Commentary

In a marble-lined courtroom in the grand old courthouse on North Calvert Street, a Baltimore Circuit Court jury hears a story that makes the list of the most tragic in the city’s modern history.It’s about a middle-aged man — a husband, father of three, an engineer with a degree from the city’s most prestigious university — shot to death after swinging a baseball bat at a group of young squeegee workers last summer.

The countdown to a transit fiasco has begun in the Washington metropolitan area. Unless unresponsive regional leaders act soon, with significant additional aid from Congress, subway and bus commuting times will likely triple or quadruple, train and bus service would halt at 9:30 p.m. Three in 5 subway trains would be removed from service, as would nearly 7 of 10 bus lines. That would drive away transit passengers, worsen rush-hour traffic jams and strike a lethal blow to the downtown core’s hopes for post-pandemic revival and the region’s prospects for long-term prosperity.

There is a popular song, a chant really, in Annapolis this summer. Maybe you’ve heard it? It’s like the old football — er, soccer — anthem: “Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé.” It’s the one with roots in “Anderlecht Champion,” a Belgian song that twisted the Spanish bullfighting cheer “Olé!” into French, “allez, allez, allez.” Then the Mexicans made it their own with “E Viva Mexico” in 1986, the story goes, chanting “Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé” to support the national team in the World Cup. Now everybody uses it.

From ancient Taoist philosophers like Lao Tzu to contemporary celebrities like Robert Redford, there is no shortage of famous people who have publicly observed, with only minor variation, that within every problem resides an opportunity. The context may vary, but the core message is plainly true. Just look at the history books. A lot of important progress takes place when things look most discouraging.

Former Gov. Larry Hogan and a nonpartisan group he co-chairs, No Labels, deserve credit. They’ve worked hard to promote politically moderate ideas in a time of growing polarization and anger. Hogan, in particular, accomplished quite a feat: Winning consecutive gubernatorial elections as a Republican in a deeply blue state.

Going into the important series this weekend with the Tampa Bay Rays, Anthony Santander, right fielder of the Baltimore Orioles, had a batting average of .272, with 17 home runs, 54 runs batted in and an increasingly solid command of English. In fact, in a recent postgame interview on MASN, the native Venezuelan answered all questions without the assistance of translator Brandon Quinones.

Business development is essential to a thriving community. This fact is too often ignored in political debates about how to revive Baltimore, and it’s time to recognize such efforts. Despite population loss, a struggling school system, rising crime and a host of other issues plaguing the city, companies such as Under Armour, CSX and T. Rowe Price continue to invest in their community. Their resolve offers a dose of positivity and are examples that leaders and residents of the city should encourage others to follow.

The debate over the location of the new FBI headquarters has been going on for years, with Virginia and Maryland competing for the massive complex and its thousands of jobs [“Maryland gets a lift in fight for new FBI HQ,” Metro, July 15]. This has caused delays and uncertainty for the FBI and the communities involved. But instead of choosing one state over the other, why not have two headquarters, one in each state, for resiliency, flexibility and effectiveness?