Commentary

Eight years ago, Congressman Elijah Cummings changed my life. His legacy initiative — the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel — was seeking a new director, and the congressman tapped me. Looking back, I had no idea how deeply this relationship would transform me personally and professionally. ECYP, as the program is commonly known, began 25 years ago as a partnership between Congressman Cummings and Baltimore Jewish community leaders.

New Greater Baltimore Committee president and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas is hitting the ground running to boost the prospects of Baltimore-area businesses and the regional economy. So far, Thomas has expressed the desire to make Greater Baltimore more competitive compared to regions anchored by cities such as Charlotte, Nashville and Atlanta. As Thomas told the Baltimore Business Journal in January 2023: “We have to be the best version of ourselves for the global economy.”

It’s easy to be dissatisfied with the actions, or inactions, of government these days. While Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives dithered over a plan to keep the federal government funded in order to avoid a calamitous shutdown — a scenario that has “always been a loser for Republicans politically,” according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — their leaders still found time to schedule a hearing on their ill-advised impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.

Now that summer has drawn to a close and legislators, government officials, nonprofits and service providers turn their attention to the 2024 legislative session in Annapolis, proposing legislative initiatives to address issues of crime, childhood poverty, education and more will be on their minds. According to the Department of Legislative Services, when the 2024 session opens, lawmakers will be faced with a structural budget deficit even before they have a chance to take off their hats and coats and get down to the business of appropriating taxpayer dollars.

Transit ridership has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels in DC and nationally, and many transit providers, including WMATA, currently face fiscal cliffs as federal pandemic aid runs out. However, as Tracy Loh* and I discussed in a report for the Brookings Institution in August, there is still a bright future for transit, if we plan for it.

There is legitimate concern about the amount of violence in Baltimore and other parts of Maryland. There is also significant misinformation about that violence. Violent crime increased after the onset of the COVID pandemic across the country, especially in Baltimore. And while the actual increase was bad enough, the fear of violence was exasperated by constant coverage in the traditional press and social media.

For many years, as recently as 2020, this weekend in Ocean City was marred by an outlier group of vehicle enthusiasts intent on wreaking havoc on the roads of Ocean City. Over the last three years, the non-event – called a pop-up rally — has trickled to nothing. We think if another year goes by – and all indications are it will – without a presence of the troublemakers the town should abandon the special enforcement zone next year on this weekend.

It’s easy to be dissatisfied with the actions, or inactions, of government these days. While Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives dithered over a plan to keep the federal government funded in order to avoid a calamitous shutdown — a scenario that has “always been a loser for Republicans politically,” according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — their leaders still found time to schedule a hearing on their ill-advised impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.