Commentary

Dozens of Angela Alsobrooks supporters, many clad in her campaign’s signature green, stood behind an array of Democratic bigwigs at City Dock in Annapolis as the candidate for Senate said all the right things about climate change. “Our children have clearly identified in every conversation I’ve had — from college students, our high school students and on — have listed climate change as an existential threat to their generation, and they’re watching,” the Prince George’s County executive said.

The Baltimore City Council introduced a bill this month that aims to reduce vacant properties in the city by punishing owners with a Vacant Building Notice (VBN) in order to pressure them to sell to someone willing to fix it up. This flawed policy is more likely to increase vacant properties as we continue to lose population.

This summer, when I heard Kamala Harris was considering a former high school teacher as her running mate, I immediately wanted her to pick him — whoever he was. As a former high school teacher myself, I instinctively trust teachers. They work hard and want the best for other people’s kids day after day, year after year. They devote their careers to creating powerful futures.

This past summer earned the not-so-coveted rank of hottest year on record. Living in the Washington region, we always expect our summers to be hot and muggy, but these heat waves are something new, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Echoes of that heat can still be felt now in an abnormally warm October, which should prompt us to act in advance of the next actual heat wave.

In late September, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning that largely went unnoticed. Some 200 children died from the flu during the 2023-2024 season, setting a record high. The overwhelming majority of those children who died — 83% — were eligible for a flu vaccine but did not receive one, according to the CDC.

The floodwaters brought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton have already done tremendous damage across the Southeast. In addition to the physical destruction, there’s another silent danger: the mosquitoes that will follow. As a scientist who has spent my entire professional career developing countermeasures like vaccines against mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, we cannot ignore the danger posed by climate change and its effect on infectious diseases.

Baltimore is Smalltimore; you can’t keep a secret in this town. So, in that tradition, I will jump right in and reveal the surprise that awaits those who gather this weekend for the 14th annual Harvest Fest in Reservoir Hill. The main event is the neighborhood’s celebration of the brilliant mural that Shawn James conceived and painted on the side of a rowhouse with the assistance of fellow artist Brian O’Rourke. It’s a real eye-catcher, mixing reality with mildly abstract imagery: Big black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers, and hands holding a clear glass jar with three lightning bugs inside. The jar is ajar, the bugs about to flee.