Commentary

Maybe Facebook can’t be fixed. Did anyone ever think of that? As a whistleblower releases damning information, as Congress holds another hearing into the harm the company does, the implicit assumption is that the social-media giant can be reformed, that with the right combination of algorithmic tweaks and legislative remedies, it can cease being a malevolent force.

This week, Mayor Brandon Scott signed into law legislation requiring Baltimore’s three employee pension funds to divest themselves from the fossil fuel industry. Given how controversial divestment proposals have been in the past when social responsibility has run up against high profitability (guns, tobacco, and alcohol to name a few), leaving Exxon Mobil, Chevron and their peer stocks behind proved rather anti-climactic. No protests. No harangues about pension costs down the road. No dissenting voices, frankly.

About an hour after news circulated Tuesday that his former chief of staff, Roy McGrath, had been charged by federal and state prosecutors for plundering the state treasury, among other alleged misdeeds, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s political committee, An America United, sent out a fundraising solicitation. The subject line of the email was, “He created this mess,” and the pitch began this way: “My friend, I’m frustrated. Are you?

Newspapers — especially community newspapers — are alive and well. We chronicle the lives and times of our neighbors and keep a close eye on the government. In addition to our print products, we maintain an up-to-date website to serve the public. This week is National Newspaper Week, from Oct. 3 through 9, and newspapers are encouraged to promote themselves. Frankly, we don’t do a really good job of self-promotion — not nearly as good as television, probably because we don’t try as hard. We’re generally too busy meeting the next deadline.

In addition to coming up with new lines defining the state’s legislative districts, a commission created by Gov. Larry Hogan is also charged with another monumental task: Changing the way members of the House of Delegates are elected. The governor has directed the commission to draw a legislative map using single-member delegate districts instead of the current system in which districts elect from one to three delegates.

“We have been failed, and we deserve answers.” These are the words of Simone Biles, one of the greatest athletes of all time, in her recent testimony to Congress about the utter failure of systems at every level to protect athletes from USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused over 200 gymnasts. As Ms. Biles pointed out, the victims, mostly children and teens at the time of the abuse, could not even rely on the FBI to take serious, swift action after abuse was reported. Sadly, in many cases their own parents didn’t believe them.

“We have been failed, and we deserve answers.” These are the words of Simone Biles, one of the greatest athletes of all time, in her recent testimony to Congress about the utter failure of systems at every level to protect athletes from USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused over 200 gymnasts. As Ms. Biles pointed out, the victims, mostly children and teens at the time of the abuse, could not even rely on the FBI to take serious, swift action after abuse was reported.

Amtrak Joe — President Joe Biden — is set to deliver on a new national moment for passenger rail. Despite some recent fits and starts, the Congress is close passing a transformational $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. The bill represents a historic investment in passenger rail, providing increased federal operating support for commuter railroads, new grant programs to address aging infrastructure and new support for green railroad technologies.