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Commentary

Gov. Hogan, time to get busy picking a new Maryland state song
May 12, 2021 -

With the Preakness set to run Saturday, it’s the right time for tuning up a new state song. Herewith are some humble suggestions. There are two ways to go, get an off-the-shelf song and make it the official Maryland melody. The state has done something like this, adapting a successionist screed to “Oh, Tannenbaum,” the German Christmas carol more commonly known as “Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree.” We all know how that worked out.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Blue and silver stetoscope
State’s Seniors Deserve More Health Insurance Protection
May 12, 2021 -

Medicare-eligible seniors in Maryland suffer from a limited number of health insurance benefit options compared to other states. While the share of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans climbed to almost 40% nationally in 2020, in Maryland only 13% seniors enjoy the added security these plans provide. Thankfully, efforts by local leaders as well as the Biden administration can help our state’s seniors by improving access to coverage choices and supplemental benefits not otherwise covered under traditional Medicare.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Policeman watching the St Patrick's parade
Frank DeFilippo: Ages, Backgrounds and Constituencies Separate Hogan and Scott on Policing
May 11, 2021 -

Here we go again with the sniping between the governor and the mayor over crime-fighting strategies while the bodies pile up on the streets of Baltimore. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) pushes for more aggressive enforcement. Mayor Brandon Scott (D) wants more caution and study. So when the two meet later in the week, they’ll be discussing the obvious: There’s really nothing new about crime that’s not already known. Bad people do bad things to each other and to good people who too often happen to be in the way. Even kids are helpless victims of stray bullets.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Psychiatrist: Could these interventions have prevented the Woodlawn shootings?
May 11, 2021 -

This weekend, The Baltimore Sun reported a fire and deadly shooting in Woodlawn, Maryland. The fire was at the home of a 56-year-old man who for years claimed that the federal government surveilled him. He accused neighbors of being involved in this government surveillance. The neighbors recounted that he would sometimes march up and down the sidewalk with a gun or yell accusations from his porch through a bullhorn. On Saturday, authorities say the man attacked four people, killing three of them, before he was killed himself by Baltimore County Police officers.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
A police car
A dangerous game of ideological chicken
May 10, 2021 -

Rising violent crime in the city. A horrific and violent attack on two women caught on camera, sparking outrage across the region. A Republican governor criticizing the Democratic mayor and prosecuting attorney for defunding the police and being too soft on crime. I have seen St. Louis’ future, and it is Baltimore. There are a lot of similarities between Baltimore, Maryland, and St. Louis, Missouri. Both are cities divorced from their counties.

Read More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Police reform an expected outcome
May 10, 2021 -

If proponents of a law think it does not go far enough in solving a problem, and opponents complain that it has gone too far, chances are good that lawmakers have arrived at a decent compromise. So it is with the police reform measures passed by the Maryland General Assembly this year, and then enacted into law despite the veto from Gov. Larry Hogan.

Read More: Frederick News Post
Baltimore has a need for Amtrak – and maglev service, too
May 10, 2021 -

In a virtual hearing before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure this week, Amtrak CEO William J. Flynn observed that a proposed magnetic levitation train running between the District of Columbia and Baltimore would “benefit only a small number of affluent travelers,” with ticket prices that would overwhelm the average Amtrak or MARC commuter. He also suggested to members of Congress that scarce transportation dollars would be far better spent on expanding Amtrak’s high-speed rail service to bring it more in line with successful systems in Europe and Asia.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
A call for accountability in Maryland’s mishandling of education amid the pandemic
May 7, 2021 -

This year’s failures of Maryland’s educational establishment will soon be on display. Newly-passed House Bill 1372 requires all school districts to use standardized testing (independently validated, traditional and computer-adapted tests) that will assess learning loss due to COVID-related school closures. This testing is an important first step toward creating accountability for the state’s disastrously mishandled school year and healing the damage that it has caused. Nationwide standardized tests have already illuminated many of the failures of online learning.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Keep a wary eye on enrollment as Anne Arundel schools prepare for fall classes
May 7, 2021 -

Anne Arundel Schools Superintendent George Arlotto has been saying for months that planning was underway for a return to normal classroom instruction next fall. A letter released late last week formalized it in response to a request from the state. No one knows, however, how many students will show up. Enrollment in county schools dropped by about 2,400 students this year. The assumption is that most of these withdrawals are in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More: Capital Gazette
The Chesapeake bay bridge.
America’s bridges need greater investment to survive
May 6, 2021 -

In the debate over President Joe Biden’s infrastructure and climate bill, it was perhaps inevitable that some policymakers would object to including anything other than traditional infrastructure such as roads and bridges. More surprising is what I’ll call the “new pundit view,” which casts doubt about spending in precisely that narrow category. This is a perspective based on very imperfect data. Especially given the severe weather that climate change is likely to bring, the White House infrastructure and climate plan is right to spend more to repair and improve roads and bridges.

Read More: Capital Gazette

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