Commentary

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.

Anyone who has ever attended an event at Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena — whether it’s a hip-hop concert, an indoor soccer game or a performance of “Disney on Ice” — knows that as such facilities go, it’s firmly in so-so territory. The acoustics aren’t bad. The downtown location with convenient parking and transit options not far from the Inner Harbor is good. But it’s a bit small and cramped, lacking in amenities and really, really outdated. In short, it’s no Barclays Center, the multi-purpose Brooklyn arena that’s considered among the best such facilities in the world.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) lifted the state of emergency in Maryland, giving schools permission to abandon mandatory masking, both now for summer school as well as in the fall. I know this sounds scary. To many, masking has come to symbolize a loyalty to science, reason and a commitment to the well-being of others. Leaving masks at home may feel selfish and unscientific, but it is not. Masking is now unnecessary, even in schools and among the unvaccinated, because the majority of Marylanders are now immune to the coronavirus.

I have had the opportunity of chairing a committee to build a memorial to the victims of the largest mass murder of journalists in the history of the United States. This Monday, June 28th, is the third anniversary of that tragedy. At 11 a.m., the Guardians of the First Amendment Memorial will be dedicated at Newman Park in downtown Annapolis. This memorial was made possible because of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Anne Arundel County, Gov.