Commentary

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.”

I think it would be accurate and appropriate to call Pamela and Christian Wilson the most determined-to-do-good couple in Baltimore. They won’t say it. I just did. I might be wrong, but I doubt it. I first met them for coffee in their Charles Village home in 2017. At the time, the Wilsons had a singular charitable undertaking: They supplied the ingredients of “weekend survival kits” for the 110 homeless children who were then attending six of Baltimore’s elementary schools.

At a recent White House event, President Joe Biden joined his predecessor, Barack Obama, to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act ’s passage. So much has changed for the better thanks to the ACA: The country’s uninsured rate has dropped dramatically (by half in Maryland), people no longer struggle to get coverage due to preexisting medical conditions, and millions of Americans receive help paying their insurance premiums. But there’s still work to be done to get everybody covered and to ensure they have access to the care they need.

We are at a powerful inflection point in our city’s history. Baltimore has so much promise, and we are on a path to recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, our recovery is far from over. We all know that Baltimore is the birthplace of racial redlining and neighborhood segregation. That legacy rears its ugly head in the stark inequalities and disparities in the quality of life afforded to residents in predominantly Black and brown communities. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare this brutal truth we have ignored for far too long: Too many of our residents live in poverty and navigate the lasting effects of structural inequality.

At my university, we accept students as they are. But we certainly do not expect them to leave our institution as they entered. I often reflect on that simple premise as I watch them grow and mature, ultimately taking their places as informed citizens in a democratic and increasingly multicultural society. The developmental processes leading up to their point of departure form the bedrock of our existence. Thus, I am somewhat puzzled by a growing number of external social critics who argue that our higher education institutions are becoming “too liberal.” What exactly does that mean? I wonder?

Have you noticed a sudden “sprouting” of blue pinwheels throughout Downtown Bel Air over the past week? Have you been wondering what they represent? April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the new national symbol for child abuse prevention. Why? Because by its very nature, the pinwheel connotes playfulness, joy, and childhood. It has come to serve as a physical reminder of the great childhoods we want for all children.