Commentary

In the past year, there has been a rise in the brazenness with which our young people commit crimes. How can you tell? You can’t. The Maryland General Assembly essentially legalized crime last year by passing a law that prevents children under the age of 13 from being “charged with a crime” unless the offense was violent. This must be reversed. The legislature also made it difficult or even unlawful for law enforcement officials to conduct interviews with children who were accused of committing crimes by “prohibiting the interrogation of a child by a law enforcement officer until the child has consulted with a certain attorney and a notice has been provided to the child’s parents, guardian, or custodian” when a child has been taken into custody — yet another way in which lawmakers restricted the authority of law enforcement. It too, must be changed.

There are other differentiations. Elfreth, in her second term in the state Senate, is the most prolific legislator. As a lawmaker from a politically divided county, she considers herself a pragmatist who works across the aisle. That may provide a boost in Anne Arundel, but not as much in Howard, where the most dedicated Democrats can be expected to turn out. What may prove most challenging for these candidates is getting out across the district while meeting the demands of the 90-day legislative session in Annapolis.

Packing up and moving to a new state, enrolling your kids in a new school – sometimes in the middle of the school year — finding new pediatricians and dentists, applying for a new job with a résumé dotted with positions scattered in cities across the country. You’re doing it all while supporting a spouse in active-duty service.

As the CEO of Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, I am compelled to address a matter of utmost importance: the pivotal role that early education plays in shaping the future of many African American boys and safeguarding them from the perils of life on the streets and the criminal justice system. Last year, our school community was rocked when one of our alumni, Jeremiah Brogden, at the time a sophomore at Mervo High School, was gunned down by another student. The unfortunate fact is occurrences like these happen far too often to Black and brown boys in Baltimore and beyond.

A new nursing program at McDaniel College in Westminster, available starting this fall, is aiming to help address the nursing shortage in Carroll County, according to a college news release. Initial approval from the Maryland Board of Nursing was announced earlier this month. Approval from the other relevant state entity, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, was granted last April.

Gov. Wes Moore has backed off a bit from the draconian cuts he was threatening to transportation funding, and while the changes leave in place the worst reductions, there are still some things to like. First, what we dislike: There is still no construction funding for the widening of U.S. 15 through the city of Frederick, which remains the top priority for both the city and the county, as well as every person who needs to drive that dangerously overcrowded highway.

Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed fiscal year 2025 state budget, which was released on Jan. 18, includes the fourth largest cut to community colleges in the history of the Cade Funding formula, a $22 million reduction. According to the calculations in the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA), Garrett College would receive a 21% reduction from the previous year and many other community colleges would receive double digit decreases as well.

Baltimore and Cleveland face similar challenges caused by the loss of jobs and decreases in population. Those challenges include a surplus of office space in the downtown business districts and a large inventory of vacant and abandoned properties. Cleveland, however, has done a far better job than Baltimore in meeting those challenges.