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Commentary

Re-imagining Baltimore’s Inner Harbor as a place for residents rather than tourists
March 18, 2021 -

Stand on the edge of Federal Hill Park and look out on Baltimore; it’s an amazing view. Look closely, however, and you’ll notice the Inner Harbor’s visible signs of neglect and decay. You’ll also notice skyline additions shifting our city center eastward, a vacuum more than expansion. Now close your eyes and imagine people across time taking in that same view from the hill. Our native predecessors looked out over a grassy shoreline and woodland streams long before “Baltimore” existed. In recent centuries, people originating from all corners of the globe — arriving by choice, circumstance or capture — have rebuilt Baltimore many times over. Our cultural inheritance today is the sum of their experiences: booms and busts, triumphs and tragedies, hierarchies of power and privilege, and uprisings of resistance and resilience.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Josh Kurtz: Are Dems Overconfident About 2022 in Maryland?
March 18, 2021 -

The Maryland Democratic Party is giddy. Two national political handicapping websites, The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, recently took early assessments of the 2022 political landscape and rated the Maryland gubernatorial election as a very good pickup opportunity for the Democrats. The state Democratic Party and the Democratic Governors Association last week sent out fundraising emails boasting about it.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Parris Glendening: Energy deregulation was a mistake in Maryland
March 18, 2021 -

As Texans dealt with the serious consequences of last month’s energy crisis, the policy debate to determine what went wrong is underway in Texas and across much of the nation. As the Texas Tribune reported, grandmothers slept in their cars, and millions of others were left in the cold and dark. Texans — and the rest of the country — deserve answers.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Our Say: On St. Patrick’s Day, these four stories show how the Irish help make Annapolis
March 18, 2021 -

If there were a St. Patrick’s Day like any other St. Patrick’s Day, we’d all be out sometime today hoisting a pint of perfectly poured Guniess, or tucking into a dinner of corned beef and cabbage or — maybe — sorting through green articles of clothing looking for something that qualifies as a celebratory nod to the Irish. But this is not a normal year. COVID-19 concerns and social distancing will keep many people away from bars and many more at home because offices remain closed or jobs have evaporated.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Increase the federal minimum wage ─ it’s long overdue
March 18, 2021 -

The provision for a federal minimum hourly wage of $15 was stripped from the recently passed COVID-19 relief bill, disappointing many. That wage was last increased in 2009, some 21 years ago. It’s now $7.25 or $15,080 annually before taxes. In contrast, inflation increased 24% during the same period, and recent profits of some large retailers has increased 69%.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Policeman watching the St Patrick's parade
Editorial: Don’t forget policing in Baltimore public safety plan
March 17, 2021 -

By now it’s clear the zero-tolerance, lock-them-up crime fighting strategies of the past have done little to stop the violence in Baltimore, where murders have topped 300 for the past six years straight. Instead, they created a system where even low-level offenders cycled in and out of prison, saddled with criminal records that left no real hope of getting an honest job that would allow a different way of life. For many, crime became a career because they saw few other options.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Josh Kurtz: Are Dems Overconfident About 2022 in Maryland?
March 17, 2021 -

The Maryland Democratic Party is giddy. Two national political handicapping websites, The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, recently took early assessments of the 2022 political landscape and rated the Maryland gubernatorial election as a very good pickup opportunity for the Democrats. The state Democratic Party and the Democratic Governors Association last week sent out fundraising emails boasting about it.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Chladil: Pass the PFAS Protection Act
March 17, 2021 -

You may have heard of the toxic chemicals used in Teflon, but you may not know that these largely unregulated “PFAS” (short for polyfluoroalkyl substances) can be found in many products you use every day, and even in your body. FAS are a class of more than 9,000 chemicals used to make products grease- or waterproof. These man-made chemicals don’t break down in the environment, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.” The toxins build up in our blood over time, a dangerous and potentially lethal combination.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Editorial: Struggling Black farmers finally getting the financial relief they deserve
March 17, 2021 -

In their heyday, nearly 1 million Black farmers in America tended crops and raised livestock with ownership of total farmland peaking at 14% a century ago. The story is vastly different today, and farming as a strong livelihood for African Americans is now a distant memory. The same land enslaved people from Africa were forced to work to the benefit of a generation of wealthy white landowners is now out of reach for most Black families, thanks to decades of systemic racism and discriminatory practices by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Rodricks: Joe Biden to the rescue, and it’s low-income families first. The rich will be fine.
March 17, 2021 -

A few years ago, United Way conducted a national survey to get a more precise measure of financial hardship than the one maintained by Washington. Within the survey’s results you can find a good explanation for the wide popularity of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Using data from each state and specific counties — the minimum costs of housing, child care, health care, food, taxes and transportation — United Way determined the number of households headed by people with jobs but not enough income to support their families.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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