Commentary

Maryland’s 2023 legislative session has ended, and it is time to take account of legislative casualties. One such casualty was House Bill 96/Senate Bill 93, the Youth Equity and Safety Act, which was stalled in committee. This is a juvenile justice bill championed, respectively, by Del. Charlotte Crutchfield (D-Montgomery) and Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City), that would end, once and for all, the automatic charging of youth who commit any one of 33 offenses as if they were adults. It would end a practice that has failed young people and our communities.

I always laugh a little when I see ads for Mother’s Day presents inviting grateful children to take their maternal parental figure to lunch, buy her flowers or jewelry, or send her to a quaint bed and breakfast. I laugh because I am a single mother whose child lacks both the height to reach the cereal and credit enough to shell out for brunch. Just like at Christmas, unless some other relative makes sure he has a gift ready to give me, I’m pouring my own special holiday coffee. And that’s OK.

The Frederick County Council made a puzzling choice recently when it refused to rezone roughly 223 acres in Adamstown from agricultural use to general industrial use. The owners of the land, Windridge Properties LLC and Windridge Farm LLC, did not submit development plans, but indicated that they were seeking approval to move forward on a future data center development.

For several weeks I have been researching a commentary, working title, “Should state schools superintendent Mohammed Choudhury stay or go?” And in a submission I sent in this week, I attempted a balanced analysis of his controversial two years in office. He (by July 1) and the State Board of Education (by no later than around September 30) must declare whether they are interested in renewing his contract, which expires in June 2024.

I am a pediatric psychologist working with youth who have chronic illnesses in Baltimore, a city with generations of disinvestment and trauma. The past four years have been marked by a notable increase in the number of children referred to me with psychological distress that is worsening their physical and emotional well-being. What started as a relatively lengthy waitlist, has evolved into a seemingly endless list of patient names.

At the funeral of a colleague who died young, the priest felt it important to warn the non-Catholics in attendance that they were forbidden to take Communion with the rest of us. The admonition was not gentle, it was crisp. And disgusting. How could a priest be so unwelcoming, officious and doctrinaire at a time when so many friends of the young woman had gathered to mourn her death? It was hard to imagine Jesus citing the house rules in opening remarks to those who had just lost a sister, daughter and companion.

Despite the myriad challenges facing public education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and widening inequality, in Maryland there is a sense that the future looks bright. That optimism is largely due to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a broad-based strategy to improve educational outcomes in the state. I, for one, am excited to witness the ascendance of public education in our state as my two young children become school-aged in the coming years.

Baltimore, a city nestled in the Northeast megalopolis [but not the DMV] and defined by its four-one-oh, four-four-three, and six-six-seven zip codes, holds a special place in the hearts of residents who have had or are having the privilege to come of age here. Though not always spangled, the city’s grit and charm, combined with its upscale crab shacks, row homes, and the wide expanse of the inner harbor, make it a beloved home.