Commentary

Fining unhoused individuals for sleeping in public spaces exposes a critical flaw in the U.S.’ approach to its most vulnerable. The recent Johnson v. Grants Pass ruling underscores the harsh reality faced by those without shelter, penalized for sleeping in public areas with no viable alternatives. This brings to light urgent questions about the broader impact of criminalizing homelessness—how will it affect housing shortages and shape state and national policies?

Last year, Ocean City rolled out a new slogan, “Somewhere to Smile About” with a smiley face logo incorporating its OC initials. It was perfectly fine for the mass market crowd, we imagine, especially those who love laying on the beach and perhaps a handful of Thrasher’s fries once in a while. But if you really want to capture the excitement of Maryland’s Atlantic Ocean resort, here’s the one that best applies this week: “The White Marlin Capital of the World.”

In medical training, we learn strategies to deliver bad news. One strategy is called “the warning shot”: words you say to signal to patients and family members that you are about to share tragic news, to give them a moment to mentally prepare and brace themselves to hear that news. In our pediatric primary care clinic, an email subject title “Sad News” has become that too-frequent warning shot informing us that one of our patients has died.

Welcome to episode 1 of Center Maryland’s The Trail podcast series leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election. Each week our hosts (Damian O'Doherty, Candace Dodson-Reed, & Don Mohler) will discuss topics about the campaign and beyond. In this week’s episode, the gang talks about the events leading up to Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, who the Vice President will pick as her running mate, and more.

It’s the slow time of year for Chris Avaritt, a union carpenter who sets up trade shows, so he takes a staycation and fishes frequently from a kayak, armed with two or three spinning rods and an assortment of lures. He’s a warrior in the battle of the Chesapeake invasives, targeting the northern snakehead in the marshy areas of the Gunpowder River, where it meets the bay in eastern Baltimore County.

Whoosh! “Eyah!” Two noises. The first sound is an e-bike (electric bicycle) rushing by me at 15 to 18 miles per hour. The second noise is me jumping out of my skin. For those enjoying an idyllic walk in Baker Park, the atmosphere is increasingly punctuated by the whoosh of an e-bike, or a motorized skateboard, or a motorized scooter, racing by at high speed.

Many have struggled with dramatically increasing rents in recent years, and rent stabilization is one way to provide and enforce predictability in the rents that tenants pay. A year ago, I regrettably joined my colleagues on the Rockville City Council in signing a letter against Montgomery County’s implementation of rent stabilization. I signed on despite having been the only council member to recommend a total moratorium on rent increases for the duration of the pandemic.

Between January and June, more Marylanders chose to register as independents than chose to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. And Republicans outpaced Democrats in registration during the same period, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. The board’s monthly activity reports show 14,668 more voters listed as unaffiliated since the first of the year, and 8,111 more Republicans. At the same time, the number of registered Democrats dropped by 21,259.