I realize that most of my fellow Marylanders will not vote for the next governor based on his selection of a running mate. The lieutenant governor earns about $150,000 a year as backup quarterback; unless a governor goes on the injured reserve list or gives the LG something really important to do, the LG pretty much rides the bench. So most voters are choosing between Wes Moore, the Democratic candidate, and Dan Cox, the Trump-endorsed Republican. They’re not looking so much at the women running with them — former Maryland delegate Aruna Miller with Moore and attorney Gordana Schifanelli with Cox.

The Harford County Council passed two resolutions and three bills at its legislative session on Tuesday. The two passed resolutions were the fall 2022 update to the Master Water and Sewer Plan; and approval for imposing and collecting of boarding fees for “weekend inmates” at the Harford County Detention Center. The three passed bills were: the extension of a moratorium on applying certain county zoning codes on restaurants to allow for outdoor dining; an expansion of the eligibility of who may receive benefits from the county’s Length of Service Award Program for volunteer firefighters; and an outline of which properties would receive real property tax credits in fiscal year 2023 due to living near a county-owned refuse disposal system.

Will there be an autumn or winter wave of covid? Right now, in the United States, daily cases and deaths are gradually declining off a still-high plateau. On the horizon, however, there are worrisome signals of a possible new wave. It is not too soon to grab protection with the bivalent booster. Europe is a telltale indicator. For the past few weeks, cases among people 65 years and older have been on the rise in 19 of the 26 countries reporting data to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Fifteen countries in the group reported rising hospitalizations. Germany, France and Italy have all seen growing caseloads, which often portend a similar jump in the United States a few weeks later.

Rev Al and I get finally get to talk healthcare.  We couldn’t be more pleased to have Ed Lovern, the CEO of Ascension St. Agnes join us for a great talk that hits wide range of topics. We started things off with a quick lesson on how to say his name…say Govern, now replace the G with an L and you’ve got it down. Ed’s not from Baltimore, but he has quickly made his mark as the CEO of Ascensions only asset in this market.  Ascension is an amazing company, in fact they are the largest Catholic Healthcare system in the Country with over 151 Hospitals.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said enforcement of a youth curfew will be extended through the end of the year, saying it has helped protect children and also coincided with a drop in crime in the Maryland county. When Alsobrooks first announced stronger enforcement of the youth curfew on Labor Day, she said it would last for 30 days but could be extended. “Our curfew was successful in many of the ways we hoped,” Alsobrooks said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon, after the initial 30-day period. “Not only did we engage parents in our community more deeply, but we were also able to provide greater protection to a number of our youth.”

The state is poised to spend $425 million on an extensive renovation of the busiest parts of BWI Marshall Airport. On Wednesday, the state’s spending board will consider a $332.5 million contract with a Bethesda-based construction firm to advance that massive capital improvement project at the Anne Arundel County airport. The contract with Clark Construction Group is the second construction package for the overall project that would connect the airport’s A and B concourses and improve its luggage handling by creating a new security screening system. It is the largest terminal improvement project in the airport’s history, said Jonathan Dean, a spokesperson for BWI. The project was temporarily placed on hold in April 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chuck Brown’s iconic “Bustin’ Loose” was blasting from the loudspeakers at the Newton White Mansion in Mitchellville as hundreds of cars snaked their way through the grassy parking lot. The event was vintage Prince George’s County — a historic site, but a modern vibe. Every year, the annual fall picnic for Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) gets bigger and bigger. This one, three weeks ago, drew at least 1,000 people. And it was also vintage Alsobrooks: the 51-year-old county leader moved through the crowd quickly, hugging everybody, doing “The Electric Slide” with the old ladies, inviting every local elected official to stand with her as she addressed the crowd, and talking boldly about the future. She was talking, of course, about the future of Prince George’s County.

Democrat Wes Moore and Republican Dan Cox will face off Wednesday in their first and likely only debate before voters choose who will replace outgoing two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan on Nov. 8. Both candidates are expected to make their strongest pitches to voters and, potentially, their most forceful rebukes of each other in their lone joint public appearance of the election season. The debate will air at 7 p.m. on Maryland Public Television, WBAL and WRC after taping at the public television station’s studios in the afternoon. Here are some elements to watch for during the debate.

I would be hard-pressed to find another time in our shared history when facts and the science behind those facts have been more critical to public policy making. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 that became law this summer is remarkable in its scale of investment into public policy and, likewise, offers an ideal environment to demonstrate how successful data-driven decisions can be made. First, let’s be clear: public data exists for the public good. Data is a precious commodity that is agnostic to ideology, drives evidence-based conclusions, and is limitless in its application. Here at the Coleridge Initiative, we know that better data means better public policy.

Law firm Baker Donelson is spearheading an innovative use of empty office space by donating an entire floor at 100 Light Street in Downtown Baltimore for use as a small business incubator. Baker Donelson is partnering with Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program for the incubator, which will be called The Light of Baltimore. The incubator will support 30 small businesses and already 26 companies are confirmed inside the space. The influx of new companies downtown is especially valuable as more and more businesses pivot to remote work or, like Baker Donelson, downsize their space.