Commentary

It’s nearly impossible to read about the dozens of violations commited in Curtis Bay by a medical waste incineration company that’s agreed to pay $1.75 million in fines and penalties for its atrocious actions without feeling at least a little bit ill. Curtis Bay Energy was ultimately caught mishandling waste, including used hospital gloves and gowns, bandages and dressings, human tissue and fluid samples, and chemicals.

As students begin another schoolyear throughout the United States, a troubling trend is taking shape. Political leaders, seemingly hostile to complete and accurate history, are determined to shape lesson plans in line with their own agendas, at the expense of the truth. This summer we saw shocking commentary from Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, defending a proposed school curriculum that watered down the horrors of slavery.

Rona Kobell (right), during her time as a student at Hebrew University, is shown with a co-counselor while leading a tour of American teenagers through Israel in 1992. (Courtesy of Rona Kobell)
A few years ago, I hitched a ride to a Washington, D.C., journalism conference with a writer then living in Baltimore and his wife. We exchanged small talk about our families and hometowns, and I mentioned I had two siblings in Philadelphia and one in Israel. At this news, his wife’s face turned sour. “What is your sister doing there?”

Harry Calloway was a hugger, and he came at me suddenly while I was trying to take notes on a summer day in 2005. He wrapped his big arms around me outside Saint Benedict’s Church on Wilkens Avenue, and I could feel his earnestness, his gratitude, his elation that strangers were trying to show him the way out of wickedness.

As students begin another schoolyear throughout the United States, a troubling trend is taking shape. Political leaders, seemingly hostile to complete and accurate history, are determined to shape lesson plans in line with their own agendas, at the expense of the truth. This summer we saw shocking commentary from Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, defending a proposed school curriculum that watered down the horrors of slavery.

The Washington region just had its most intense September heat wave on record, and climate disasters fill our news media. If you’re looking to turn your anxiety into productive and empowering action, there are many effective local- and state-level opportunities that Washington region residents can tap into. This post provides a list of action opportunities rooted in the fact that making our cities, suburbs, and towns more livable, inclusive, and vibrant is one necessary area of climate action.