Commentary

We are waking up to the dangers of toxic “forever chemicals” called PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and the sources of these dangerous compounds. A recent alarming discovery: common pesticides, which are sprayed across our communities, farms, health care facilities, playgrounds, and schools, contain high levels of PFAS. “If the intent was to spread PFAS contamination across the globe, there would be few more effective methods than lacing pesticides with PFAS,” said Kayla Bennett, research director for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The good news is we can take a simple step to turn off this tap. State Del. Dana Stein and Sen. Shelly Hettleman are sponsoring legislation, the Pesticide Registration — PFAS Testing — Requirements Bill (SB 158), to ban the use of pesticide products containing PFAS in Maryland. Manufacturers would have to test their products for PFAS as part of the current annual registration with the state.

I took this photo when James Moore first saw his dad’s first campaign ad. Nearby, Dawn Moore, Maryland’s future First Lady, shared one of her signature hugs along the campaign trail. It was October 11, 2021, and I had traveled alone for 1,7000 miles to watch the opening of the Governor’s campaign office in Prince George’s County. We make these journeys because “showing up” is rule #1 in politics. Moreover, I wanted to back up our Baltimore candidate as he dove into the deep waters of Prince George’s County. I’ve been to a few campaign launches. Often, this is the first time you get to see the family on the trail. Families and spouses interact differently. Sometimes, they are distant or sometimes they are spokespeople for a shy candidate. This was different. The Moore Family was all-in this together as one.

It’s hard to get anyone to read a story about budgets. Gotta have ‘em, of course. There are plenty of analyses showing that robust local journalism prevents wasteful spending and keeps taxes low. But, oh my God, covering a budget can be boring. Painfully earnest town hall meetings are underway now, a parade of people explaining why their cause needs more money and how shortchanging them will rain damnation on us all.

I know of few politicians who openly admitted they were wrong, unless you count the ones who were the subject of presentencing reports. Pardon the generality, but I believe it’s true. Rather than express regrets, elected officials — as well as a certain member of the Angelos family of Baltimore — are more likely to double down and fight, even if the fight seems stupid. With hyper partisanship in abundance and shamelessness in short supply, admitting a mistake in public is considered weakness. A politician who reflects on a defeat and says he learned something from it? That’s rare.

Not long after all the banners, red carpeting and other trappings related to Inauguration Day in Annapolis were put away, Gov. Wes Moore and state lawmakers were quickly turning to crisis management. In the House of Delegates, legislators were grilling top officials from Maryland 529, the independent state agency that is struggling to fix the broken Maryland Prepaid College Trust, which shortchanged hundreds of families of their college savings (and whose chair would resign a day after the hearing).

The criminal culpability of Donald Trump and the sloppiness of the staffs of both Joe Biden and Mike Pence have combined to create a crisis over the handling of classified materials. The former involved Trump’s intentionally keeping large amounts of classified material at Mar-a-Lago; the latter led to small amounts of intelligence at Biden’s former office and his home, as well as in Pence’s home. Since I held high-level security clearances for more than four decades while in the U.S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State and the Department of Defense, I have something to offer on the issue of secrets and secrecy.