Commentary

The teenage years can be difficult for anyone, but today’s teens are dealing with a unique and unprecedented set of issues. The typical stressors many of us remember experiencing during adolescence — such as dating, friendships and academic pressures — have grown exponentially for today’s youths. As the first generation to be born into the information age and a group that has had to reimagine many of the defining moments of their youth in the wake of the pandemic, our kids are suffering.

I know what it’s like to be homeless. Years ago, I lived on the streets for nearly 18 months, until a chance encounter with a Marine recruiter. Three months later, I shipped off to boot camp, and my life forever changed. I served two tours in Iraq, became a combat systems SME (subject matter expert) and a systems administrator, and I graduated from an online university with an IT degree.

Maryland’s state courts soon will take center stage in a series of climate-related lawsuits that could make the energy products that power our daily lives a lot more expensive. Baltimore City, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County have joined an effort by more than 20 communities around the country to seek compensation from energy producers that make and sell products that contribute to climate change.

The members of a modest church in an old suburb of Baltimore remember each Memorial Day weekend what many across this divided republic have either forgotten or never understood: Thousands of Americans have died to save democracy, guarantee freedom and preserve our union of states. The country is foolishly at war with itself again; enormous numbers of people believe lies and abide the encroachment of civil rights and democratic principles by regressive extremists who trade in bigotry, demagoguery and conspiracy theories.

A lot of mail likely lands on Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s desk on a daily basis, but there was one recent letter that had us intrigued; it was sent by seven Republican members of the Maryland House of Delegates. As the nonprofit news site Maryland Matters reported, none of the signers actually live in Baltimore, and at least two of whom — Mark N. Fisher and Matt Morgan — live quite far away, in Calvert and St. Mary’s counties respectively, in Southern Maryland.

Last Thursday, the great tax hike battle of 2023 came to its dramatic conclusion as the county council raised property taxes by 4.7 percent. That followed the announcement of a large increase in impact taxes and the council’s vote to raise recordation taxes. The county has not substantially raised this many taxes at the same time since 2003. And there could be more next year.

Growing up, I loved to dance and took every opportunity to move my body, no matter the beat. Something about the structure of a choreographed dance gave me immense calm; I loved knowing that if I performed a pirouette and followed it up with a plié I would create something beautiful. I still love to dance but, six years ago at 33-years-old, noticing a waning capacity to move my body and take in air, I encountered what would be my most challenging routine yet: stage IV lung cancer.