hard for a nation with allies on its borders and oceans at its sides to believe bone deep. In the starting and ending of wars, the letting of blood and the waging of battle, the enemy has a vote. The day that has come to be known as 9/11 began a war only for us; for the enemy, the war had been raging for years.

As the U.S. faces a growing mental health crisis, providing youth and families with the resources and support they need is vital. All too often, when mental health issues go unaddressed, it leads to substance use problems, which can wreak havoc on families and disrupt children’s ability to function. With the support of the Mental Health/Core Services Agency of Harford County, Ashley Addiction Treatment opened The Clubhouse by Ashley, a free after-school and summer care program for Harford County teens ages 12 to 17 (18 if still in high school) and families, particularly those who have been affected by or are at-risk for substance use disorders.