Commentary

State and local officials are scrambling desperately to cope with the latest surge of COVID-19 viral infections that have swept like wildfire, overwhelming our health care systems. But they missed chances to address the crisis sooner, which might have helped slow the spread of the virus. On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a 30-day state of emergency and mobilized 1,000 members of the Maryland National Guard to help state and local health officials.

We have learned many lessons over the past two years — and one that stands out is the importance of ensuring that every Marylander has access to affordable health insurance. Even before the pandemic exposed weaknesses in our economy, workers sought out jobs that provided both good pay and good benefits. Today, as employers are finding it difficult to hire workers — and workers are wary of going back to jobs because of the ongoing pandemic — ensuring that businesses can offer health insurance is more important than ever.

In 1955, the nation was horrified by the film “Blackboard Jungle.” It showed an inner-city school out of control where students terrifying teachers was a daily rite of passage. I saw the film in the early 60s, and I shuddered when Vic Morrow turned to Glenn Ford to say, “You want to take me to the office, Daddy-O? Then take me to the office.” Was this film an accurate portrayal of public education at the time? Absolutely not. Did it represent what was happening in far too many classrooms across the nation — then and now? It did indeed.

Now that the House has voted to hold former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt for refusing to appear before the Jan. 6 Select Committee, Washington insiders are gripped in a typical, inside-the-Beltway dilemma: whether or not the Justice Department should file criminal charges against him. After all, unlike Steve Bannon, Mr. Meadows was a member of the executive branch and can therefore claim “executive privilege.”

As the weather turns cold, the threat of house fires rises. People spend more time indoors; they turn on portable space heaters or light fires in fireplaces or leave on stoves or ovens, and the risks naturally go up with the season. Open flames are a threat, but so are smoldering embers that produce poisonous carbon monoxide if not properly vented. Falling asleep with a cigarette in hand is a common cause of fatal fires, as are unattended children, who might be inclined to play with flames when there is no adult supervision.

Everything you need to know about the draft legislative districts created by the Maryland Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission is that it released the map at 5:30 p.m. on the Monday before Christmas. It’s also no coincidence that the commission hearing on the districts was held on the Wednesday afternoon before Christmas. Because of the quick timing and the holiday rush, only seven people were even able to testify.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting kicking the year 2021 into the dustbin of history. However today, I started to think about Dante’s long narrative poem “Divine Comedy.” Dante framed his book using the Christian construct for the afterlife, dividing the book into sections: “Paradiso” or Heaven, “Purgatorio” or Purgatory and “Inferno” or Hell. I had thought that there was very little positive about 2021. I then started thinking about my personal interactions with people I hardly know. I realized that, according to Dante, many of these people will end up in paradise. I have been treated so well by so many people.

Spider-Man: No Way Home not only concludes a trilogy, but it is the culmination of every Spider-Man film. It is the most ambitious Marvel film since Avengers: Endgame.

When the pandemic hit, we started giving money to people who needed it — and it helped. Our efforts have worked so well, in fact, that the District of Columbia is building on our model and plans to launch a $1.5 million pilot program for cash transfers. We knew that our neighbors were the experts in their own lives and that they would know best how to utilize financial resources to support their families. And our instincts were right.

The Maryland General Assembly on Dec. 6 listened to its constituents and voted into law collective bargaining rights for community college employees over the governor’s veto. It’s an historic day for tens of thousands of Marylanders who have been denied this basic right. While I am overjoyed that my colleagues and I will soon have the same rights as countless other employees in our state, I am equally dismayed that it took a veto override to make it happen. I have always been a Republican.