There is a public health crisis being forced upon the transgender community — and lack of access to life-saving health care for transgender Marylanders is one of the biggest barriers we face. Passing the 2023 Trans Health Equity Act (House Bill 283 sponsored by Del. Anne Kaiser with 56 cosponsors and Senate Bill 460 sponsored by Sen. Mary Washington with 12 cosponsors) is a critical step towards correcting this injustice. Maryland’s transgender community, like many transgender communities across the nation, is in a particularly vulnerable place. Widespread discrimination and harassment, victimization, criminalization, and lack of access to resources and care, all leave trans Marylanders with alarmingly high rates of homelessness, joblessness, mental health and substance use challenges, and more.

A sweeping vision to revitalize south Baltimore’s shoreline and 19 adjacent communities has been officially endorsed by the city. Baltimore’s Planning Commission voted 7 to 0 on Thursday to adopt a master plan developed to improve 11 miles of shoreline along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River in south Baltimore. The commission meeting was the culmination of a multi-year effort led by a consortium of stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Its vote means the Reimagine Middle Branch Plan now has the formal backing of Baltimore’s government, affirmation that will assist in both funding and implementation. No other public body has to vote on the plan, and no legislation must be signed into law for it to take effect.

In a boost for the Port of Baltimore, ocean carrier ZIM Shipping Line plans to expand to weekly service, bringing larger ships with cargo headed for customers throughout the U.S., Gov. Wes Moore announced Thursday. ZIM, one of the port’s major container shipping customers, will double the frequency of its E-commerce Baltimore Express from bi-weekly to weekly service at the end of February, the governor’s office said in a news release. ZIM plans to expand the size of its vessels by nearly 50 percent to carry more cargo. ZIM’s Baltimore Express, which started in the spring between China, Southeast Asia and the East Coast, offers customers the fastest transit time from Asia to Baltimore. The ships will use the Panama and Suez canals.

Industrial psychologists, information security analysts and biochemists weren’t six-figure jobs nationally before the pandemic. But they are now. Those are three of the 12 occupations for which median annual salaries reached six figures nationally between 2019 and 2021, according to a new analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The Business Journals. Those gains came as salaries soared since the economic recovery ramped up after the initial shockwaves of the pandemic, with a tight labor market and elevated turnover rates fueling significant raises and bonuses throughout much of 2021 and 2022. One of the biggest jumps was for industrial and organizational psychologists, which saw median annual salaries grow from about $92,880 in 2019 to about $105,310 in 2021 — a 13% jump.

Police departments in Carroll County could get help from the state with funding the high cost of outfitting officers with body cameras, if a bill introduced in the Maryland General Assembly is passed. A law passed during the 2021 General Assembly session requires police agencies in Maryland to have on-duty officers wearing body cameras by July 1, 2025. In September, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office took the first steps toward implementing the program, when commissioners approved a $1.4 million contract to purchase body and in-car cameras and related equipment. Smaller law enforcement agencies have struggled to come up with funding.

A city in Montgomery County, Maryland, is weighing whether it should allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in municipal elections, and residents last week expressed their opinions on the move. “Let’s eliminate the barriers for noncitizens to take part fully in our democracy,” said Sandy Shan, a naturalized citizen who came to the U.S. a decade ago and now lives in Rockville. “Noncitizens live here, work here, pay taxes here, raised families here, start businesses here and send their kids to school here,” she continued. Among other changes, such as ranked choice voting and lowering the voting age to 16 for local election, the Rockville City Council is contemplating allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections during their revisions to the city’s public charter.

I had just gotten home from dinner with good friends when I settled in to watch President Biden deliver his State of the Union Address. I should have stuck with the Terp game. It began in a very upbeat, positive, and bipartisan manner.  The President congratulated Kevin McCarthy on being elected Speaker of the House without mentioning that it took nearly a week to earn that gavel. The President turned toward the McCarthy and said, “Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working together.” He also took time to recognize Senator Mitch McConnell as the longest serving Senate leader in history. You could almost hear “Kumbaya” playing in the background.