Commentary

Nate Balis wants you to know that kids make up just 4% of all arrests in Baltimore City. Four percent. The other 96% are committed by adults. So if you’re watching TV every day at 6 and 11 and have become convinced that Baltimore teens are the reason the city is on an unsafe if not outright deadly path, you might want to change the channel. Why? Because the numbers tell a different story, says Balis, director of the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Wildfire smoke from Canada. Record-breaking summer temperatures. Sea level rise. More powerful storms and more frequent flooding. We are seeing the effects of climate change here in Maryland. There are other, harder-to-see impacts from climate change: an increase in pests and weeds as temperatures rise. Yet, in an ironic twist, some of the substances we use to kill pests and weeds are key contributors to climate change.

At 6-foot-5 and roughly 350 pounds, Joel Johnson-Liphart is a big man. So when, according to police, he hit his caretaker at their group home last week in Linthicum, it must have hurt. Then the 25-year-old allegedly struck her repeatedly with a metal stepladder before trying to strangle her. The attack took place at an Arc of the Chesapeake group home six years after another violent outburst involving Joel. That one resulted in the death of his grandmother at their home in Arnold.

It used to be that the worst thing about gas-powered leaf blowers was the noise they made. Nothing quite says get out of bed early on a Saturday morning than the sound of 75 jet-engine-like decibels as the neighbor tries to gather his fall yard waste without benefit of a rake. But it turns out that the noise, while potentially harmful to the unprotected eardrum of the operator, is hardly the worst of your problems.

Then the 25-year-old allegedly struck her repeatedly with a metal stepladder before trying to strangle her. The attack took place at an Arc of the Chesapeake group home six years after another violent outburst involving Joel. That one resulted in the death of his grandmother at their home in Arnold. He wasn’t in prison because an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge had ruled he wasn’t competent to stand trial.

When Erek L. Barron, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, premiered a 60-second video that seeks to show how gun violence devastates families, he said his goal was to create an innovative public service announcement that would help “turn around violent crime and improve safety in our neighborhoods.” Titled “Goodbye,” the video PSA starts with a high school girl, Tasha, getting a surprise visit from the ghost of her brother, “T,” who tells his sister that he won’t be home and that she is now in charge.

For Señora Bernal, the best of times quickly became the worst of times. The best of times was June 2023, when her then-first grader’s report card showed an overall “proficient” reading grade. MCPS believed her son was succeeding. The worst of times was October 2023, when her now-second grader’s standardized test results indicated poor reading fluency and comprehension. The exam showed her son was failing.

“We stand with Israel”; “Baltimore stands with Israel.” These are just two of the signs I’ve begun noticing during my almost daily walks around my neighborhood here in Pikesville. Just a few days ago, an American and Israeli flag meshed together as one was put up by a neighbor whose home sits across mine. It’s a clear showing that the highly charged emotions from the overseas Israel and Palestine conflict aren’t only taking root through mass protests in our capitals and cities across America, but have seeped in right here in our very own neighborhoods; places usually meant to be safe spaces of community and togetherness for all who live in them.