Today I hope that all of you will join me in recognizing a worldwide day of kindness and make District 42B even better! Let’s all “pay it forward “ and make someone else’s day brighter. I want to let all of you know how honored I am to have the opportunity to serve as your Delegate and how lucky I feel to be part of such a remarkable community. Whether we always agree or not, I respect and appreciate you. I feel that is especially important to say after such an incredibly difficult and divisive Election Season. I sincerely hope that while many of us celebrate what we feel is the right path for our country, we also remember how it felt in 2016 when our candidate did not prevail and most of all – let’s all be kind.

Here are a few other simple things that we can do to celebrate

Help feed our neighbors I am so proud to be involved with so many in our community who are giving back! Many thanks to the Baltimore Sun for covering our Cockeysville Middle School Student Support Network! Our next distribution is November 20 at 10:30 - noon. Read the Nov. 10 article in the Baltimore Sun, highlighting Student Support Network at Cockeysville Middle School here.

Be kind to the Earth Preserving and maintaining access to our State Park and Gunpowder River is another way to celebrate kindness to each other and to the Earth. We have been meeting regularly with a wide group of stakeholders to address constituent concerns about congestion on the NCR Trail and River. I am happy to report that we are narrowing in on some great options and will have a full report for you by the end of the year.

Legislation to help others My office has been busy drafting and filing bills for this year’s Legislative Session. I will be putting forward legislation to assist parents and students during school shutdowns, to direct funding towards serving families with Autism, to ban hate symbols in public schools, to help parenting students stay in school, to increase access to voting and to support our local wineries, among others.  I will also refile a few pieces of legislation from last year that did not quite make it across the finish line. If you are interested in knowing more and sharing your concerns, keep an eye out we will be announcing a Zoom Town Hall very soon!

Keeping yourself and others safe

Please stay safe during this unprecedented spike in Covid-19 cases.  WEAR YOUR MASK over your entire face when you are inside or unable to stay 6 feet away from others. Please avoid large gatherings and help take care of your neighbors.   To help support transparency about covid I spearheaded a request to the Department of Health to require reporting of COVID-19 cases in schools. The data is already available on the state's coronavirus portal here.

Be kind to local businesses Many businesses in our area are suffering because of this pandemic. I strongly encourage you to do your Holiday shopping early and locally if you are able! Gift certificates for restaurants and services that may be limited right now are also a terrific gift!