Bill Duffield

Baltimore Orioles fans headed to Oriole Park at Camden Yards may have been surprised recently to discover that it's not so easy to get a seat on the light rail, usually one of the most convenient ways to get to and from the downtown ballpark. Why? Simply because the Maryland Transit Administration has been forced to sometimes use single-car trains packing riders in like sardines instead of the double- or even triple-car trains that once were standard during peak travel times.

Montgomery County Council Vice President Kate Stewart and Councilmember Natali Fani-Gonzalez are proposing the Vehicular Noise Reduction Bill. It's a pilot program that will enforce existing state noise laws, using three “noise cameras.” Noise cameras will capture both audio and video of any noise louder than 80 decibels, which is the limit that the state of Maryland has established.

The Baltimore Regional Transit Commission, which began meeting this year to explore structural changes to how decisions get made about Baltimore's buses and trains, was the first stop on the state transportation department's fall tour presenting its six-year budget. State officials will visit with leaders and the public in Baltimore City and Maryland's 23 counties to field questions and solicit feedback on the roughly $19 billion Consolidated Transportation Program, a roadmap for capital spending through fiscal year 2030.

Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland has a new office of Integrity and Compliance. But while school offices are in Upper Marlboro, the new I&C officer Frank Turner's office is in Largo, an indication of the independence he intends to show as he digs into waste, fraud and abuse within a school system that's been plagued by scandals and corruption.

The political landscape has indeed reached an unprecedented low-water mark, stained by a grotesque degradation of discourse that would have been unimaginable in more civilized times. Both the media and the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have engaged in an incendiary rhetorical warfare that not only degrades the standards of political exchange but is, frankly, counterproductive to the health of the nation.

It has been a challenging enough season for Ocean City without the latest debacle — a wave of medical waste including hypodermic needles washing up on the beach. If it's any comfort to Maryland's Atlantic coastal residents (and it's probably not), they were not the only victims. Officials were forced to close beaches to swimming from Delaware to Virginia. The danger is simply too great that someone will be injured by a needle of unknown origin.

Vice President Kamala Harris has earned the distinction of being the first presidential candidate to have supported legalizing marijuana federally. Yet she seems to think this is a liability rather than the opportunity it really is. In 2019, Harris co-sponsored a bill that would have lifted the federal ban on pot. But since launching her presidential campaign, she's been silent on the issue.

There's a lesson to be learned from the fact that Janet Currie has the job she does: It is possible to say no to a big opportunity and still succeed. Currie did. Years ago, Bank of America wanted to promote her and move her to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The offer was tempting. But it didn't work for reasons including her husband's job and a desire to stay near extended family.

Maryland's Senate race is one of a handful of federal races poised to decide which political party wins control over Congress. That means there's plenty of polling, as the candidates and other interested parties search for indications of which way voters will go. Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan and Democrat and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are vying for the open seat, along with Libertarian Party candidate Mike Scott and independent candidate Patrick J. Burke.

Bank of America announced it has raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $24 per hour in Maryland and nationwide, the latest step in the company's commitment to a $25 hourly minimum wage by 2025. The announcement was made by Sheri Bronstein, Bank of America's chief human resources officer. With the increase, the minimum annualized salary for full-time employees in the U.S. will rise to nearly $50,000.