Commentary

With all the criticism heaped on law enforcement in recent years, from claims of racial profiling and use of excessive force to outright corruption, it’s fair to wonder whether private security guards — especially those who carry weapons — are also receiving sufficient scrutiny. That concern has been underscored in recent weeks by multiple shootings involving civilian armed guards, who are often employed by businesses and affluent neighborhoods seeking to supplement the services of their local police departments.

With 2022′s election night in the rearview mirror, the 2024 presidential election will soon dominate the headlines. Donald Trump is still popular among Republicans and will likely run. As he said earlier this month, “in order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again,” and last week, he promised to make a “special announcement“ at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 15.

Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist for the left-wing newspaper Haaretz, was appalled after the Israeli electorate gave a far-right alliance nearly 11% of the vote, making it the third-largest parliamentary bloc in the Knesset. He calls the bloc leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a “fascist,” a description that fits a man who once kept a portrait of Israeli terrorist Baruch Goldstein in his living room.

Three gents, who care deeply about the place, are taking us on a hike today, into the woodlands of Oregon Ridge Park in Baltimore County. They want us to see what they consider a problem in the hilltop forest: Not enough oaks, too many deer; not enough birds, too many thorns. Now, you say, that’s fine, and it might even be interesting. But don’t we have much bigger problems? Of course. The big picture — I mean, the really big picture — is that the planet is in trouble, and we, that is, the 8 billion of us who inhabit Earth, are not doing enough to slow climate change. The three main greenhouse gasses (methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide) have hit record levels in the atmosphere, according to the United Nations, and that’s more bad news.

I am extremely saddened, although unfortunately not surprised, to read the recent article highlighting the failure to meet the needs of children across Maryland. As a child psychiatrist and as president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt — Maryland’s largest nonprofit provider of behavioral health services, including those provided to children and adolescents — I have too often seen the negative clinical consequences of policy choices that have led to the underfunding of our behavioral health system and a lack of needed programs and services to help our youth.