Commentary

The April 13 commentary “With new policy, PSC is ordering a disaster” has it wrong. The Maryland Public Service Commission’s recent decisions cracking down on retail energy suppliers who telephonically enroll customers into high-cost contracts for electricity and gas without first obtaining the customers’ signed consent has nothing to do with pizza. While the PSC’s job is vast, it has never regulated food and never will. And its recent decisions protecting ratepayers from unscrupulous retail suppliers have interpreted the Maryland Telephone Solicitations Act (MTSA) the same way the Maryland Attorney General has for decades — without consequence to your dinnertime pizza plans.

In a gratuitous blow to open and transparent government, the administrator of the Baltimore County Board of Appeals announced that written opinions on appeals by employees of decisions on their entitlement to benefits under the Baltimore County Employees’ Retirement System no longer will be made public. The administrator attributed the change to a tweak made to the board’s rules of procedure by the County Council a year ago.

Baltimore provides water and wastewater services to approximately 1.8 million people, many of whom are Black and low-income. Unfortunately, aging infrastructure, due to systemic underinvestment, has led to continuing problems with management, water quality and affordability. A new Baltimore Water Regionalization Task Force aims to rectify some of these issues. Yet, serious questions have arisen about the structure of this new task force and what it seeks to achieve.

Rear Adm. Yvette M. Davids has an impressive resume. Graduate of the Naval Academy and the Naval War College. First Hispanic woman to command a Navy warship. Commander of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. High-level jobs ashore, including chief of staff of the U.S. Southern Command. And now, the first woman nominated to serve as the academy’s superintendent in its 178-year-history.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Marylanders have extremely limited options for building a career and financial security because they lack a basic credential — a high school diploma, which is generally a required prerequisite for higher education, vocational training and employment. Not having one severely inhibits a person’s ability to support a family and build financial security. For those who manage to get into the workplace without a high school diploma, options for advancement and careers are limited.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) is a breath of fresh progressive air in Annapolis. And almost all observers agree with his self-appraisal: We had, he’s written, “one of the most productive legislative sessions for any Maryland governor at any time during their tenure.” Yet, he seems to have struggled on one core subject: funding for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and particularly our most disadvantaged students.

Gov. Wes Moore is expected to sign House Bill 193/Senate Bill 211 into law. This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris West and Del. David Moon, will amend the Probation Before Judgment (“PBJ”) statute so that it no longer triggers unintended adverse consequences, like loss of federal employment or legal immigration status. The bill enjoyed a broad base of support, including from Attorney General Anthony Brown, the Maryland State’s Attorney Association, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Maryland State Bar Association and retired judges.

As a physician, I am thankful that my colleagues and public health collaborators took a laser-focused approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the intention to save as many lives as possible. It is within this context that I consider with curiosity why our nation’s urgency to bend the curve on obesity pales in comparison to our dedication to eradicating COVID-19.