Commentary

Anton’s Law grew out of public outrage about the use of lethal force by police officers in Maryland, particularly the brutal killing of Anton Black, an unarmed Black teenager, by Officer Thomas Webster IV on Maryland’s Eastern Shore on Sept. 15, 2018. Anton was a father and a star athlete, loved by his family and friends. He had a bright future. Officer Webster should never have held a position in Maryland law enforcement. Webster had 30 use-of-force complaints on his record when he was an officer in Dover, Delaware. He was ultimately fired after being arrested for kicking and breaking the jaw of an unarmed Black man, Lateef Dickerson. Nonetheless, he was certified to work in Maryland and hired by the Greensboro Police Department because the town’s police chief falsified Webster’s records.

During my time pursuing my first graduate degree at New York University, the graduate school of public administration, one of the oldest in the nation, changed its name to the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. It was named in honor of the late New York City mayor, Robert F. Wagner, who was still living at the time of the school’s renaming.

There is an enduring appeal to the notion of traveling the Chesapeake Bay by ferry. Maybe it’s the thought of standing at the rail, watching as the tide and miles roll away. Or perhaps it’s a traffic-jam daydream: getting somewhere without the endless glare of a thousand brake lights ahead of you?

The shocking collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday night has renewed concerns about the dangers of football. While I certainly agree with the need to make football safer, that’s the wrong lesson to draw from this situation. Rather, Hamlin’s cardiac arrest highlights the need to make automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) readily accessible in all sports facilities, especially where youth sports are played. The scary moment occurred after Hamlin, 24, apparently slammed his chest into the shoulder of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin stood up briefly after the tackle before collapsing on the field. His heart had stopped. Medical staff members rushed to perform chest compressions and used an AED to shock his heart.

Based on the many announced projects moving from drawing boards to groundbreakings, it should be a banner year for development in and around Baltimore in 2023. Despite expected economic headwinds and a pandemic that has not surrendered its grip on us, developers are moving ahead with a wide range of significant initiatives in Baltimore and beyond. I spoke to a representative of one of those developers earlier in the month. Drew Gorman is a Washington, D.C.-based partner with P. David Bramble of MCB Real Estate LLC. The firm has a growing portfolio of developments at a number of locations around Baltimore.

Correctional officers assisting in the assault and attempted murder of inmates by other inmates. Correctional officers knocking inmates unconscious, sodomizing them, and then dragging them through the prison unconscious with their pants around their ankles. Prison officials subjecting Spanish speaking prisoners to legal processes without interpreters, violating their due process rights, and then stripping them of good time credits that would see them released earlier. Prison medical contractors denying health care to prisoners and leaving them in excruciating pain for months or years on end. All done under the seal of the great State of Maryland and in the name of its citizens.

Next summer, the District of Columbia will begin offering free bus rides to anyone traveling within the city limits, making D.C. the biggest U.S. city yet to waive or significantly reduce fares to increase transit use and help low-income commuters get to jobs. The waiver, approved on Dec. 6, will not be cheap. It’s expected to cost the city an extra $43 million at a time when the region’s transit system has already been struggling financially.

This month President Biden signed into law the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, and it’s a good first start. But as a board-certified emergency physician working directly with medical cannabis patients in Maryland since our medical cannabis law passed, I know we need to do more. First, the bill still does not allow research to be done on the cannabis products that almost 5.5 million patients are using legally in their state programs today. For the last quarter century, states have had to individually pass medical cannabis laws to help their citizens.