Commentary

Maryland’s economy is lazy, according to Gov. Wes Moore. Our economy is indeed stagnant. Maryland grew by a measly 0.2% between 2018 and 2022, compared with a 7.5% economic growth rate nationally. But Marylanders are not afraid to work, and we are not lazy. Instead, our economy is held back by state and local government policies that stifle broad-based economic growth in favor of narrow special interests.

Having recently returned from a week in California’s Silicon Valley, I can faithfully report that news of its demise is greatly exaggerated. From San Jose to San Francisco, the place is still quite overrun with young, smart people dreaming up new things to do with computers and making large fortunes in the process. The coastline is still breathtaking; the giant sequoia trees still, well, giant; the sprawling residential neighborhoods filled with modest bungalows selling for king’s ransoms; and the restaurant menus stuffed with vegan, gluten-free and humanely raised, organic foodstuffs.

Now that Daniel Snyder no longer owns the Washington Commanders, speculation is churning about a new stadium for the team. Though its storybook Super Bowl seasons unfolded at RFK Stadium in D.C., the team has played since 1997 at FedEx Field in Prince George’s County.

I have taught in the History Department at Towson University for 35 years; I plan to retire at the end of this semester. Of all the changes I have seen in this time, two stand out as most telling in the story of the institution: the diversity among students and the expectation that faculty members publish. In 1988, when I arrived at what was then known as Towson State University (“state” was dropped from the name in 1997), the demographics of the institution looked much different from today.

The fragmented state of U.S. health care data has been shaped by technological, legal, and financial factors. In the early 20th century, medical records were on paper and stored in paper filing systems. As technology evolved, electronic health records replaced paper records, but the lack of a national standard for data exchange hampered their introduction.

Before classes commence each day at Hampstead Hill Academy, the pre-K-through-8 public charter school across from Patterson Park in Baltimore, all student cellphones go into locked pouches. Six hours and 45 minutes later, at the end of the school day, students hold the pouches against a special magnet, the pouches open, and the kids have their phones again.