Commentary

In April, as COVID-19 was on the decline in the U.S., and our collective optimism about the pandemic’s end was palpable, the Biden administration insisted that there would be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring a single vaccination credential. Such vaccine verification — the so-called “vaccine passport” — is politically fraught, much like everything else surrounding this pandemic. Today, 20 Republican-controlled states prohibit proof-of-vaccination requirements, and only four states, California, New York, Hawaii and Oregon, have created vaccine verification systems.

During a summer filled with disturbing news about climate change’s drastic impact – from wildfires and extreme heat to damaging floods – there is some good news to share. Maryland is taking a big step forward in the development of our offshore wind industry, which has the potential to make our state a leader in the fight against climate change while bringing immense economic benefits to our communities.

There are a lot of good things in the U.S. Senate infrastructure bill that was released earlier this week. The $1 trillion bill would address needs that our nation has faced for years, helping to repair, rebuild, and even reimagine our nation’s crumbling infrastructure by providing funding for things like roads, bridges, pipes, ports, highways, rail, broadband, and climate. And I am especially grateful that it would provide $150 million a year to the Washington Metro transit system for the next decade. But the bill falls short in several ways, and several things about this bill should be fixed before it is passed by Congress.

I was born with tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common congenital heart defects. In 1965, when I was 5 years old, I had my first corrective surgery. My parents were told I had a 50/50 chance of surviving. I did. Nowadays, they do this surgery on newborns, and it is fairly routine. My surgery was considered somewhat primitive back then, and I developed some cardiac arrhythmias later in life; my doctors said they likely came about from scar tissue from my earlier surgery.

“CELEBRATE INCLUSION! The United States Olympic Committee has formally changed its name to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee! What a great day to be a para-athlete!” So wrote Timonium’s Becca Meyers, U.S. Paralympian who is deaf and blind, on her Instagram on June 20, 2019. She could look forward to getting Paralympic prize money from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) — $37,500 for each gold medal, $22,500 for every silver, and $15,000 for a bronze — in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

After years of searching and a lot of stopping and starting, it looks like the Frederick Police Department may have found a new home — and it is less than a mile from the current headquarters downtown. If the building works, we can all offer a sigh of relief. The Frederick mayor and Board of Aldermen will meet Thursday to consider buying the building at 100 E. All Saints St., which once housed the county’s Department of Social Services.

While our community still revels in the victory of overriding the governor’s veto of the landmark Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the fight for racial equity in our schools is far from over. With just days left in the application window for the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), it is critical that the nominating committee prioritize race equity in the selection process of the board.