Commentary

When it comes to describing Second Chance and its vast operation in South Baltimore, I hardly know where to begin. So I’ll begin at the entrance: The statue of the angel visiting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and the marble angels to either side — all of that came from the Michigan church where the late Robert Kearns, inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper, worshipped as a boy during the Great Depression. It’s a long story — just about everything at Second Chance is — so here’s the short version: Throughout his life Kearns believed he was guided by a divine presence.

Back in 2015, local government leaders thought they had a plan for moving forward with new transit investments that would better knit together the various elements of the Baltimore area’s existing services, notably the area bus lines, the light rail line and the Metro subway. Then, with the decision of Gov. Larry Hogan to cancel the east-west Red Line, that plan was in disarray. The Red Line was but one component of a 2002 regional transit plan that had been developed by a blue-ribbon task force. Its work product led to more than a decade of planning, intense charettes, countless community meetings, followed by more detailed engineering designs, environmental impact assessments – and a commitment of $900 million in federal funds for construction. Hogan saw it as a “boondoggle.”

The Maryland Hospital Association released findings last month that 1 in 4 hospital nursing positions in the state were vacant. The association called the lack of nurses “the most critical staffing shortage in recent memory.” The same disturbing trend is mirrored across the United States. From 2020 to 2022, hospital vacancies for nursing positions nearly doubled. The total number of registered nurses in the workplace decreased by more than 100,000 in 2021, the largest drop observed in four decades. Perhaps most ominously, the group that left nursing in the highest numbers was nurses under the age of 35. Even before the pandemic, there was growing concern that the aging population would require more health-care services, and stress and burnout were leading nurses to leave the bedside.

Now that school has started back up across the country, I am reflecting on this summer when I, along with 19 afterschool and summer learning professionals from South Carolina, journeyed to Baltimore, not with the primary intention of feasting on crabs (though they were tasty) or rooting for the Orioles during a winning streak, but instead with the purpose of observing a summer learning program garnering national acclaim for Baltimore City Public Schools. Our traveling group of teachers and administrators, school district leaders and nonprofit executives are fellows of SCALE, South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered, a program of the Riley Institute at Furman University. Across the country, afterschool and summer learning programs engage and energize students, build positive relationships and instill a deep love of learning that transcends the school day.

During the 2021 General Assembly session, the first comprehensive legalization bill, House Bill 32 — The Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, Inclusion, Restoration and Rehabilitation Act of 2021 — was introduced and championed by Del. Jazz Lewis. His legislation focused on racial and social justice, ended cannabis prohibition in Maryland, and replaced it with a system to tax and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older. In the last session, the legislature punted the issue to a referendum on this November’s ballot, which by all accounts appears to enjoy the support of 60%+ of voters.

Often in Annapolis, after a shooting and other unfortunate episode of juvenile crime, parents and the public ask, “What is the city doing to stem the tide of violence?” It is a reasonable question, and one that we at the Annapolis Recreation and Parks Department are prepared to answer. Under a unique cross-departmental collaboration known as Annapolis United, city agencies are coming together to provide meaningful diversions for young people. Under the initiative, youth recreation programs are developed and provided by Annapolis Recreation and Parks.