Commentary

Two decades ago, infectious disease experts warned that our country was uniquely vulnerable to epidemics because, unlike every other affluent nation, the United States has millions of residents without health insurance. Many who lack health coverage cannot afford to seek medical attention, even if they feel sick. A highly contagious virus “left undetected” because a person chose to forego care could “spread to family, neighbors, and other contacts,” making health insurance gaps “a risk to the nation’s health.”

When John Hammond, the former Annapolis alderman and longtime budget officer for Anne Arundel County, first raised the subject of merging city and county services a few months back, he predicted it would a big factor in this fall’s city elections. Alderman Sheila Finlayson, long an advocate for city employees, may have just put a huge crimp in that forecast. Monday night, after a marathon City Council session, a majority of aldermen and alderwomen voted to approve Mayor Gavin Buckley’s $152 million budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

A mentor of mine once explained to me his theory of what kinds of people get involved in politics in Our Great American Democracy. His opinion was that there were three types of personalities who got involved in politics. The first is perhaps the most admirable. That would be the person who feels strongly about a particular cause or issue such as civil rights, war and peace, the environment, education, etc.

The road to pandemic unemployment benefits in Maryland is long and fraught with difficulties. Applicants endure endless processing delays and unanswered calls, and tens of thousands of Marylanders have endured lengthy delays waiting for the Maryland Department of Labor to process their applications for benefits. If you call the claimant hotline today (667-207-6520), chances are high no one will answer your call. Even if you finally gain access to benefits, the department may demand you pay them back, threatening possible legal action via inexplicable and abruptly assessed overpayment notices.

Well done, Maryland. The state deserves a pat on the back, an atta-boy — or these woke days more appropriately an atta-person — as it proceeds to phase out its Big Top vaccination sites and take its needles directly to communities and even neighborhood hangouts. The state — our state — ranks in the top percentile of those that’ve completed the most COVID shots — more than 6.2 million and more than 3 million fully vaccinated — to be exact, eight slots ahead of neighboring Virginia and five notches ahead of the District of Columbia, to complete the DMV roundelay, and eighth by actual count among the 50 states.

At the end of May, Gov. Larry Hogan issued his last round of legislative decisions, vetoing more than 20 bills in total and letting hundreds of others go into effect without his signature, bringing to an end the state’s legislative work this year. It was a year like no other. The legislature held its full 90-day session in Annapolis during the pandemic and accomplished a great deal. Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones deserve credit for establishing strict health protocols that helped avoid a COVID-19 outbreak and kept legislators, staff, media and the public safe.

At the end of May, Gov. Larry Hogan issued his last round of legislative decisions, vetoing more than 20 bills in total and letting hundreds of others go into effect without his signature, bringing to an end the state’s legislative work this year. It was a year like no other. The legislature held its full 90-day session in Annapolis during the pandemic and accomplished a great deal.