Commentary

Having attended the funeral of Rodney Pitts and reflecting on this, another tragic loss related to a Baltimore vacant rowhouse fire, from my perspective as a lifelong Baltimore resident and person who works professionally in the nonprofit sector on housing development and renovation of vacant homes, I can only say that we have to do better so that this doesn’t happen again (”Firefighter death in Baltimore renews questions about safety, vacant homes,” Oct. 24).

The Baltimore Orioles had a glorious 2023 season. But are the Orioles really ours? Despite hundreds of millions of public dollars already spent on the team (not including lots of fan dollars) and $600 million offered by the state of Maryland to get a new lease, Orioles President John Angelos has not yet signed a new lease. According to news media reports, he’s demanding the elimination of rent payments and the right to commercially develop parking lots around the stadium with a 99-year ground rent.

“I can’t breathe.” It’s brutally ironic that these three desperate words were among the last utterances of at least three Black men — that we know of — who died after encounters with police: Eric Garner in 2014, George Floyd in 2020 and Freddie Gray here in Baltimore in 2015. Only Garner is featured in Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson’s 2015 moving work, “Seven Last Words Of The Unarmed,” but the fact that Gray, Floyd and so many others have died similarly since then is not lost on Baltimore Choral Arts Society music director Anthony Blake Clark.

Imagine you are an adult over the age of 21 looking to buy a bottled alcoholic beverage in Baltimore County. For many of us, this scenario is not exactly unknown. You will need transportation of some kind to the liquor store, as well as proper attire (no shoes, no shirt, no service and all that), cash or card to cover your expenses and an accepted photo ID to prove your age.

The city of Frederick is getting ready to further develop Westside Regional Park, and the money behind the planning is coming from a familiar angel: the Ausherman Family Foundation. The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously last week to allow the foundation to develop the park plan. While they are at it, the city should give thanks to the foundation for all of the money, time and effort it has provided to improve the Frederick community since it was founded in 2001 by Marvin E. Ausherman, a home builder and developer.

I’ve spent years working in communities, and I’ve seen the ebbs and flows of support for charitable services. But it’s the mission that keeps public servants like me going. In the heart of the central Maryland region, a dedicated group of individuals is quietly making a significant impact on the lives of military members, veterans and their families. They work behind the scenes, often on top of their regular careers and without a desire for recognition.

Real estate developer David Bramble was in a challenging but enviable position when he took on the task of conceiving a new vision for Harborplace. It was a tough assignment, but Baltimore officials and business leaders were so eager to do something about the neglected, depressing 40-year-old waterfront mall that Bramble could pretty much expect official support for whatever he came up with. And he got it: near complete buy-in from the city’s mayor and state’s governor.