Commentary

My family moved 11 times during the 12 years my dad was in the Marine Corps. After he left active duty, we returned to the civilian world, settling in then Baltimore area. Life after the military was supposed to be calm and predictable. Unfortunately, my dad began struggling with post-traumatic stress and an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury. My mom immediately stepped up as his caregiver. As the oldest child, I was her assistant. Separated from the understanding and support of the Marine Corps community, life became difficult and lonely. At 12 years old, I was completely overwhelmed, and I began to think that my parents would be better off without me.

Montgomery County is large and prosperous with a highly educated workforce. But that doesn’t mean we can throw money away. The County Executive and members of the Council have approved plans to expand their Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system despite its failure to attract riders. The BRT, marketed as the Flash bus, is an expensive solution for a bygone time. Meantime, county leadership turns a blind eye to alternative transit options. Transit riders don’t like buses. In 2019, The New York Times reported that bus ridership had dropped for nearly seven years straight and was at its lowest level since the 1970s.

Memorial Day is still weeks away, yet in Ocean City, civic and business leaders are already fretting about the seasonal challenges ahead. Weather? They can only hope for clear skies and warm temperatures. Traffic jams on U.S. 50? That’s in the hands of out-of-towners, like the Maryland Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Good fishing, calm seas for boating? Again, strictly higher powers in control.

With spring migration underway, Maryland’s state bird — the Baltimore oriole — is returning home to breed. But fewer of those blaze-orange birds are making the journey these days, as about one in three Baltimore orioles has been lost since 1970, amid the staggering loss of 3 billion birds from breeding populations in North America. Yet hope remains. America can take a strong step forward in bringing back our birds, and other wildlife, by enacting the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.

When media outlets report that runaway pollution has resulted in dead fish and “volcanoes of black stuff,” it’s easy to point the finger at private companies up to no good. In reality, taxpayer-funded plants and utilities can degrade the ecosystem at significantly higher rates than their private sector counterparts. Maryland residents are just the latest victims of government entities’ blatant disregard for ecology. The state was recently forced to take charge of the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant (previously run by Baltimore City officials) after inspections revealed hazardous discharges, clogged tanks and filters, and “floating solids” infiltrating waterways.

On Feb. 11, the Maryland Department of Transportation emailed to the public a communication, “HOT Lanes Can Improve Access and Options, Reduce Traffic Congestion in Maryland,” promoting the toll lane project on I-495/I-270. On April 8, MDOT sent another questionable public communication where it again in a section called “Choose to travel for free” misleadingly stated, “2. Don’t want to pay a toll? Here’s what you can do instead. … Use the existing general-purpose lanes that are there today. These lanes will remain free for everyone and will get you where you need to go with less delay once the new HOT lanes are added.”