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Commentary

Our View: ‘Irresponsible’ to make the next group eligible with so many older adults yet to be vaccinated
January 31, 2021 -

Elected officials are getting angry calls. Health department personnel, too. Thousands of Carroll countians are frustrated, confused and upset that they were in one of the first groups eligible to receive the COVID-19, vaccine yet Maryland has moved past them to the next group. They have good reason for their feelings. County Health Officer Ed Singer called it “irresponsible” that Maryland moved on to group 1C of its vaccine distribution plan last week while so many in 1A and 1B have yet to be vaccinated.

Read More: Carroll County Times
Colbert & Starger: Detention fees unfairly burden poor people
January 31, 2021 -

Imagine the plight of Jason, a typical Maryland criminal defendant accused of selling drugs. Six months ago, Jason considered himself fortunate when his bail review judge ordered him confined on home detention before trial. That sure sounded better than being locked-up indefinitely in a cage and being exposed to the deadly COVID-19 virus. But after finding it difficult to raise the $400 to $600 monthly fee for his GPS monitoring bracelet, Jason’s not so sure.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Editorial: Want to reduce overdoses? Give people a safe place to do drugs.
January 31, 2021 -

The COVID-19 pandemic gives more reason for why the state should finally approve legislation creating overdose prevention sites, where people can use drugs in a safe setting staffed with medical professionals. Advocates of such sites, which already exist in 12 countries around the world, have tried for around half a decade to bring these centers to Maryland with no success. But with overdose rates on the rise, the state needs to try new ways to prevent more deaths.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Milbank: The ‘civil war’ for the soul of the GOP is over before it began. Trump won — again.
January 31, 2021 -

The supposed civil war within the Republican Party is over. The neo-Confederates have won. Just three weeks ago, congressional GOP leaders set out to reclaim their party from President Donald Trump and his violent supporters. Trump had frequently emboldened white supremacists and domestic terrorists, but never more visibly than when he recruited and incited those who sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 — and then did nothing for hours as they rampaged, hunting for lawmakers, in hopes of overturning the election.

Read More: Washington Post
Ignatius: The U.S. is finally catching up to the domestic terrorism threat
January 31, 2021 -

It’s often said that soldiers don’t hear the mortar round hurtling toward them until it explodes. For most Americans, that was true with the insurgency that detonated at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. We should have seen it coming: Intelligence reports from local police and the FBI describe a wave of domestic terrorism building through the summer and fall as the United States headed toward the November presidential election. But as is so often the case, law enforcement agencies didn’t take decisive action until too late.

Read More: Washington Post
The jury is in: Spy plane is out
January 29, 2021 -

From its beginning five years ago, the concept of planes circling Baltimore with video cameras in hopes of helping police solve violent crimes was a dubious undertaking. The best thing that could be said about it was that it was free — a test of technology by backers hoping to make money selling the equipment and expertise to many other cities. And given Baltimore’s level of violent crime, with a nearly one-a-day homicide rate, it was an offer that was almost impossible to refuse even if it seemed constitutionally suspect as an invasion of privacy.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Fines and Fees Keep Marylanders From Accessing Justice
January 29, 2021 -

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented financial burden for Marylanders, with high rates of unemployment, businesses shuttering, and the deaths of family and friends. While we will never be able to repair the deep harms this virus has caused fully, this session of the Maryland General Assembly presents multiple opportunities to alleviate financial harm, particularly in the justice system. There might be no place where the effect of income loss is more potent than the criminal justice system.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Elfreth’s stormwater bill provides added push on assessing threat of climate change in Maryland
January 29, 2021 -

There is overwhelming evidence that climate change will mean more rainfall for this region. As the atmosphere warms, it will hold more moisture, and storms will cover larger areas and occur more frequently. Finding the information needed to make good decisions on this is difficult. Maryland doesn’t require forward-looking threat assessments for homebuyers, for example, as we reported last month in our series Sink or Swim.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Here’s a look at how zoning in Montgomery County can impact a neighborhood block by block
January 28, 2021 -

The last few months of 2020 featured quite a few developments that could help shift the dynamics in Montgomery County’s affordable housing crisis. The county council approved incentives to build high rises on WMATA property, unanimously voted to end the county’s housing moratorium, and will soon consider a measure to allow for missing middle housing close to metro stations. Councilmember Nancy Navarro (District 4) also sponsored Bill 44-20, which passed and will require the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) to submit a racial equity and social justice impact statement for each Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA), a requirement that is already in place for bills.

Read More: Greater Greater Washington
Without impeachment conviction, the assault on truth will continue
January 28, 2021 -

After the Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters of Donald Trump, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “This mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.”

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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