Commentary

Last weekend, a full slate of college football games was played across the country. This weekend, the NFL is in full swing, highlighted by the Ravens playing on Monday Night Football against the Raiders in Las Vegas. At least the Ravens will be in a place where sports betting is allowed this weekend. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation legalizing slot machines in a special session in 2007. Ever since, Maryland has been viewed as acting too passively on expanding gaming options.

A bombshell, with uncertain force, is about to land on school reform in Maryland. It’s the startup in the next several weeks of the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) created under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. More than any other part of the blueprint, the AIB is a radical experiment in school governance — untested anywhere in the U.S. — with virtually limitless authority to make or break school reform for generations to come.

Twenty years ago, I stood in my kitchen in Baltimore and watched in disbelief as two planes hit the Twin Towers. Days later, I was compelled to go to Ground Zero myself to bear witness to the crime. I won’t ever forget the eerily silent procession of stunned residents walking slowly through the white ash of pulverized cement, steel, drywall, window glass that covered everything. We breathed in dust containing the remains of the people killed in the attack, along with the hair and skin cells of those who had worked in the World Trade Center decades before. The mood felt sacred, and we were congregants receiving communion together.

If you want an alderperson who knows Ward 8 issues and needs, including traffic, speeding, parking, potholes, sidewalk repairs, the conflicting needs of residents and businesses, the burden of taxes and fees, and water access, and who will continue to represent your interests in these areas to the administration and on the City Council; then you want to reelect me. If you want an alderperson who holds regular town hall meetings for ALL of Ward 8 to hear from you and to inform you about important matters, who sends out biweekly emails with the City Council meeting agenda that state how and why I will vote at those meetings, and who has demonstrated experience, leadership, and dedication to get the job done and done well; then you want to reelect me.

The Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition heartily joins the celebrations across the Baltimore region in appreciation of Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen. Language that might open the door to funds for the completion of the Red Line light rail project was introduced into federal legislation by the senators. In addition to funding, requirements to complete the Red Line include regional political will, governmental sponsors and the formal re-evaluation of the Red Line Final Environmental Impact Study.

As schools return to in-person instruction this fall during the ongoing pandemic, education is in crisis. I do not mean a crisis in learning outcomes — as in failed courses, low test scores, low completion rates. I mean education is in existential crisis. Why have schools if the graduates choose not to use their educations? There is no point to education if, in the end, facts, logic, critical thinking and reasoned debate are rejected in favor of conspiracy theories and willful ignorance.

The history of organized labor in the United States is one of struggle against seemingly hopeless odds, with victories often decades in the making. It’s a history in which Baltimore plays a proud part. In fact, the city can lay some claim as the birthplace of the national organized labor movement, more than 150 years ago. We recount the tale each year, our own Labor Day tradition, in honor of the many essential workers who gave the rest of us some measure of comfort amid the pandemic, by simply going to work.