Commentary

In Maryland’s solidly Democratic 4th Congressional District, anchored in Prince George’s County, the party’s primary this summer is a contest between two relatively well-known “formers.” It pits former representative Donna F. Edwards, running to regain the seat she held from 2008 to 2017, against Prince George’s former top prosecutor, Glenn Ivey. Both are able, savvy, qualified candidates, but Mr. Ivey would make a more effective member of Congress. He has our endorsement.

In the Washington area, we are emerging from an intermittently chilly spring into the full glory of May’s greening trees and blooming wildflowers, the return of migratory birds and the awakening from slumber of turtles, frogs and other creatures for whom warmth is essential. At the National Arboretum, the azaleas have passed their peak, and trillium, increasingly hard to find, are blooming here and there throughout the arboretum’s winding paths and woodlands.

The baby formula debacle has taught the nation many lessons. Among the most important is how the Food and Drug Administration failed. The agency did an insufficient job inspecting and monitoring formula factories. It reacted sluggishly to a whistleblower and to reports of sick infants. And it neglected to take timely action to prevent the shortage after a major production plant closed in February.

Gov. Larry Hogan’s political brand has been about being the no-nonsense guy who doesn’t play games but tells it like it is, especially in recent months as he attempts to define himself to a national audience for a potential presidential candidacy in 2024. We know this because he’s made whole speeches on the topic, including at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library several weeks ago where he expressed a preference for “work horses” over “show ponies.”

The Youghiogheny River, in Western Maryland, is considered a Scenic and Wild River by the Department of Natural Resources. A few years ago, I hiked along four tough miles of the river and learned firsthand to appreciate what that special designation means. The Youghiogheny, or the Yock, flows for miles through Garrett County into Pennsylvania. The Maryland section, upstream of the town of Oakland to the town of Friendsville, is well known to white-water kayakers and rafters, visitors to Swallow Falls State Park and people who fish the Yock’s long pools and riffles.

Maryland voters will begin casting mail-in ballots early next month and the primary is less than 60 days away. But there is a nagging question that just about everyone in Maryland politics is asking: What’s going on in the race for governor? The lack of independent polling has left journalists, debate planners and — most importantly — voters in the dark about the Democratic and Republican primary contests that will shape the general election in November.

Like many immigrants fleeing poverty after a natural disaster, my family and I immigrated from El Salvador after the 2001 earthquakes devastated our country. With a lot of hard work, we opened a family restaurant where we all worked, and we bought houses in the neighborhood of Brooklyn to live close to each other. Baltimore became our home, and we feel we’re part of the hard-working and diverse community that lives here.