What should we make of the recent survey finding by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) that 41% of the state’s teacher’s work a second job to make ends meet?
General Assembly
Opinion: Live streaming of legislative sessions would honor journalists
I spent three hours off-and-on last Thursday watching the live gavel-to-gavel coverage on C-Span of the new U.S. House of Representatives being sworn in, including the return to power of that Baltimore girl turned San Francisco maven, Speaker Nancy D’Allesandro Pelosi. Wednesday the new Maryland General Assembly is being sworn in and we can watch the live gavel-to-gavel of the proceedings NOWHERE.
Commentary
Commentary: Opioid epidemic started with the Civil War
Most of us don’t realize the first American opioid epidemic started in the Civil-war era with the invention of the hypodermic needle to administer morphine to injured soldiers. By the end of the conflict, the term “soldier’s disease” came into existence to describe post-war addicts.
Commentary
OPINION: Pugh’s ‘squeegee kid’ solution doesn’t solve the problem
Mayor Pugh’s $2 million initiative to transition so-called Squeegee kids from street corners to viable employment provides insight into why government is ineffective at creating sustainable productive jobs. First, the training she mentioned providing would be for a skill set that is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Second, she is creating a young adult job training program. Isn’t that what high school should be?
Commentary
Opinion: Why we are thankful that Maryland didn’t ‘win’ Amazon HQ2
In fact, Maryland won by losing, because it didn’t overpay and thus suffer the “winner’s curse.”
Commentary
OPINION: A fix for Mid-Atlantic transportation woes could be coming
Maryland and neighboring states in the Mid-Atlantic region are in the grips of a transportation crisis. Roads and highways that used to be clogged by heavy “rush hour” traffic are now impassable in three- to four-hour cycles, in never-ending congestion.
Commentary
OPINION: To Protect Maryland’s health, defend clean car standards
The Trump administration just announced its plans to roll back the nation’s clean car standards that cut tailpipe emissions and reduce air pollution. Attempting to withdraw these lifesaving health protections from every American will only exacerbate the health burdens faced by the people of Maryland, putting our health and the health of our children at risk.
Commentary
OPINION: Eliminating the root cause of Baltimore and Maryland violence and demoralization: Fatherlessness
The root cause of the murder, assaults, bullying, and intimidation that now defines Baltimore and most of Maryland is fatherlessness. You could put a major dent in drug trafficking, police misconduct and misbehavior and poverty — none of which is likely — and all you would do is somewhat lessen the numbers of illegal acts and slightly improve the quality of life.
Commentary
Commentary: Frosh’s pursuit of President Trump is unconstitutional
An Oct. 17 article in the Maryland Reporter on Attorney General Brian Frosh asks: AG Frosh’s broad legal power: Partisanship or ‘long overdue’? The correct option, though unstated, is: “unconstitutional.”
Commentary
Commentary: Maryland’s clean energy industry has made great strides
National Clean Energy Week, happening now, provides a good opportunity to shine a light on our state’s significant achievements. The growth of Maryland’s clean energy sector is creating well-paying job opportunities, increasing the resiliency of our grid and facilitating rate stability – and improving our air quality, which benefits human and environmental health.
Commentary
Commentary: Let state retirees keep their drug plan if they pay the whole tab; plus a comment from Moody’s
The State of Maryland is stripping prescription drug coverage from state retirees who are eligible for Medicare. Effective January 2019, retirees must buy an off-the-shelf Medicare prescription drug plan from the insurance industr. Here’s a possible fix for the problem.