Commentary

In 2020, Human Rights for Kids, a national nonprofit that advocates for juvenile justice reform, labeled Maryland among the worst human rights offenders in the country. Policymakers took the criticism to heart, embarking on a mission to do better. Since then, Maryland has ended mandatory minimums for youth, prohibited children under 13 from being subject to criminal liability for nonviolent offenses and provided juveniles some of the most comprehensive due process protections in the United States. In its 2022 report, Human Rights for Kids called Maryland the “most improved state.”

Following years of declining student performance and increasing demoralization among teachers and staff, Baltimore County’s newly constituted Board of Education faces the all-important responsibility of recruiting a new school superintendent. The county is at a critical inflection point that will determine the trajectory of local public education — and the health of our community overall — for years to come.

Cities across the nation face a dilemma: Downtown office buildings are empty as workers prefer to stay home. Nearly all local leaders agree part of the solution is an office-to-apartment conversion boom. Cities have started rolling out tax incentives to encourage developers to begin this transformation. This strategy is straight out of the playbook that revived center city Philadelphia and Lower Manhattan in the past quarter century. But there’s a problem: City leaders aren’t doing enough.

Maryland prisons are dangerous and unhealthy places, both for staff and for the approximately 15,000 men and women detained behind bars. Now is the time for Maryland to step up to the plate and alter the culture so those who live in prison and who work there can do so in an environment conducive to rehabilitation and successful reentry.

Indexing the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index is an essential component of The Fair Wage Act. The Act, which fulfills Governor Moore’s promise to accelerate the implementation of the state’s $15-an-hour minimum wage, will provide low-wage workers with a much-needed boost in income and will help to narrow the income gap. Without indexing, the minimum wage would be subject to the same challenges that have plagued it for years.

The Baltimore County Council recently passed the Bring Your Own Bag Act, which will ban the distribution of plastic bags at some stores beginning this November. Unfortunately, the bill was amended and weakened, perpetuating a serious flaw that is too common in well-intended plastic reduction policies. Blue Water Baltimore and Maryland Hunger Solutions strongly supported the original bill, but are disappointed that the final version will present another barrier to accessing food.

Those who were in Bel Air that day for the court hearing say they had never seen anything like it: Bob Cassilly, the new Harford County executive, entered Judge Diane Adkins-Tobin’s courtroom and signaled for a timeout in the proceedings. The judge confirmed Cassilly’s request to speak with the attorney there representing the county in the contested land-use case. Minutes later, plans for a large development in Abingdon were thrown again into limbo.

Maryland voted for adult-use cannabis, and legislation has been introduced to create the applicable regulations. The legislators who drafted House Bill 556 and Senate Bill 516 have done an excellent job; the bills contemplate combining the current medical cannabis program and the adult use one under one regulatory agency. As the amendment process is underway, I ask them to consider two points.