On the way to the last Orioles games of the 2022 season Wednesday afternoon, a day of work or school for most, a woman at the bus stop said she had just come from a job interview at the nearby nursing home. She needed a new position, she said, because her last — taking care of a heavy, elderly woman at home — had been too hard on her back. “I can’t wait to get home to take a Tylenol,” the woman said. And therein was heard the pleading of post-pandemic America: Anybody got a Tylenol? Health care workers, first responders, teachers, restaurant workers, social workers, trash collectors, people in tech support, cleaning crews, construction workers, bus drivers, owners of small businesses and all rational, democracy-loving people of progressive-to-moderate politics — we all need pain relief.

With all of Maryland’s top-ticket seats up for grabs in November, candidates for the state’s next tax collector leaned Thursday night into their backgrounds to explain to voters why they’re best suited for the position. “This is an incredibly important election. For the first time since 1998, we have an open seat for state comptroller, and … we haven’t for 100 years had every statewide seat open on the ballot,” Baltimore Del. Brooke Lierman, the Democratic nominee for the position, said at a virtual forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and moderated by Maryland Matters founding editor Josh Kurtz. During the forum, Lierman and Republican Harford County Executive Barry Glassman largely agreed about updates that the office needs — better digital infrastructure, an enhanced staff, and a focus on providing more opportunities for small, Black, brown and women-owned businesses to get government contracts.

During his visit to a Volvo truck plant in Hagerstown on Friday, President Biden is expected to spotlight the steps Democrats have taken to shore up the economy. His trip to Maryland — his second in six weeks — will also draw attention to the most competitive congressional race in the state, the battle between incumbent Rep. David Trone (D) and Del. Neil Parrott (R). The contest is a rematch. Trone crushed Parrott two years ago, securing a second term by nearly 20 points. But his district looks a lot different than it did in 2020. Although General Assembly leaders initially sought to pack a large number of Democrats into the 6th District — as they did more than a decade ago — they changed course following a successful legal challenge by Republicans.

Just minutes after President Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, Wes Moore, the Democratic candidate for governor, listened to Black entrepreneurs at Mary & Main, a medical cannabis dispensary in Capitol Heights. With Election Day less than five weeks away, and voters in Maryland expected to approve a measure to legalize the use and sale of recreational cannabis, Moore’s visit not only focused on ways to establish equitable drug laws in the state, but also how to improve Black representation in the cannabis industry. Moore held a roundtable discussion with Black entrepreneurs at Mary & Main, one of the few Black-owned dispensaries in the state, and the conversation touched on Biden’s pardons.

Teachers, their unions and school systems across the state are taking note of the deal to give Baltimore County gives teachers a raise as they consider their own local education systems. Baltimore County’s $76 million compensation package plan looks to improve teacher pay and increase teacher retention rates, officials said. Educators in other counties are weighing what Baltimore County’s pact could mean for them. “What other counties do always has an impact, because we pull from the same job pool of candidates,” said Melissa Dirks, president of the Frederick County Teachers Association. “Being competitive not just with other counties in the state of Maryland, but southern Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia is crucial, because we’re all competing for the same high-quality teachers.”

With the new Lexington Market nearly finished, boasting a grand interior staircase, large windows and 40 vendors, stabilizing the perimeter of the historic landmark is still an issue, officials working on the large-scale project said this week. Ahead of a soft opening next week for the $45 million historic market, several officials overseeing the project said the streetscape bordering the downtown market remains a public safety and cleanliness concern that poses a threat to the public’s image of the massive redo. This week, a vacant parcel next to the new market remained overgrown and trashed. Sidewalks and curbs were also trash strewn and vacant buildings across the street advertised for new tenants to take a chance to ride the new market’s coattails.

Baltimore’s tourism industry, badly battered by pandemic shutdowns, is gaining ground, tourism officials said Thursday. Though visitation has not returned to pre-pandemic levels and the tourism sector remains in recovery, the city is poised to emerge as an urban retreat, industry leaders said during Visit Baltimore’s annual meeting, held this year in person at Horseshoe Casino. Officials said they see new opportunities ahead thanks to several planned developments and investments, recently formed key partnerships and advertising campaigns aimed at elevating the city’s profile and showcasing a more diverse sector of its people and neighborhoods.

University of Maryland Global Campus, one of the largest online higher education institutions in the country, is getting criticized for sudden layoffs and how it treats its workforce. The school recently eliminated 43 positions, according to a letter from school president Gregory Fowler. Six of those workers are affiliated with state’s largest public employee union — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Union leaders said four of the employees worked at the school for 10 years, one for 14 years and another for 16 years. And they said that a few other laid-off employees, who used to be part of the union, had worked at the school for at least 20 years. Some positions cut were executive assistants and advisers who provide writing and other technical assistance for students, the union said. It remains unclear how that will affect student instruction.