Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
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Commentary

Opinion: A plan to revive Baltimore transit is now under development

Recently, The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board asked the question, “What can be done about Baltimore’s unreliable transit?” (Aug. 11). This week, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council appointed a diverse work group of regional leaders and transportation experts to address a long-standing issue at the heart of that question. The Baltimore region is one of the few large metropolitan areas in the country in which local elected officials are voiceless in the operation or planning of the transit system. The Sun’s editorial rightly framed Baltimore’s transit challenges as the result of state planning and funding decisions. The editorial board is also correct in its assertion that addressing Baltimore’s transit challenges cannot wait for the next governor to take office in 2023.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Streeter: Back to school offers a respite from high summer camp and child care price tags … or does it?

A few months back I wrote about how parents were facing higher-than-ever bills for summer camp for our offspring who were too young to stay home by themselves or get jobs that would pay for their own babysitters. The consensus seemed to be that those of us with kids in public school were all just gutting through June, July and most of August until those kids go back to class and learn stuff somewhere that’s free. Or is it?

Nurse passenger riding train
Opinion: It’s time to build the Red Line and other equitable transportion options in Baltimore

I make my way through Baltimore’s Little Italy to catch the Shot Tower metro to Johns Hopkins Hospital. It’s a quick walk — maybe 10 minutes to the station. From there, I wait for the next available train and then ride the subway one stop to the hospital. All in all, the journey takes about 20 minutes in the morning. Although I have a car, keeping my parking spot to sit in traffic, drive a few miles and navigate through a parking garage isn’t worth the hassle.

Anne Arundel County teacher: ‘We feel abandoned’

I am a special education teacher for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. I used to love my job. I build kids’ confidence along with their skills, help them through some of life’s toughest challenges, and have some of the most amazing colleagues and administrators anyone in the profession could ask for. I consider myself well-paid when it comes to the teaching field, and for that I am grateful.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Monkeypox-fueled hate echoes the HIV/AIDS era, even in rainbow cities

It was a sunny day last week when it finally happened, the thing Jay had left his small, conservative hometown in the South to avoid — hate. He came here to be his full self. But it was the pink mask and Birkenstock sandals the man singled out as he verbally assaulted the 31-year-old on the Yellow Line last week, using slurs targeting gay people, ranting about monkeypox and advancing into Jay’s personal space as the train stopped in a tunnel.

Editorial Advisory Board: Baltimore police should make full use of new technologies

We are in a transition phase regarding policing in America. Throughout the history of policing, much of the citizen and officer contact has been by way of face-to-face interactions requiring both a citizen willing to concede to the authority of an officer and a police officer who is willing to engage. Due to public sentiments concerning policing, overall fewer citizens are applying to be police officers; some estimates claim, of those who do apply, only about 2% are ultimately able to enter the ranks.

Vote pin back buttons
Be wary of election predictions based on widespread conventional wisdom

A dictionary definition of conventional wisdom is “a generally accepted theory or belief.” This definition needs a disclaimer: Widespread conventional wisdom in politics is challenged regularly by actual election results that are opposite of predicted election results. We live in an increasingly VUCA world, a world characterized by high levels of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. As a result, election outcomes are decided by voters whose behavior on election day and during early voting is unpredictable and subject to change at any time until they cast their vote.

After her eminent domain win in Poppleton, Sonia Eaddy’s fight is just beginning

At the end of the day, when the kids finally gave up on drawing chalk art in the alley and the never-ending barbecue under the shade trees had no more takers, and the boom boom-boom of the music settled down, Sonia Eaddy started slowly for the edge of the grass with mic in hand. She was hard to read: Was she tired? Was she struck with stage fright?

Charles M. Blow: Trump’s politics of persecution

After the FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida — an extraordinary event in the history of the United States — the former president and his allies immediately began to howl that Mr. Trump was being persecuted. Mr. Trump issued a statement that said his “beautiful home” was “currently under siege, raided and occupied” and “nothing like this has ever happened to a president of the United States before.” Left out of this victimhood framing was that this wasn’t so much an action but a reaction — a reaction to a president corrupt on a level this country has never seen before.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
The ‘soft’ way to save lives: with a spoonful less sugar

Much attention is given, perhaps rightly so, to the dramatic moments of 21st century life when people are rescued from certain death. A police officer nabs a shooter, a firefighter pulls a victim from a fire, a Coast Guard helicopter pulls up passengers from a capsized boat in stormy seas. They can be stirring scenes captured on video. And then there are the “miracles” of modern medicine when lives are saved — or at least greatly enhanced — by everything from new vaccines and therapies to miracle drugs and futuristic prosthetics. Kudos to the scientists.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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