We all drive, or at least most of us do. Here’s a funny thing about that. In the age of the automobile, when a car is an extension of ourselves, where you drive is probably a bigger part of what defines you than what you drive. If you crossed the Francis Scott Key Bridge daily on your way to work and back, the 1.6-mile erector set confection that served as an entrance to the outer harbor was a frame of reference on the world.
In early 2023 an increase in serious crime by young people was creating panic in Baltimore and throughout Maryland. While the hysteria may have been somewhat exaggerated, data from the first quarter of the year did show a significant uptick in some kinds of youth crime, including serious offenses like juvenile-involved shootings and armed robberies.
For nearly two decades, the EmPOWER program has served Maryland well. By helping residents and businesses access and install more efficient appliances in their homes and buildings, the popular program has saved ratepayers in the state more than $4 billion, helped thousands of low-income households lower their utility bills, reduced strain on the power grid and created thousands of jobs.
Organic growth is the most attractive type in the financial world, where new Orioles owner David Rubenstein made his fortune — the kind where a clear plan and strategy allow a company to live within its means and grow at a sustainable rate. In many ways, that’s what he acquired in his newest asset. The Orioles have proved general manager Mike Elias’ data-driven strategy to unlock value and develop homegrown talent could work, as evidenced by a 101-win season and a division title after years in the baseball wilderness.
Well, this is new. Spring is here and the Orioles — as a new Major League Baseball season dawns — are picked by most baseball forecasters to compete for the AL East title; with oddsmakers predicting the Orioles and Yankees at the top of the division.
The terrible, metal-twisting, stomach-churning collapse of the suspension portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the 1.6-mile-long link between Dundalk and Hawkins Point over the Patapsco River, after a support column was struck by the container ship Dali early Tuesday morning has left Baltimoreans — and many others around the globe — stunned and disbelieving.
Come Thursday, baseball will return to Camden Yards, marking the actual official start of spring here in Baltimore. Trees will bloom, days will grow longer and hotter, and the Orioles, a winter removed from a magical season we hoped would never end, will try for an encore.
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is shocking on several levels and for many reasons. I’ll start with just three: Because we’ve never seen such a thing around here before and never imagined it; because millions of people have traveled over the bridge and could easily see themselves out there, even after 1 a.m.; and because the bridge was a point of pride stretching across the Patapsco River and Baltimore’s civic psyche.
How do we measure the Baltimore region’s economic momentum? Do we know if the growth is advancing our strategic industries? Are we creating opportunities that are equitable or accessible to our workforce? These are the types of questions we can and should be equipped to answer. It will start with a better understanding of our progress and what’s in our investment pipeline fueling our next iteration of opportunities.
I have spent my entire career with Peter Angelos and I’m now about to retire after 58 years of law practice. I have been fortunate enough to be at his side throughout the entirety of the wild ride our careers experienced. While I’ve been with him for the legal and business achievements, including the acquisition of the Baltimore Orioles, I’ve also been with him for his myriad contributions to the lives of Baltimoreans and Marylanders that few people will ever know about. He wanted it that way.
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