Commentary

Memo: To the next governor. After learning of your (and it doesn’t matter who wins, both gubernatorial candidates voiced the same position) interest in considering the re-use of the old Nice-Middleton Bridge as an outdoor recreation asset for bicyclists and pedestrians — a position shared by our congressional leadership — Gov. Larry Hogan and Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Jim Ports sped up the process of not just opening the new bridge, but also doing enough damage to the old bridge to deny you the option of repurposing it.

The media frequently justify their election coverage with claims that a vital democracy needs a well-informed public. Unfortunately, their coverage often repeats long-standing myths about politics that undermine this worthwhile goal.

Recently we met an entrepreneur who had built a successful financial technology company in the Bay Area. She, her husband and their young children had just moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, drawn by the lower cost of land and what she described as the “hip” cultural scene. They are early pioneers in what will be a decades-long migration of remote workers out of high-cost cities like San Francisco. This restructuring of the U.S. economy creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Baltimore. The city should position itself as a remote work hub, a place where white-collar workers no longer tied to corporate headquarters can find cheaper housing, cheaper living, great food, vibrant arts and beautiful outdoor spaces.

Nobody asked me, but the major renovation of Baltimore’s downtown arena, now named CFG Bank Arena, affirms what many said or had to admit after years of debate: There’s no better location for this venue than “where it’s been at” since 1962. Nobody asked me, but the request by Marilyn Mosby’s lawyers to move her federal trial out of Baltimore sounds like desperation, and I doubt it will work. A judge would only agree to a change of venue in the unlikely event that she could not find 12 potential jurors (plus alternates) who affirm that they can consider evidence fairly. However futile, the motion for a change will give Mosby’s lawyers, in voir dire, a better feel for jurors’ attitudes, and that’s more than what attorneys might get in more routine cases.

The latest student test scores paint a frightening, if not wholly unexpected, picture of the state of K-12 education in the United States. Maryland experienced one of the worst drops in math and reading scores in the nation from 2019 to 2022, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, but it was far from alone.

With the elections approaching, Marylanders are considering what makes a worthy candidate. Will they fight for the people of Maryland? Or are they beholden to special interests? Unfortunately, many of our state’s past elected officials — Republicans and Democrats alike — have a history of yielding to the powerful poultry chicken industry at the expense of the health of the Chesapeake Bay and our local communities.

One of the most unique features of hybrid cars, like the Toyota Prius that I drive, is that it starts and runs so quietly that you barely know it’s running. A couple of weeks ago, that quiet in my car became a quake, a loud violent rumbling that sounded like a truck engine having a coughing fit. “It’s a bomb!” screamed my son, who may have watched too many John Grisham movies over my shoulder. Confused, but sure, at least, that it was not a bomb, I turned it off and back on again. More rumbling. It was so loud that it caught the attention of a kind man loading a moving truck a few parking spaces away.