Here's a story of how good (Democratic) governance can overcome an unthinkable disaster:
After a colossal cleanup effort, federal and state authorities fully reopened the main shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore on Monday, transforming a site of ferocious destruction into a symbol of resilience after an errant container ship downed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March and killed six workers.
Authorities restored the federal channel to its original 700-foot width and 50-foot depth, providing a moment of hope after a painful period in Baltimore.
“Yet again, Baltimore was counted down and out,” Mayor Brandon Scott (D) said in an interview. “And yet again, Baltimore proved the world wrong.”
Disruptions from the March 26 bridge collapse have cost the Baltimore region’s economy about $1.2 billion, said Anirban Basu, an economist with Sage Policy Group, a Baltimore-based consulting firm. That takes into account a sharp drop in port activity immediately after the disaster and more moderate losses as smaller channels kept a reduced quantity of goods flowing — as well as all the spending on clearing the channel itself.
It wasn’t easy getting here. Multiple layers of government and the private sector pulled off the major cleanup operation and prevented a prolonged supply-chain nightmare.
“When we work together, we can actually get big things done,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in an interview Friday, adding that some early estimates said fully restoring the channel could take six months to a year. It ended up being 11 weeks.
And, who exactly worked together to achieve this significant result?
[Scott] credited a partnership that included Moore, President Biden, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, and officials from federal, state, county and city governments.
In contrast with earlier disasters, such as when Ray Nagin, then the mayor of New Orleans, had to go “begging the federal government for help” after Hurricane Katrina, there was no disconnect after the bridge went down, Scott said. (our emphasis)
Ah, yes, we remember Hurricane Katrina, one of the jewels in President Bush's crown of incompetence!
The reopening means a lot for Baltimore and Maryland, but also for the nation:
The effects of the reopening will be felt across the nation’s economy and far beyond U.S. borders.
It will allow companies to return fully to moving massive shiploads of cars, tractors, containers and bulk materials — such as coal — through Baltimore as they had done before the Dali lost power and veered off course.
This showcase effort of government effectiveness and competence (like passage of the infrastructure bill, Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and more) is in stark contrast to the convicted felon Malignant Loser's bumbling term in office (recall the "infrastructure week" every week with nothing to show for it). If only we had a public that understood that and valued and responded to it more than it does to buffoonish demagogues with their simple slogans and culture war hate speech.
(Photo: Maryland Democratic officials with President Biden and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg on April 5 / Demetrius Freeman, Washington Post)
