Commentary

Public education is transforming faster than ever, and the needs and expectations evolve with each school year. School buildings must support the teaching and learning needs of today to best nurture the leaders of tomorrow. In Prince George’s County Public Schools, many children attend classes in aging facilities. Nearly half of all school buildings are more than 50 years old — the second-oldest school buildings in the state.

At the Baltimore City Council’s Taxpayer Night on May 27, Councilmember Eric Costello told residents the council would “listen to your comments,” to “help guide our decisions as we pass this year’s budget.” Taxpayer Night was the council’s only public forum where Baltimore residents could weigh in on Mayor Brandon Scott’s proposed budget — and our voices were ignored. More than 50 Baltimore taxpayers, including both of us, prepared testimony about how we thought the city should spend our money.

One of the things that aggravates me about Larry Hogan is his narrative about why he decided to run for governor. He was just a simple businessman, he explains, who became so frustrated with the direction of the state, and high taxes and stifling regulations, that he felt compelled to run and try to make things right.v Not true. Hogan has been around politics his entire life, and has thirsted to be a player in the political game from a very young age.

The letter from an Exelon employee (“Conowingo Dam License Will Benefit the Bay” Maryland Matters, June 18, 2021) is full of inaccuracies, and claiming that the dam is a “best management practice” is completely ridiculous. While the dam may have slowed the flow of some sediment and trash for a time, the dam collected it and now releases it in catastrophic unnatural high-impact releases.

Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, governments at most every level have, often to their credit, recognized that the potential damage to the U.S. economy was profound. In response, officials quickly turned on the spending tap, particularly at the federal level, often leaving it to states and local government to decide how the money could be used most effectively.

Lawyers spend years perfecting the art of the client-attorney relationship and regularly engage with individuals from various socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Each relationship is unique to the circumstances. However, there are certain situations that require deeper consideration and care, such as working with individuals with disabilities. In 2015, one of us was invited to serve as a competency expert on a case where an adolescent, “James,” with intellectual disabilities was arrested for stealing cellphones.

As homicides dramatically increase across the nation, a question has emerged as to why Baltimore City is an exception. What are we doing right in Baltimore that other places are not doing? Crime statistics readily available on the internet show that last year homicides increased nationwide by 25%, up from 16,000 homicides in 2019 to more than 20,000 in 2020. The rate of increase was even higher in major cities. In Philadelphia, homicides increased from 346 to 469, up 35%. Chicago went from 481 homicides to 748, up 55%.

Nobody asked me, but reports of Baltimore’s moribund state appear to have been exaggerated. There’s suddenly all kinds of stuff happening here: A $150 million redevelopment of the Royal Farms Arena; the $1 billion Perkins-Somerset-Old Town transformation underway in East Baltimore; financing finally in place for a big redevelopment of the Westport waterfront on the south side; the new Lexington Market rolling out its vendor list. Now, if we can just get guys to stop killing each other.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced educators around the country to experiment with new forms of learning for children and new forms of instruction for teachers. Most school systems, including here in Frederick County, went all-in on virtual learning in the spring of 2020, and continued to do so — for many students — through the school year just ending.