Commentary

One of the curiosities to rise out of the Norfolk Southern train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, and caused a days-long fire, has been the outcry from Republican opinion leaders. High-profile conservatives — from U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — have questioned whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation and President Joe Biden have done enough to help Upper Ohio Valley residents and protect other U.S. communities from similar disasters.

Oyster aquaculture is a growing industry in the state of Maryland. Similar to watermen, these intrepid individuals and companies utilize the water column or bottom of the Bay to cultivate and harvest farmed oysters. The industry has achieved steady growth since the allowance for aquaculture leases in 2010. In turn, generating new jobs and economic multipliers. One major contributor to pollution in the Bay and cause of subsequent harmful impact on its natural resources is the Conowingo Hydroelectric Dam (formerly owned by Exelon Generation Company, LLC, now Constellation Energy). Since beginning operations more than 90 years ago, the dam has blocked fish from traveling upstream to spawn and eels that carry the larvae of freshwater mussels. This has significantly reduced the millions of fish that once traveled up the Susquehanna River and impaired the filtration capability of freshwater mussel populations.

It was one of those dreary, cold and windy days — so much so that I was certain to pass on my usual neighborhood walk and spend the day in a sour mood. Then at mid-morning my daughter-in-law’s sister, Negin, called me, suggesting we go to lunch. “But the weather,” I responded. “Come on,” she said laughing, “we can do it.” She picked me up an hour later and decided we’d try a new, nearby restaurant that was built to look like a train dining car. The diner was a bright spot in our turn off the main road — literally. It was lit up with more silvery bulbs than you could count. As we entered the shiny car, we were quickly greeted by a young, smiling host, who appeared to be somewhat nervous.

If Dante had needed a 10th circle of hell, he might have chosen a faculty meeting. A half-dozen universities were already operating in Italy by the time his Inferno began circulating in the 14th century. Readers who have spent time in these gatherings — at any level — will likely know what I mean. Yet, even faculty gatherings produce, on rare occasions, more than just bitter battles over small stakes. I attended one of these gems last week at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University. Professor Mario Mainero gave a riveting presentation on artificial intelligence and legal education. AI has been much in the headlines recently after the debut of ChatGPT, a relatively young iteration of software with untold room to improve. And yet: ChatGPT can pass law school-level exam questions.

Early one Sunday morning more than 20 years ago, I traipsed downstairs to find one of my four children, my 12-year-old daughter, Alexandra, scribbling away at the dining room table. “What are you doing?” I sleepily inquired. “Writing a letter to The Washington Post!” she answered. The “Sunday papers” had been a fixture in our household for many years. Alexandra’s mother and I encouraged our kids to take an interest in current events by subscribing to several newspapers and by reading interesting articles from the papers out loud to them. So our “tween” had read the Sunday papers and taken offense at one of the news articles (about the content of books in schools). She was familiar enough with the Post’s op-ed page to believe a letter to the editor was in order. Her letter ran the next weekend.

When WRNR went off the air this month, Annapolis mourned the demise of its only FM station. It was a refrain similar to the one two years ago when Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak sold WNAV for $1 to develop the land under the city’s only AM station. The new owners dropped local programming in favor of that syndicated sound you can find anywhere and everywhere. “Oh, woe is me,” cried Annapolis.

The observance of George Washington’s birthday reminds us not to tell lies. Yet, if he were a public school teacher these days, he would be forced to fib a lot. And if, in addition to being father of our country, he was father of a school child, there’s a good chance he would be badly misled about his child’s academic progress. Teachers are my heroes. They are under-valued, underpaid and overworked. And yet, am I suggesting that they are untruthful?