Commentary

Having recently completed my 40th year as a card-carrying journalist, I feel compelled to share the one small nugget of wisdom I have gleaned from all those misspent hours hanging out with mayors, governors, legislators and other ne’er-do-wells of elected office. They are not all the same. This will shock some of you, I know, but like other human beings, they range from truly nice people to miserable jerks. This is not a matter of political viewpoint, age or gender. Awful people come in all shapes and sizes and party affiliations. But here’s the question: Can you spot them?

Legislators are frequent targets of social media attacks, harsh critiques and general unpleasantness. Accordingly, when legislators get something clearly right, we are obliged to take the time to offer praise. One area in which legislators have been getting it more right than wrong in Maryland is clean energy, especially with respect to the growing pervasiveness of offshore wind and attendant investments in our economy. In 2019, the state passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act by decisive, veto-proof margins of 95-40 in the House of Delegates and 31-15 in the Senate. That set the stage for the clean energy revolution we are now experiencing.

President Biden has declared January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Yet, some of the worst government-sanctioned human rights abuses are committed against child trafficking and sex crime victims right here in the United States. I was in elementary school and only 11 years old when I met the man who robbed me of my childhood. Coming from a home and community where drugs and abuse were the norm, I was an easy target for a man with sinister intentions.

Legislators are frequent targets of social media attacks, harsh critiques and general unpleasantness. Accordingly, when legislators get something clearly right, we are obliged to take the time to offer praise. One area in which legislators have been getting it more right than wrong in Maryland is clean energy, especially with respect to the growing pervasiveness of offshore wind and attendant investments in our economy.

Every year, scores of Marylanders make New Year’s resolutions, especially to improve their health and wealth. In fact, 55% of Americans plan to make health-related New Year’s resolutions this year, while 53% have vowed to improve their financial well-being, according to a recent UnitedHealthcare survey. What are the most common resolutions for 2022? Among people making health resolutions, the survey found that 26% hope to lose weight, 24% are planning to exercise more and 21% intend to eat a healthier diet.

Here’s why I support a vaccine passport: Because it’s time for people who follow best practices and science — a vast majority of our state by any measure — to be able to return to their daily lives and routines. As the coronavirus evolves, so must our strategies. We cannot continue in this climate where the small percentage of the unvaccinated determine the course of life for the overwhelming majority of people who did the right thing and got vaccinated. We must work collaboratively to find the best solutions that ensure the safety of all Marylanders.

It was only three months ago that surgeons successfully attached a kidney from a genetically altered pig to a human recipient. Since then, new successes continue to pile on. In December, the kidney procedure was successfully repeated. Then, earlier this month, we celebrated another huge leap forward in such xenotransplantation: Surgeons successfully transplanted a pig heart into a human patient who lives in the Baltimore area. For this accomplishment, congratulations are in order.