Commentary

The Chesapeake Bay has no rich culture of solo sailing. Sure, there are exceptions. But it’s a body of water where it’s easy to run aground, easy to go for a yacht club race and easy to party with friends on a day sail. “I know people who have sailed their whole lives and have never gone south of Solomons Island,” said Matt Rutherford, an Annapolis sailor and explorer who was the first to sail solo around the Americas in 2012.

Over half a million Americans responded to the U.S. Forest Service’s request for public comment before late July’s deadline for the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The question: “How should the Forest Service implement the President’s Executive Order to protect mature and old-growth in our national forests in the face of climate change?”

Last week an excessive heat warning and heat advisory were issued for the Northeast region of the country, including Maryland. Meteorologists expected temperatures to reach the upper 90s and feel like the low 100s. The Maryland Department of Preparedness and Response has stated “extreme heat can lead to serious health issues.

If you have lived in Frederick County for more than a few years, you might think that all of those yellow school buses trundling down our roads were equipped with cameras, to catch anyone speeding past a bus loading or unloading students. You would be wrong. True, the county was the first in Maryland to equip some school buses with such cameras, all the way back in 2012. Cameras were installed on more than 30 buses.

When it comes to a public restroom, all you want — all you need — is a clean, well-lighted place. Alas, that isn’t always available. In my experience, public restrooms have gotten a lot better over the years, but I’m still scarred by some truly horrific encounters. Picture it: You’re far from the interstate, away from any state-funded rest stop.

Whether this is the “Barbie,” the barbecuing, or the beach phase of summer for you, there’s a good chance that what happened at Brooklyn Homes the first weekend of July is not a top concern unless you have a direct connection to the people of that part of South Baltimore. That’s the way it goes. What is being called the largest mass shooting in the city’s history dominates headlines and city chatter for days and then fades from view as the next thing comes along, whether frivolous or tragic.

The matter of squeegee workers on Baltimore street corners blew up these last few years — with fear, resentment and sometimes hostility between those trying to earn a few bucks cleaning windshields and the drivers behind them. Anyone could have predicted tragedy. Many did. “Someone’s going to get killed” became mantra in the debate, and a year ago, in the heat of summer, we had the worst case, at East Conway and Light streets, across from Harborplace.