Commentary

The plan for the redevelopment of Harborplace deserves all the attention it’s getting, but even more deserving are the ambitious plans to finally deal with Baltimore’s 13,000-plus vacant homes on the east and west sides of the city. Funded fully and managed wisely, the long-term plan rolled out late last year by Mayor Brandon Scott, the Greater Baltimore Committee and Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development (BUILD) could raise the overall quality of life in the city.

As governor of Maryland, I signed the Electric Customer Choice and Competition Act of 1999. One provision of the wide-ranging law was to allow competitive energy suppliers to sell electricity directly to residential customers. These alternative energy suppliers assured everyone that by creating competition for Maryland’s regulated electric utilities, commercial, small business and residential customers would save on their power bills.

“Building more will help to bring prices down.” Governor Wes Moore didn’t mince words in his State of the State address last week when talking about his ambitious proposal to address Maryland’s 96,000-home shortage. His package of bills–which we’re calling Moore Housing–would address the restrictive zoning and permitting laws in much of the state that make it hard to build homes, especially townhomes or apartments.

Former Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to file on the last day possible as a Republican candidate to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate caught much of the political establishment off-guard. This is likely because the 67-year-old had pledged repeatedly that he had absolutely no intention of doing so. But politicians being politicians, there ways always a Senate run possibility, despite his months of flirting with a run for president as a third-party candidate and walking away because, as he wrote in a New York Times op-ed, he didn’t want to “risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination.” He’s got too much going for him not to consider it.

In Maryland, we find ourselves at a crucial crossroads where we must balance accountability and responsibility to reform the juvenile justice system — all within the 90-day timeframe set for the state’s 2024 legislative session. In pursuing a just and equitable legal system as state’s attorneys in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County, our legislative agenda focuses on necessary changes to existing juvenile laws, and innovative measures that reflect our commitment to progress and prioritizing victims’ rights.

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, the coastal allure was an integral part of my childhood. Then adulthood led me to Maryland, and my new coastal haven is along the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, the region faces an imminent threat: devastation from flooding and climate change that can destroy native habitats and wildlife and displace families. By now, it is well known and documented that, as polar ice melts due to increased air temperatures, the sea level rises.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about crime committed by juveniles in Maryland, especially in Baltimore City. But what we haven’t heard as much about is the violent crime young people experience, and how the two are connected. Last year, 44 people under the age of 20 — most of them teenagers; at least one a toddler — were killed in the city; 151 more were shot and, thankfully, survived. It was the most dangerous year for young people here in at least a dozen years.