Hosting the Preakness Stakes–the second jewel in racing's Triple Crown, which will take place Saturday–is ordinarily a source of great pride for my hometown of Baltimore. It's not just a great party but a time to show the city off as an up-and-comer, a desirable destination, a winner.
This year, not so much. Baltimore's marketing mavens will do their best, but their strategy might be summarized as: “Party on, and pay no attention to all that corruption and crime behind the curtain.” Our mayor has just resigned in disgrace thanks to allegations that she sold roughly $800,000 worth of self-published children's books to business interests she favored in decisions taken while serving in various political posts. Our homicide rate is the highest of any large American city. And our myriad social problems recently got front-page exposure in the New York Times magazine.
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