COLUMN | Sixteen years ago, a first-time candidate beat a powerful Baltimore state senator. Now Bill Ferguson, that young upstart, is the Maryland Senate president facing a social media challenger with surprising support. How did this conversation get all turned around?

COLUMN | James Talarico, the Democrat's hope for winning a Senate seat in Texas, is at the top of Chris Van Hollen’s buddy list right now. Like every list, however, if there is a top, there must be a bottom. That would be Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo.

COLUMN | Democratic voters face the first competitive primary for county executive in 40 years. It’s divided party loyalists. With not much separating the three main candidates’ goals, how do you choose?

COLUMN | Can you guess which candidates for county executive in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties said these words? Probably not. They’re often interchangeable. So, who says them best?

COLUMN | Maybe social media sensation Bobby LaPin can beat state Sen. Bill Ferguson in the Democratic primary for their South Baltimore district. Maybe not. But in Maryland’s usually predictable political landscape, an upset like this has happened before.

COLUMN | Anne Arundel County’s newly revitalized auditor’s office uncovered misconduct in the Recreation and Parks Department, leading to the firing of a park superintendent and raising questions about government oversight.

COLUMN |How Franklin Roosevelt Daniels got to the bottom of the Inner Harbor in a stolen van remains a mystery. Why he was there, and why no one came forward to claim a loved one missing for a decade, might be easier to understand.

COLUMN | Harry Dunn says he didn’t sue to block Donald Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund to help his campaign for Congress. In a district hurt hard by the president’s audacity of greed, it sure should.

COLUMN | Annapolis is a city of rules, layered thickly over hundreds of years in Maryland’s small-town state capital. None may be quite so silly as this.

COLUMN | If President Donald Trump hadn’t chosen to skip on speaking at the Naval Academy commissioning ceremony on Friday, he probably would have tried to land a witty remark. They all do. From FDR to Biden, they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. They always get a laugh.

COLUMN | We were at a state park in Kentucky for my wife’s family reunion. It was the kind where someone springs for T-shirts, and the blue-and-gold ones handed out for ours read, “Whole Fam Damily Reunion 2012.” Then the Murdaughs walked in. You know, the Alex Murdaughs.

COLUMN | State Sen. Pam Beidle wanted to give the $400,000 left in her campaign fund to the slate she created. Turns out the rules don’t allow that. What can she do with this small fortune now?

COLUMN | No celebration of America’s 250th anniversary rivals America’s Tapestry for sheer volunteer spirit. The embroidered retelling of stories from the original 13 states was inspired by the Great Tapestry of Scotland.

COLUMN | In Maryland’s biggest primary, almost anything seems possible just 32 days from the start of early voting. A look at how candidates are trying to break out of a crowd of Democrats.

COLUMN | Ferry travel is a romantic idea, but when romance hits political and fiscal reality, the water gets a little rough. Chesapeake Bay proposals are — at best — delayed.

COLUMN | Del. Lesley Lopez's kidnap video was the most gonzo social media moment of the 2026 General Assembly, but probably not the last Maryland will see like it.

COLUMN | China built a bridge in 42 hours. China built the world’s tallest bridge in four years. Why can’t America build more like China? Before we get any more freaked out on the latest Key Bridge setback, here’s some perspective on building bridges.

COLUMN |State Sen. Pam Beidle plans to donate $500,000 in campaign funds to a slate of at least 19 candidates she believes will continue her middle-of-the-road political philosophy in increasingly progressive Maryland. Her top priority is getting Allison Pickard elected county executive.

COLUMN | Two days after our 33rd wedding anniversary, Southwest Airlines decided that we should split up. We’d fallen prey to one of the dumber airline decisions in recent memory, annoying loyal flyers by charging more to sit together.

COLUMN | We are deep into the age of posting stupid and insensitive things online. It can cost you a friendship, standing in your community, a job or — and this is the fuzzy math bit — absolutely nothing.