First of all, a confession. I live in Howard County. Full employment. High income. My wife and I have given up long ago trying to find a neighborhood kid to do yard work. My guess is they’re too busy washing the hand-me-down BMWs and Subarus their parents give them. When I grew up, I saved my lawn mowing and snow shoveling money to buy an old two-door Ford Falcon with three gears on the column and a bench seat. Girls you were dating would sit next to you back in those days.
Sign of the Times
The screenshot on the left is from an article in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun about the billboard in the picture. Whether or not it is related to Mayor Pugh’s scandalous behavior and the FBI’s investigation, it marks an extraordinary moment in the continuing downward spiral of Baltimore’s public image.
The Arrogance of Joe Biden
Now that Joe Biden has finally announced that he’s running for President, again, it’s time we asked ourselves, “What do we know about this character?”
For one thing, he really, really wants to be President. This is his third time running in the past 31 years and he’s yet to be his party’s nominee.
Replacing William Cole
As what might be described as a casualty of the mess that has turned out to be the administration of Mayor Catherine Pugh, William Coles is resigning as the head of the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC). And not a moment too soon. But then this isn’t about the specifics of why he should be replaced. It’s about a much larger problem, that being the entire mission of the BDC.
For the Birds
Of all the development options the owners of the Horseshoe could have proposed to go on the water, next to their Baltimore casino, is a Topgolf driving range/bar really the best they could do?
If you don’t already know, the owners of the Horseshoe Casino – the only one of Maryland’s 6 casinos that has been experiencing declining revenues in the past few years and with substantial support from Mayor Pugh and her Baltimore Development Corporation – are planning to put a Topgolf on these two adjacent waterfront properties…
Baltimore’s Shadow Government.
Who’s in control of the city?
The city of Baltimore has roughly 612,000 people. It’s a number that continues to decline because, let’s be honest, the city has very serious deficiencies. For most of its residents, particularly those without money, it is not a good place to live and work.
Squandered Promise
It’s a good bet that Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh will be running for re-election in 2020. Why shouldn’t she? Incumbents are always hard to beat. She’ll have plenty of developer and other business money to fund her campaign. She’ll win the Democratic Primary and that will be that.
Security Clearances for Candidates for President
If you can’t trust someone, what’s the point of electing him or her President?
As you may have heard or read in recent news coverage, there’s a question as to whether or not the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, should have a security clearance. The issue isn’t so much that he doesn’t qualify. It’s that the person who ordered him to be given one, despite Mr. Kushner’s vulnerabilities to influence, wouldn’t himself qualify for a security clearance. And that person is President Donald Trump.
Real Emergencies
Our President has recently called into question the common sense understanding of what constitutes an emergency or crisis. Is, for example, the lack of a wall across our southern border really as disconcerting as, let’s say, the abuse of opioids? Or the fact that 1 out of 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime?
Topgolf? You’ve got to be kidding.
A conscientious reader of our website has sent us the following article from the Wednesday, February 13, 2019 edition of the Baltimore Sun. It’s by Daniel Parsons, an English teacher at Frederick Douglass High School and it is essential reading for anyone who cares about the City and its people. If you have trouble reading the version that you can see below, even after clicking on it to make it larger, you’ll need to find the article on the Sun’s website. …As for the uneven edges around the image of the paper version, it was cut out by a younger member of my family who is still perfecting his skills with a scissors. Until then, “Good work!”
No-brainer.
Some choices are difficult for our legislature to make. This one is a no-brainer.
On one hand we have two counties ¬– Prince George’s and Baltimore City – that are desperately short of the funding they need to give their children even a minimum quality education. Of the 24 counties in the state, including Baltimore City, their public education systems are ranked 23rd and 24th respectively.
The pie chart.
Given a choice between investing in horse racing or our children’s education, which one do you pick?
I don’t know about you, but I like pie. Cherry pie, in particular, apple and key lime, but also pizza and charts.
Hey. As you may know, we did some work recently having to do with the MGM National Harbor casino.
“So what? …I’m hungry and I thought this post had something to do with pie.”