Commentary

Ravens fervor is ebbing after the team led the NFL in wins, and the Orioles’ fan base is stirring again — jolted awake by a promising spring training and a forthcoming sale. So I was struck by Mayor Brandon Scott’s boldness when he told me, “Baltimore is a basketball town above everything else.” Scott and I spoke last week, ahead of the city hosting the CIAA tournament, an NCAA Division II men’s and women’s hoops event that brings 13 schools to CFG Arena, which finished a $250 million renovation last year.

There is not much we agree on as a nation anymore. But we do agree that our politics is broken and that our country is headed in the wrong direction. Yes, the two parties come to that conclusion from vastly different perspectives, but agree they do. Since the traditional Republican Party has gone the way of the Whigs, let’s focus on the two parties that now dominate our political discourse: the MAGA and Democratic parties.

Two years ago, in a heartfelt conversation with my father in his final days, we talked about his lifelong commitment to democracy, and he voiced his dismay about what he believed is the undemocratic nature of Maryland’s appointment process. My dad, Ezekiel (Zeke) Smith, said, “Things have changed for the best in Virginia but not Maryland. Those people in Maryland are stealing the vote from the people, and you can’t allow people to steal your vote.” He told me to fight like hell.

Confession: I was one of those day care parents. You know, the one that picks up their kid — usually the only one left by then — two minutes before the 6 p.m. deadline and the racking up of extra fees. I wasn’t trying to be neglectful or delay the irritated but professional staff from locking up and going on with their lives. I was just a single mom with a busy job.

As members of the faith community, we appreciate that the General Assembly is taking the concerns of the community regarding public safety and the reduction of crime seriously. We understand the fears that have been amplified in the media and at conversations around dinner tables. Yet, we also believe that most of the new juvenile justice legislation (House Bill 814/Senate Bill 744), as it is currently written, will do more harm than good.

Last month when M&T Bank Stadium hosted the first AFC Championship Game, the Baltimore Ravens might have lost, but other records were set. It was the first conference championship game in M&T’s history, and the first in Baltimore since 1971, when the Colts were the home team. It also turned out to be the most-watched AFC Championship in television history, with CBS Sports reporting more than 55 million viewers.

More than 75% of Baltimore’s students rely on public transportation to get to school. The public transportation in Baltimore is a system that frequently necessitates traveling via one to three buses with commute times that range from 30 minutes to two hours. Reflecting on our own high school experience, commuting required a two-bus journey, demanding an hour in total for us to reach school, notwithstanding inconsistent bus times that would often extend this duration.

Katie O’Malley joins Sloane Brown to discuss her new role as executive director of the Women’s Law Center of Maryland; how her previous professional experiences taught her good leadership skills both at work and at home; and how growing up as the daughter of then-Maryland Attorney General Joe Curran affected her in both those arenas.