Commentary

Newspapers — including The Frederick News-Post — and television broadcasts were filled this month with celebrations of the heroism of the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day eight decades ago. The celebrations are tinged with sadness, though, as we acknowledge that the number of D-Day veterans is dwindling down to a precious few.

It was the summer of 1989, and my freshman orientation tour of the University of Maryland, College Park had led us to the campus chapel, rising high above Route 1 on a hill. Our guide pointed across the road to a horseshoe of identical stately brick buildings set around an expansive green lawn. “To your left,” she said, in a bored monotone that let us know she’d done this bit a lot, “is Fraternity Row, which you may recognize from the football scene in ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ featuring Rob Lowe.”

Who’s smarter in school, girls or boys? You would think girls are, based on lots of evidence. On the gold standard National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, boys trail girls in reading while math scores are roughly equivalent. In Maryland’s own tests, girls hold a big lead in reading while boys have a small edge in math.

Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported that an acolyte of Donald Trump is making big plans for a “post-Constitutional” government through a series of historic changes that would give the president far more power over all aspects of government. In Russ Vought’s vision of “radical constitutionalism,” the president would have broader authority to deploy the military to quash civil unrest, make the Justice Department less independent and withhold congressional appropriations, the Post learned.

The average Baltimore resident may have only a vague idea how the Board of Estimates works, but you can bet that every senior city official does. In a nutshell, the five-member board has a big say over city spending — from preparing the annual budget to overseeing contracts and even getting the final say on the sale of city-owned property.

Financial abuse and exploitation of older adults is a vexing problem requiring increased public awareness. Every year, thousands of cases are reported in Maryland. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (“IC3”), up to 5 million older Americans experience financial exploitation every year, but it is estimated that only one in 24 instances of abuse is reported.

I have been involved in the election process in Anne Arundel County for the last four election cycles. Functioning as a chief judge three times, as well as other duties from canvassing to picking up ballots at drop boxes, including correctional facilities. I have been impressed with the competence of the people involved, both full-time and temporary. The process “chain of custody” for ballots is thorough. However, I am surprised by the gap in the structure of the board of elections.