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Commentary

The United States Capitol Building
For Alsobrooks and Hogan, victory in Senate race runs through Frederick

I bumped into Karen Simpson in Frederick. We were at an outdoor reception for a conference on Maryland main streets, enjoying what felt like the first cool night of fall. Six years ago, she was a long-shot Democrat running for the House of Delegates in ruby-red Pasadena. Predictably, she lost. Then her husband got a job as a pastor in Frederick, and rather than waiting for retirement to join him — the city had always been their dream — friends pointed out an opportunity.

Baltimore needs to show it has a real plan for vacant properties

The good news is that Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced that the state will spend more than $75 million per year toward the goal of converting at least 5,000 vacant properties in Baltimore into homeownership or other productive uses in the next five years. The bad news is that Mayor Brandon Scott still has not come up with a credible plan on how to manage the complex process of acquiring, rehabilitating and disposing of vacant and derelict properties.

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Dan Rodricks: Federal agents and Maryland board bust a bogus nurse scheme

Pardon me for bringing up something we’d rather not think about: Some nurses in Maryland paid for fake grades and received bogus diplomas from bogus nursing schools. As I said, we’d rather not think about that. This is the United States of America, the greatest country in the history of countries, and, while the current Republican presidential candidate can constantly lie and be inexplicably adored by millions, we will neither adore nor tolerate health care professionals lying about their credentials.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Bus bench seats
Adopt fix-it-first, climate-resilient, sustainable transportation priorities

Recently, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced $1.3 billion in cuts in its draft six-year Consolidated Transportation Plan (CTP). Factors noted by MDOT include the inflationary costs of construction as well as declining gas tax revenues. There are calls for more money, but in the big picture, just throwing more money at the problem without prioritization won’t solve the long-term challenge.

Alsobrooks has strong connection to Israel and Jewish community

On Oct. 7, we recognized the first anniversary of the horrific attack by Hamas on Israel, the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and the kidnapping of hundreds of Israelis, Americans and others whose fate remains unknown. Thousands of innocent civilians — Israelis, Palestinians and others — have been tragically lost over the past year.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Something we can all cheer: Let’s save the turtles

You know there’s definitely a higher power at work when the same week that concerned scientists are pushing for federal endangered species protections for Maryland’s diamondback terrapin, the coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team is promising major changes to save a floundering season. Yes, yes, we know there’s far more to life than college football.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Can Alsobrooks and Harris break racial and gender barriers by not talking about them?

Maryland has never elected a Black woman to the U.S. Senate. Indeed, voters in the Free State have only sent a handful of Black men to the U.S. House of Representatives since Reconstruction and just one white woman to the Senate. So when Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic Senate nominee, sat down with members of the Baltimore Sun Editorial Board on Monday, we asked her about the historic nature of this moment: Shouldn’t this be heralded? Shouldn’t voters be energized by this important opportunity? (Photo Credit: Amy Davis/Staff)

Read More: Baltimore Sun
A few weird tricks to fix Congress

For all the focus on this year’s presidential contest, the struggle for control of Congress — also a toss-up, according to most analyses — could be as consequential, or more so. Much depends, too, on whether the legislative branch will be able to function and get anything done, whoever wins. You can write a list of important bills passed in the past four years, topped by the Inflation Reduction, Bipartisan Infrastructure and Chips acts.

Hogan’s COVID missteps should disqualify him from Senate

As a lifelong Maryland resident and a community leader deeply involved in our state’s public health efforts, I’ve always taken pride in our state’s resilience and community spirit. However, the ongoing effects of former Gov. Larry Hogan’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic have left me disillusioned. Despite the national narrative that paints Hogan as a steady hand during the crisis, the reality for those who lived through his administration’s response is starkly different.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
How to give Baltimore a black eye — with 32M views

Just when Ravens fans thought there was nothing that could restrain the soaring feeling that came with last Sunday’s rock-solid 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium, a really asinine video is posted on social media to make Purple and Black Nation collectively cringe. Surely, you’ve seen it by now. About 32 million already have, or roughly six times the views needed in a week for a video to be regarded as “viral,” and this was logged in a day.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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