Commentary

It is time for Baltimore to put one of its prime assets — vacant properties — in the bank. Yes, our vacant properties are an asset. They are land, which Malcolm X called the “basis of freedom, justice and equality.” A land bank authority for the city would accelerate the pace of community investment and move communities closer to the kind of progress Malcolm X had in mind.

It is poignant that, as we mark the 55-year anniversary of the landmark Fair Housing Act, creating the government’s duty to affirmatively further fair housing, and as the Biden administration seeks to strengthen this mandate, the City of Baltimore demonstrates a continuing failure to give this obligation the weight it deserves. This act requires that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and any recipient of federal funds through HUD must not only not discriminate but they must take “meaningful actions to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities.”

The landlord of my first apartment had been avoiding returning my security deposit for weeks. I was a polite 23-year-old but insistent about what I was owed — I think I may have implied a knowledge of real estate law and thrown in a “forthwith” or two. Unable to find a legitimate reason to just keep my money, he instead implied that the real problem was me, exaggeratedly wiggling his neck when he spat the word “attitude” like he was an extra on “Good Times.”

Mayor Brandon Scott, like most of us, is clearly frustrated by the levels of gun violence in Baltimore, including Sunday night’s attack on two young people, a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old, on the 400 Block of East Pratt Street in the Inner Harbor, which sent both teens to area hospitals. The mayor has probably used the word “unacceptable” more times than one can count and would no doubt offer less polite phrasing if he thought for a moment it might lower the victim count.

When it comes to aging in America and just about anywhere else on planet Earth, there’s good and bad news. First, the bad news: The rapid rise in the number of adults over age 65 foretells an inevitable and rapid rise in cases of chronic diseases — including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease — all contributing to poor health, frailty, disability, loss of independence and early mortality for an increasing number of the world’s population.

Even after almost 40 years of news reports and investigations, of charges, denials, confirmations and prosecutions, of the disgusting details of extensive coverups, the pedophile sex abuse scandal that has stained the Catholic Church retains its power to shock. Thousands of victims in virtually every state in the country. Thousands of perpetrators. And a church hierarchy that for decade after decade chose to protect the abusers and the church itself rather than protect children.