O’Malley not only Md. governor tough on state retirees

After reading the letter to the editor from Judy Francis (“Remember O’Malley — for hardship he caused state workers,” Nov. 24) not only do I agree with her regarding former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, but I wish she would have gone a little further in her comment to include current Gov. Wes Moore.

Governor Moore has pledged “to leave no one behind” but I guess that statement did not include state of Maryland retirees along and the good people of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties in the path of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project.

The decision to cancel Maryland retirees’ prescription drug coverage had been delayed the past couple of years in the courts pending the result of a legal decision. The decision, a negative one against the retirees, was announced early this year. Moore could have asked his Democratic legislature to pass a bill to rescind this legislation. He did not.

In addition, why is the governor not speaking out against the proposed MPRP power transmission lines? The people in those counties have spoken and they do not want it. Why aren’t you listening, Governor Moore?

— Gerry Cox, Bel Air

Dan Rodricks is The Sun’s bright star

I’m a Baltimorean who lives in Colorado for most of the year and in Baltimore for a month or two. No matter how many months I’m in Colorado, however, at heart, I’m still a Baltimorean. I subscribe to The Baltimore Sun to get my Baltimore fix, to see how the Orioles and Ravens are doing, to read the obituaries (unfortunately some familiar names there), and to read Dan Rodricks’ column. He keeps me informed, not only about Baltimore and its people, but about the entire watershed of the Chesapeake (“Dan Rodricks: Thanks for small wonders, singular moments and encounters with strangers,” Nov. 26).

Dan’s columns are gems. He presents Baltimore and its citizens, good and bad (but mostly good because that seems to be how Dan sees people), in a way that brings the flavor of Baltimore to me here in my little mountain town in snowy Colorado. He doesn’t, however, shun the gritty side of Baltimore or of its people; he doesn’t view it with rose-colored glasses.

He writes about subjects such as gun violence and ex-convicts trying to find a place and a job in the neighborhoods. He tries to present solutions or introduces us to people who are working to find solutions.

Thank you, thank you, Dan, for what you do and for who you are. And thank you to the Sun for continuing to run his columns through the years with, I hope, many more years to come.

— Carol Chance, Silverton, Colorado

Jacques Kelly is gold (aside from the occasional slip)

Jacques Kelly is a treasure. His generally impeccable memory, most often conveyed to readers in sepia-tinted (but not saccharine) prose, is one reason I continue to subscribe to The Baltimore Sun. This leaves me somewhat conflicted as I point out what I believe to be an error in the original printed version of his recent column (“Retro Baltimore: Thanksgiving in 1974 was full of hardship and hope,” Nov. 26).

Of that time and year, Kelly wrote, “James Bond films remained popular. ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’ arrived in Baltimore that Thanksgiving.” The Bond film in question (a reference later corrected online) was “The Man with the Golden Gun.” The “Golden Arm” was, however, a popular restaurant established by and named for Baltimore Colts legend Johnny Unitas, hence a possible source of confusion for someone steeped in local history.

As a one-time editor frequently pilloried by reporters who felt aggrieved by alterations to their submissions, I’m happy and even hopeful to consider that the source of this glitch is due to intervention beyond the author’s control. Although as someone increasingly prone to senior moments of my own, I can imagine hearing Kelly’s head-slap from here.

— Clinton Macsherry, Ocean City