In Maryland, the office of governor has extraordinary institutional power, more than in all but a handful of states. Choosing the best person to serve in that influential position is often the most important and impactful decision Maryland voters make every four years. This year, it may also be among the easier choices on the ballot. The Baltimore Sun endorses Wes Moore — an author, entrepreneur, Rhodes scholar and U.S. Army veteran — to serve as Maryland’s 63rd governor. The Baltimore Democrat, who turns 44 on Oct. 15, has demonstrated a solid understanding of the issues facing state government. He has the kind of energy, compassion and charisma that inspires others, and should serve Maryland well.

As Maryland prepares to demolish the historic Nice/Middleton Bridge that connects the southern part of the state with Virginia over the Potomac River, bicycle advocates are seeking to delay those plans until the completion of an impact study. The bicycle advocacy groups, which include Potomac Heritage Trail Association, Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Association and Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club, allege in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that state agencies, including the Maryland Transportation Authority, violated state and federal environmental review laws by changing the project from its original conception and failing to study the impact of demolishing the bridge. The groups, who are asking for a temporary restraining order to halt the demolition, also allege that the authority lacks the power to destroy the bridge under environmental laws.

A biannual poll conducted by Anne Arundel Community College shows the county executive race is neck-and-neck between Republican Jessica Haire and Democrat incumbent Steuart Pittman with about a month until Election Day. Among the 468 Anne Arundel County residents assessed between Sept. 23 to Oct. 1, 33% said they favor Haire, an Edgewater County Council member, and 31% said they favor the Pittman. Haire’s lead fell inside the poll’s 4.5% statistical margin of error. The Nov. 8 election now rests in the hands of the 21% of respondents who said they’re not favoring a candidate at this time and the 15% who said they are still too unfamiliar with either candidate.

Maybe it’s because Halloween is lurking, but I am scared that something creepy is going on in our public schools. I’m referring to the mission creep that is occurring as teachers are asked more and more to add mental health and social-emotional learning to their already grueling workloads. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore) recently identified school mental health as a priority in the wake of the pandemic. The U.S. surgeon general warns that “the challenges today’s generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate. And the effect these challenges have had on their mental health is devastating.” Students’ anxiety, depression and suicide symptoms doubled during the pandemic. The saving grace is the remarkable policy response.

Baltimore-area leaders on Friday unveiled grants totaling $47.7 million to help build a series of wetlands in the Middle Branch waterways as the first part of a massive overhaul that has the potential to remake South Baltimore’s shoreline. The Middle Branch Resiliency initiative includes $32 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to help build natural bulkheads in the Patapsco River to help prevent flooding as water levels rise due to climate change. The FEMA grant is part of a $1 billion federal infrastructure law passed this year by Congress. “The funds are another example of the work we are doing to protect the Chesapeake Bay and make our communities more resilient to the effects of climate change,” said U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, in a statement.

Maryland’s highest court upheld a decision to allow early counting of mail-in ballots prior to the November election, overruling an argument raised by Republican governor candidate Dan Cox that the move is unconstitutional. The opinion, issued Friday afternoon by the Maryland Court of Appeals, affirms a decision made by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James A. Bonifant last month to allow ballot counting to begin as early as Oct. 1 to accommodate a deluge of mail-in ballots expected this fall. State law, established before the widespread use of mail-in ballots that began during the pandemic, does not allow the ballots to be counted until after the election — a scenario elections officials say would have meant blown certification deadlines.

In 2021, nearly eight Marylanders died each day from an overdose. In my city of Baltimore alone, our community lost more than 600 people last year –– a stunningly tragic situation that demands action. These preventable deaths are the consequences of systemic discrimination and suffering rooted in the war on drugs. Decades of police violence and generations of mass incarceration have pushed people who use drugs into the shadows. Our family members, our friends, and our neighbors are disappearing into social and emotional isolation, where they engage in risky behaviors that put their health and that of others at risk. But in Baltimore, we’re charting a new course toward proven solutions to address the overdose crisis and save lives.