The coronavirus has taught us a lesson. 

There are inequities in our society that the pandemic has laid bare. 

It is our responsibility as public officials and as citizens to address these problems. 

So we hope. 

Governor Hogan’s vetoes of bills yesterday were not a step in that direction. 

Governor Hogan and Senate President Ferguson spoke for only 30 minutes before the veto letters were posted online, according to the editorial in today’s Baltimore Sun. 

That’s 30 minutes more than President Trump and Speaker Pelosi have spoken in recent months.                                                                                      

But appallingly less than the dialogue that’s needed.

That dialogue should be a part of the General Assembly’s deliberations on the veto overrides.

We have the votes. We also need to make the case to the public that these programs are worthy expenditures. 

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It was uncertain yesterday whether the Governor would sign or veto the bill that would keep the Preakness in Baltimore and redevelop the Pimlico Race Track site. 

At lunch time, I drove by the race track and detoured to the site of the house on Rogers Av. where my elementary school friend Jay Slater lived – across the street from the grandstand entrance to Pimlico. 

I first watched the races from his attic window.

I decided to stay on Rogers Av. and drive by Arlington Elementary Middle School, which has been renovated under the 21st Century Schools program. 

In the 20th Century, my mother went to Arlington. 

At dinner last night, I told my mother that I had stopped by Jay’s house and then headed west on Rogers.

“And drove by Arlington,” my mother declared. 

It was better than cashing a winning ticket on the Daily Double.