Commentary

Next November, Democrat Joe Biden may do what roughly two-thirds of incumbent party presidential nominees who ran for reelection have done: win reelection. In the U.S. House, court rulings in key redistricting cases, coupled with the political fallout from the Republicans’ internal chaos, gives Democrats a fighting chance to recapture the lower chamber. Because Democrats are playing defense in far more U.S. Senate seats, however, the GOP might flip the Senate.

With Mayor Brandon Scott’s announcement of a comprehensive plan to alleviate severe housing vacancies, Baltimore stands at the cusp of transformation with impending multibillion-dollar investments. But the mayor’s announcement might have unintended consequences. Working inside the housing market are a great many speculators who will aim to increase their holdings in neighborhoods with high vacancy levels. The risk from speculation threatens the very communities these investments aim to uplift.

While we fully support calls to prevent Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed cuts to Baltimore’s transit service, stopping these cuts alone will only preserve a dysfunctional system that demoralizes current riders, discourages new ones and continues to damage the Baltimore region. And while we applaud Governor Moore’s efforts to revive the Red Line, Baltimore transit riders also cannot wait until the Red Line is built for long overdue improvements in the Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) bus and rail service.

Here’s the open secret about the plastic bag ban that took effect New Year’s Day in Anne Arundel County. It’s not a ban. “We actually were trying to get folks to call it the ‘bring your own bag bill’ to focus on the behavioral changes,” said County Councilwoman Lisa Rodvien, author of the measure. “And you know, the focus really is on the behavior change, getting people in the habit of bringing their own bags. … Bag ban rolls off the tongue much easier.

The agreement on a plan to reduce the number of vacant and abandoned properties in Baltimore announced by Mayor Brandon Scott falls far short of the “landmark” status proclaimed in a press release. It includes unrealistic measures for financing the plan and no details on how the partnership to implement the plan — formed by the city, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) — will operate.

In this final column on 2023, a look ahead to 17 things I’d like to know, see, do or hear in the coming year, plus one thing I will definitely not be doing: Things I’d like to see: Huge television production vans parked in Camden Yards for the World Series. Continued progress against gun violence in Baltimore. Significantly fewer lives were lost in 2023 after eight dreary years of 300-plus homicides each, and the trend is not merely organic.

They’re everywhere — in our water, farms, food, clothing, cosmetics, and countless everyday products. The per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals,” are a group of nearly indestructible compounds used in manufacturing that have infiltrated our soil, water and air, presenting a host of health risks for everyone exposed to them.