Commentary

Journalists are not perfect. We are not omniscient. We make mistakes. But those who labor in our field, whether in Annapolis or Baltimore or foreign war zones, believe in the value of seeking out the truth and sharing it with others despite the risks involved. May that always be so.

Maryland patients, particularly those living with chronic health conditions, need consistent access to medications that manage symptoms and enable them to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Patients often have to navigate a complicated health system where multiple health system middlemen impact that access, and what patients pay at the pharmacy.

As the Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) examines high medication costs across the health system, board members must ensure that Maryland patients are ultimately the ones benefiting from any efforts to lower health care costs and realized savings.

The political landscape has indeed reached an unprecedented low-water mark, stained by a grotesque degradation of discourse that would have been unimaginable in more civilized times. Both the media and the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have engaged in an incendiary rhetorical warfare that not only degrades the standards of political exchange but is, frankly, counterproductive to the health of the nation.

It has been a challenging enough season for Ocean City without the latest debacle — a wave of medical waste including hypodermic needles washing up on the beach. If it’s any comfort to Maryland’s Atlantic coastal residents (and it’s probably not), they were not the only victims. Officials were forced to close beaches to swimming from Delaware to Virginia. The danger is simply too great that someone will be injured by a needle of unknown origin.

The Frederick Board of Aldermen, at long last, is ready to vote on charter changes recommended by the committee appointed in 2022. A vote is scheduled for Thursday, although it’s unclear if the board is guaranteed to address every recommendation that day or hold off on some for later. After meeting and discussing the charter for a year, the Charter Review Committee last December recommended 19 changes.

We are in the midst of a national child care crisis, and Maryland is no exception. Child care is essential for all Marylanders – impacting everyone, including those without children or families who do not need child care services. Ask any business how a lack of consistent, affordable child care affects them, and you’ll hear how workers are stressed and productivity plummets when employees cannot come to work or focus due to child care issues.

In my career as a pediatric lung specialist, I have witnessed the terrible impact that poor air quality has on children’s lungs. Every day, I work with young patients whose asthma and other respiratory illnesses are caused or worsened by poor air quality where they live, play and go to school. I routinely advise children and their parents about the importance of reducing exposure during poor air quality days, which could mean forgoing important outdoor playtime or skipping a soccer match.