Commentary

Rev. Al and I are back, and we start the 2023 year with a guy who made more news happen in 2022 than anyone we know…. Stewart Bainum, the uber successful Chairman of Choice Hotels International, made lots of news by getting himself in the news business as the lead investor in The Baltimore Banner.

Like millions of Americans, the opioid epidemic hits home for me. I lost my nephew, Ian, to a fentanyl overdose in 2016 after working with him for more than five years on his treatment — from finding safe recovery housing to overcoming his past criminal record of possession and petty theft. I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for folks to battle opioid use disorder, and oftentimes, therapy on its own is not enough to deal with the physical and emotional effects of withdrawal.

Baltimore has a wonderful opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons as my father, James Rouse, used to say. He also used to say, “Every problem is but a challenge, and a challenge is an opportunity in disguise. And when confronting a problem start by thinking first of what things would be like if they worked and let reality compromise you later.”

Tutoring is a textbook example of how sometimes a lot of money for public schools does not pay off as advertised. That’s true so far for investments in tutoring nationwide, triggered by the pandemic. And it’s true in Maryland although there is potential for speedy improvement. Tutoring is universally recognized as the most effective way to prevent and remediate learning deficits. School systems nationwide are on track to spend around $3.6 billion this year and next on tutoring.

As we mark Disability Awareness Month, it is an optimal time to reaffirm and amplify our commitment to providing exceptional special education services and supports. There has been much community discussion recently, including media coverage about special education services in Howard County. I am immensely proud of the progress we have made in serving our students receiving special education services and in building a culture and climate of meaningful inclusion in our schools.

The battle over land in Harford County is not merely about saving trees, though it has all the markings of a classic conflict between developers and conservationists often seen in Maryland. The battle this time is about more than that. It’s about what we expect as modern consumers versus what we want as inhabitants of this coughing, wheezing planet.

With his announcement this week that Maryland will soon be formally adopting the “Advanced Clean Cars II” regulations first launched by California, mandating that 100% of cars and trucks sold in the state by 2035 be electric vehicles, Gov. Wes Moore has set an ambitious course. There’s simply no question that any serious effort to upgrade Maryland’s air quality, let alone reduce its greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, must navigate this road.