Commentary

Round number anniversaries are typically considered milestones, and so it is that the coming baseball season will mark the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore Orioles’ victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1983 World Series. The team is remembered as much for its cast of characters as for its considerable talent.

While we are reluctant to compare Donald Trump to the fictional characters of Shakespeare given the Bard’s skill, subtlety and wit, the ex-president’s rambling Tuesday night seethe-a-thon from the Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago had all the elements of King Lear’s Act III rage on the hearth. If Lear’s deep flaw is his vanity and how he values appearances above reality, what better tribute to that highly theatrical moment than Trump blasting the world from his gilded stage in Florida?

It is an age-old regional debate that may be confusing to any outsiders: Is Baltimore a part of the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area otherwise known as the DMV? Depending on who you ask, you’ll either be met with a confused look or you’ll get an earful about what Baltimore is. But as a Baltimorean, I can definitively answer: No. Sure, Baltimore is a city in Maryland, but a majority of Baltimoreans do not consider the city a part of the DMV based on the differences in culture, style and authenticity. Charm City stands out on its own, separate from the region around it.

In this episode of the UnCapped podcast, host Chris Sands talks with the cofounders of Rockwell Brewery, Matt Thrasher and Paul Tinney, about their new location, which will consist of increased production space, as well as a much larger taproom. The new facility will open May 5. Here is an excerpt of their talk.

Anyone who cares about the future of downtown Frederick had to heave a huge sigh of relief when reading the front page of Monday’s News-Post. Jim O’Hare — the developer of a planned residential building and boutique hotel on the site of the old Visitation Academy — quickly assured the community that the fire that damaged the historic building over the weekend would not affect his project.

Every day, more than 650,000 children in Maryland ride to school on a school bus powered by diesel fuel. Approximately one in 10 of these children suffer from asthma — a leading cause of school absenteeism — and this asthma rate is higher among minority groups. Studies have shown that a child riding inside of a diesel school bus may be exposed to as much as 15 times the level of toxic diesel exhaust as someone riding in a car.

For all of this week’s focus on Donald Trump’s legal travails — and the breathless commentary and speculation surrounding it from all quarters — there was significantly less ink spilled on what looms as a far more consequential development, at least in the long-term and for average Americans contemplating a secure retirement. The annual evaluation of the financial condition of Social Security and Medicare, released last Friday, outlined how both remain in deep financial trouble with the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund hurtling toward depletion in 2033, which is one year earlier than expected.

Last week, while hundreds of workers gathered outside the Maryland State House, Maryland legislators quietly completed a legislative betrayal that abandons Maryland workers in favor of corporate CEOs. The Senate Finance Committee voted 5-3 against workers’ interests by eliminating labor peace agreements as a condition of licensure in the emerging cannabis industry in Maryland.