Commentary

I’m sitting in Obrycki’s on Concourse B at BWI. You know, the place that used to be a Baltimore crab house but now is a spot to grab some Maryland-themed airport food. I’m wondering why I paid $32.99 for a warm crab salad on a hotdog bun when I start to notice my fellow travelers, the ones who chose to fly on the Thursday afternoon before a long holiday weekend.

Progress and potential. That is how the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) described current Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts in its latest two-year milestone report. In its report, the EPA commended states’ achievements toward our 2025 pollution reduction goals. They included reducing pollution from wastewater treatment facilities and agriculture, as well as forest buffer initiatives.

We welcomed our sassy, goofy, energetic boy Bailey Bernard Bullock to the world on Jan. 14, 2005. May 12, 2021, was the day we lost our beautiful, respectful, humble Bailey to cardiac arrest after a track event at the age of 16. As one can imagine, these are big dates in our family. Days when we remember and honor the impact that Bailey made on his family, his friends and his community in his short time on this earth. But it’s not just two days a year when Bailey’s memory motivates me to turn my grief into action.

It’s a wonderful time to be a Democrat. President Joe Biden stepped aside as the nominee, opening the door for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The Democratic National Convention ended and Dems left Chicago on a buoyant cloud of joy. Be forewarned. This is a Dougie Downer kind of column. What goes up must come, well, the opposite of up.

As we seek to confront the overdose crisis, one area too often overlooked is the criminal justice system, which accounts for more than one-third of referrals to addiction treatment programs. Approximately half of individuals incarcerated in the U.S. meet criteria for substance use disorder (SUD). Incarcerated individuals are up to 40 times more likely to die of an overdose within two weeks of release, which is a leading cause of post-release fatality due to loss of tolerance to opioids during incarceration when medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) are not provided.

In her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Angela Alsobrooks told some of her personal stories and had about eight minutes to shine in an eloquent speech. The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland had a giant platform on one of the political world’s biggest stages, where she hailed Kamala Harris for her public safety record and as a friend.