Commentary

It was an emotional highlight of the 2023 General Assembly session. Men and women of all ages and races were in tears as historians and legal experts recounted the early career of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and some of his successful — and heartbreakingly unsuccessful — battles to desegregate Maryland.

Before adjourning, the General Assembly took a major step toward making Maryland a leader in the emerging offshore wind industry. By passing the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources (POWER) Act, we quadrupled the state’s goal to generate offshore wind energy. The new goal, 8.5 gigawatts, will produce enough electricity to power approximately 3 million Maryland homes. The measure lays out a framework to proactively strengthen our power grid infrastructure and sets up a novel offshore wind procurement process to benefit ratepayers.

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is due in federal court on Wednesday to answer to an indictment accusing him of conspiring and making false statements to illegally acquire machine guns for a local gun range owner. Immediately after his initial appearance, the sheriff should turn over day-to-day operations to someone else in the sheriff’s office and take administrative leave until the case is resolved.

In deciding to set aside a proposal to ban the sale and use of gasoline powered leaf blowers, the Montgomery County Council is jeopardizing the health of its citizens and especially its lawn care workers, many of whom are people of color. The Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee voted for the proposal, but the full Council has tabled it, which means the proposal is on hold.

It is time for Baltimore to put one of its prime assets — vacant properties — in the bank. Yes, our vacant properties are an asset. They are land, which Malcolm X called the “basis of freedom, justice and equality.” A land bank authority for the city would accelerate the pace of community investment and move communities closer to the kind of progress Malcolm X had in mind.

It is poignant that, as we mark the 55-year anniversary of the landmark Fair Housing Act, creating the government’s duty to affirmatively further fair housing, and as the Biden administration seeks to strengthen this mandate, the City of Baltimore demonstrates a continuing failure to give this obligation the weight it deserves. This act requires that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and any recipient of federal funds through HUD must not only not discriminate but they must take “meaningful actions to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities.”