narrative archaeologist. author "If You Love Baltimore, It Will Love You Back." nat'l magazine award winner. Georgetown doc candidate. ex-bike messenger.
Our story on Baltimore's infamous Highway to Nowhere is a finalist for the City Regional Magazine Assoc.'s top Civic Journalism award Monday. Up against two great
@TexasMonthly
stories and others, but win, lose, draw—proud of the work we do
@Baltimoremag
College Park-born and raised Frances Tiafoe upsets Rafael Nadal to become youngest American player to reach
#USOpen
quarterfinals since 2006! Son of Sierra Leon immigrants, his father as a day laborer helped build the University of Maryland’s tennis center-where he got his start.
Take me out to the ballgame! Massive line outside Camden Yards - full hour and a half before the first pitch. How ‘bout dem Baltimore
@Orioles
! ⚾️🏟
@AfricanArchives
"At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the now-79-year-old Valerie Thomas would become a leader and expert in the development of the agency’s Landsat program, which digitized some of the earliest satellite images of Earth."
Thinking about the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to do this country’s physically demanding and often dangerous work. Prayers, condolences, and thanks to these families 💔🙏
The missing men are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Mexico, and live in Dundalk & Highlandtown. They are in their 30s and 40s, he said, w spouses & children.
All of them came to the city for a better life.
“They are all hard-working, humble men"
Baltimore isn’t getting one additional news outlet but two. With a no-strings-attached $1 million philanthropic gift, the Baltimore Beat re-launches in July as bi-monthly, Black-led print newspaper + website helmed by
@LisaMcCray
@JBrianCharles
@halleteri
.
@blktinabelcher
Didn't graduate from college and become a journalist until I was 40. You've got all the time. But also, just me, I didn't "figure it out" and then things got better. I learned to enjoy life and be present to it every day—and things kind of figured themselves out from there.
At
@joanjett
's first
@Orioles
game as a kid,
@Jim22Palmer
pitched a no-hitter. In 1989, she sang the national anthem on Opening Day and the O's went on their remarkable Why Not? run. Can we get her to Camden Yards to throw out the first pitch or sing again this year?
One 45-year-old Florida rioter, who spent 20-30 minutes in the Capitol, showed me his cellphone video and said he was getting thumbs up signs and handshakes from police.
Anyone on the ground yesterday could not help but get feeling police were told to stand down or kept away.
Speaker Pelosi on review of Capitol security:
It goes beyond the Capitol Police.
It goes to FBI and the intelligence they provided.
Dept. of Defense: how long did it take them to respond?
It goes to many other elements of Executive Branch, and we have to have a full review.
"The Black athlete says he's part of a revolution to produce dignity for the Black man and he is a human being before an athlete. Says his life in America is filled with injustice. He wants equality not just in the arena. He's aware of backlash, but says he's had it for 400 yrs."
"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land."
#DesmondTutu
#RestInPeace
First day of class
@Georgetown
, starting a doctorate program today at 57. Did not have much interest in school at 15, 25 or 35. Then a light came on that I didn’t know existed and it still burns bright. Luckiest guy in the world.
#RecalledToLife
#EverybodysGotToLearnSometime
The Enoch Pratt Free Library ran this ad in the Carroll County Times yesterday opposing a book ban in schools. The Pratt Library stands against censorship. Anyone in MD can get a Pratt Library card, and we carry all 10 of the most challenged books in the United States.
Millionaire real-estate developer Larry Hogan praising millionaire coal baron Joe Manchin's decision to deny health coverage, child-tax credits to families as JFK profile in courage is some gaslighting.
50 billionaires + 17 billionaire spouses donated to Manchin in last 5 yrs.
I want to thank my friend
@Sen_JoeManchin
for his independent leadership. Standing up to your own party is never easy, but as John F. Kennedy said, "Sometimes party loyalty asks too much."
I met Dante Barksdale 12 years ago when Safe Streets was a new concept in Baltimore. He walked a courageous line in the streets, mediating beefs and potential shootings, no doubt saving the lives of many others. He was serious, funny, and soulful and his murder is heartbreaking.
Still struggling to get head around this. Same # of sworn BPD officers (est. 1,900) as students at large high school. Yet impossible-to-manage agency. This guy shoots unarmed 14-yr-old in the back, then spends 28 yrs ordering uniforms and supplies, making $100,000 a yr from city?
.
@BaltimorePolice
officer, stripped of police powers after fatally shooting an unarmed teen, kept on payroll for 28 years Report by
@OIG_Baltimore
faults BPD for keeping him on w/ full pay/benefits & generous OT.
@BaltimoreBrew
confirms his identity.
Keith Davis Jr., who will soon be tried for the fifth time for the same murder, “is the most aggressively prosecuted man in American history,” says law professor Colin Miller, co-host of the podcast 'Undisclosed,' which investigates wrongful convictions.
Nobody hates Baltimore like the people on the "Baltimore Best Old Photos" and "Baltimore History and Photos" Facebook pages who don't live in the city.
Baltimore being Baltimore, my bike seat was stolen earlier tonight. Baltimore being Baltimore, Joe’s Bike Shop in Fells Point fixed me up with a new seat and post and didn’t charge for labor. They also tweaked my front brake for free. Thx 🙏🚴🏼♂️
"A barrage of bullets unleashed by three police officers on the scene, who began firing toward a car they mistakenly believed was the source of the gunshots."
Police kill an 8-year-old girl. Who do prosecutors charge with her murder? Two teenage suspects.
Maryland today remains 48 of 50 states in percentage of vaccines used under his leadership. Gov. Hogan's words, terseness and body language is stunning in the middle of a deadly pandemic with nearly 8,000 deaths in Maryland and tens of thousands more facing economic hardship.
.
@MayorBMScott
has asked the Governor to ensure more Covid vaccine for older City residents
Today the Governor, at new vaccine site at M &T Bank Stadium, dismissed the question..saying City has gotten "far more than they are really entitled to"
City Health got 3500 doses for week
Nat'l TV media always hitting repeat button on lowest-common denominator "questions." Like with Biden's age. Mayor Scott earned poly sci degree nearly 20 yrs ago and has worked in Baltimore City Hall ever since. Ask some probing q's re: infrastructure, economy, Latino community.
Baltimore's
@MayorBMScott
responds to critics who blamed the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on Maryland's DEI policies: "I’ve been Black my whole life. I know how racism goes in this country...I'm worried about the loss of life. We know how ridiculous that is."
So keeping score this morning: a former Baltimore Police officer sentenced for planting a gun on an innocent man; another BPD officer on trial for 1st and 2nd-degree assault charges; and a third city cop has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly selling “ghost” guns.
BREAKING: A Baltimore Police officer, Steven Angelini, was arrested by the FBI this morning. I'm told the case involves allegedly selling "ghost" guns. More to come...
When Hogan talks infrastructure, it's "roads and bridges" and never mass transit. Not only did he cancel Baltimore's Red Line, but Maryland sits in the U.S.'s busiest mass transit corridor. Hard to imagine a city and state that would benefit more from mass transit infrastructure.
Nancy Pelosi grew up in Baltimore’s Little Italy and went to the same Catholic all-girls high school as former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who once worked in a ketchup factory here and also never backed down from a fight in her life. This city tests and reveals character.
#Baltimore
Remember sneaking into public pools after hours as a teenager, but old enough now to be concerned about these kids’ safety. The bigger question is why isn’t Baltimore City prepared to have all of its pools open in mid-July when everyone knows it’s 90+ degrees this time of year.
Several children were caught breaking into one of the many Baltimore City pools that remain closed with their gates chained. The break-in was caught on Monday. Footage details the children breaking in, setting up "camp", and entering the water along with a scooter.
No golden age of Baltimore policing ever existed. In the early 1960s—a damning two-year investigation described the BPD as “the most corrupt and antiquated in the nation, and had developed almost no positive relationship with the city’s Negro community.”
Homicides in Maryland trended down for a decade before former Gov. Hogan took office in 2015. Subsequently, homicides reversed course, climbing significantly over his two terms. After he left office, gun violence rates declined in 2023 and are on track to do so again this year.
Defund the Police policies have wreaked havoc on communities across the nation. That’s why, as governor, I fought back against this insanity and launched our first-in-the-nation Refund the Police Initiative.
This National Police Week, we pay tribute to the brave men and women
World of lefty punk Baltimore baseball fans in brief harmony in late '70s and early '80s. The Clash released epic album SANDINISTA! and Sandinistas were all Orioles fans b/c Nicaraguan pitcher Dennis Martinez starred for the O's and Birds played exhibition games there in 1980⚾️🧢
Needed to run to Sollers Point today and so stopped to see the Key Bridge with my own eyes. An 80-year-old woman charged me $10 to cut through her backyard. Fair enough.
#Baltimore
@jmgpix
@SpeakerPelosi
Quick fact check: I was the reporter Richard "Big O" Barnett is shouting at here. Told us he's from Northwest Arkansas and yes, was among the first to break into the Capitol and sat in
@SpeakerPelosi
chair and showed off the letter he took off her desk as proof.
15 yrs ago, I did a weekend Baltimore Examiner piece on a 7-yr-old who'd won 1st place at a local skateboard event. (My daughter, then 14, snapped pic at left, picked up by the AP.) Today, I stopped by new Rash Field skatepark and saw same kid—now pro Joey Jett—up to old tricks.
Just thinking about how nat'l media is inept at covering state politics. June: Hogan Adm significantly underreporting COVID nursing home deaths. Aug: Hogan pushing in-person school instruction. Last wk: Telling Baltimore not to listen to Hopkins experts about indoor dining risks.
Just thinking about how mid 60s cancer survivor Gov
@LarryHogan
has said he won’t get vaccinated before his state’s frontline health care workers and those in nursing homes
When someone buys your book and sends a photo with a kind word or thoughtful comment. So appreciative. Not someone who grew up wanting to be a writer. Worked a lot of hard jobs and didn’t graduate from college until I was 39. Reminder of the journey, which has been a surprise. 🙏
@Sifill_LDF
In Maryland, many jurisdictions took a decade or more to comply. In 1964, Dottie Cook's family requested special permission for her to attend a Howard Co. white school—granted only after the school bus driver agreed. She recounted the story in 2012.
I swung a hammer, pedaled a bike, and poured drinks for 20 years before becoming a writer and I'd like to think those experiences somehow get reflected in these stories. My first book, bits and pieces from a decade with notebook in pocket, a collective project with this city:
Wishing Gov. Hogan the best. Meanwhile, the Maryland Department of Health's server remains down and we still have no idea about current Covid case rate for everyone else in the state.
This morning, as part of my regular testing routine, I received a positive rapid test for COVID-19. I have been vaccinated and boosted, and I am feeling fine at the moment.
My god this is a mess. Baltimore County police arrest a person they later admit is innocent, but in the process they shoot the guy in the car next to him, who remains in critical condition, six times? And neither the police or State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger are forthcoming?
BREAKING NEWS: A Dundalk man's arrest last week ended with Baltimore County detectives shooting and critically wounding a nearby driver. Now his murder charge is dropped and new video of the shooting casts doubt on the police version of events.
Working at home has it benefits. I was here when someone tried to break into my basement today. Neighbor saw it, called me and 911. BPD showed up quick and were professional. I wrote a book titled: "If You Love Baltimore, It Will Love You Back." But this city will test you, too.
Always admired this statue of Mr. Poe at the University of Baltimore plaza. Looks like he’s about to stand up and make a point. Or perhaps order another drink.
Where is this beautiful wilderness bike infrastructure? Right here. With latest extension, can now ride Jones Falls Trail from the Inner Harbor to Mount Washington. Thanks
#baltimorerecreationandparks
Jared Kushner’s apartment company:
Charged tenants $12 “agent fees” related to court filings, for costs his companies did not actually incur more than 28,000 times.
Do you believe in miracles?!?!!! Orioles win No. 100! Clinch AL’s best record and home field advantage thru the playoffs! Could not miss this!
#Baltimore
#Birdland
Gov. Hogan's "good friend," who canceled 1.4 million voter registrations, 70% of whom were Black, closed 214 polling places, mostly in nonwhite neighborhoods, and made it a crime to give food or water to a voter waiting in line—as minority GA polling areas face 8 hrs wait times.
My good friend
@BrianKempGA
is a proven conservative who has provided strong leadership in challenging times. He shoots straight, listens to his constituents, and does what is right for Georgians. I enthusiastically support his campaign for re-election.
$10 million in weekend weed sales translates into $900,000 in new tax revenue for Maryland. Maybe we should've done this decades ago rather than wasting billions on racially biased arrests.
Not sure why this well reported, researched, heavily documented piece, including new Maryland PIA material, is tagged "Opinion." Georgetown law prof.
@SheryllCashin
chronicles Gov. Hogan's massive transit cuts and education inequity affecting Baltimore.
EX-Gov. Hogan spreading a lie to serve his agenda. Crime down by recording-breaking levels since he left office. Owner closing business has liens against him in Mont. Co. and Baltimore.
Here's a response from another Fells Point restaurant owner, highlighting busy past weekend:
It is sad to see that more local businesses are closing their doors due to out of control violence that threatens the safety of customers and employees.
When politicians fail to take accountability and address ongoing safety concerns, our communities suffer the consequences. In
The idea of Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby (and husband City Council President Nick Mosby) setting up a charity fund for their own legal defense while she remains the City's top prosecutor, is surreal.
A charity fund has begun accepting donations on behalf of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and City Council President Nick Mosby as they defend themselves against the ongoing federal criminal tax investigation.
First time I’ve seen a bald eagle in Patterson Park. Hat tip to colleague and neighbor Amy Scattergood, who spotted our avian friend while walking her dog and sent an alert. Couldn’t leave until they flew off. Might be time to invest in a camera that isn’t a phone.
#Baltimore
Hogan justifying Red Line cancellation to US Senate committee because "it didn’t really provide any type of a system" is a lie—14-mile project would've connected directly to Light Rail, Metro Subway, MARC, I-70 park & ride— in far-reaching transit system.
Gov. Hogan continued his dog-whistle attacks on Baltimore today, but homicides are up statewide in Maryland since he took office in 2015–even if you remove Baltimore from the equation.
Homicides fell by 13 in Baltimore from 2019-2020, and jumped by 53 in the rest of the state.
Half of Baltimore, including me, have been in Jim Pollack's living room at least once celebrating the holiday season and spirit of the Miracle of 34th Street. The city has lost a one-of-a-kind artist. Prayers for his family, friends and Hampden neighbors. Thanks, Jim
#RIP
In memory of Jim Pollock. Mr Pollock is best known for his hubcap tree that stood tall every December on Miracle on 34th Street but he also created countless other pieces of art with discarded metal. Thanks for putting charm into Charm City.
#baltimoresaltbox
#miracleon34thstreet
“Elijah was a hometown guy and we thought it would be poignant and very Elijah-like to have a Baltimore-based artist of color do his portrait,” said Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.
Kudos to Jerrell Gibbs. Portrait
@artbma
12/11-1/9 before heading to Capitol.
@NinoMangione42
I attended college in Towson starting in the 1980s and also later tended bar in Towson and can assure it was not free of drugs or violent crime.
Also, if the harm and potential harm caused was truly understood, The Banner would've pulled down the anti-LGBTQ op-ed. The author, btw, lives in Pasadena and refers to himself as "Baltimore's No. 1 enemy." His inclusion as a "community voice" feels like a stretch to say least.
From our Jan.
@Baltimoremag
cover shoot that included Sen. Barbara Mikulski, film legend John Waters, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Mayor Kurt Schmoke and iconic artist Joyce Scott. Who were they all excited to see? Brooks Robinson. John Waters even asked for an autograph.
Baltimore is beautiful.
Corner of Park and North, transition between Bolton Hill and Reservoir Hill, bus stop for destinations east and west. More to come: Mural artist: West Baltimore's one and only Ernest Shaw.
Valerie Thomas,
@MorganStateU
grad from Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood, was a contemporary of
@NASA
's "Hidden Figures." Her key role in establishing
@NASA_Landsat
—whose images reveal Earth's processes including climate change—are just as noteworthy.
In
#Baltimore
, a 10-ft-wide, 978-sq-ft rowhouse means different microclimates—temperature, humidity, etc—on all three floors at all times of the day. Air conditioning and fans alter the equation but don't change the fact different layers of clothing are required on each floor.
This should not be hard
@washingtonpost
. When an official, like Gov. Hogan, uses bogus propaganda and spin—journalists aren't required to repeat it. In fact, they should refute it.
Maryland hasn't defunded its police—it ranks among the very highest in per capita police funding.
Md Gov. Larry Hogan proposes $220 million to raise salaries for police statewide, in what he called an "expansion of our re-fund our police initiatives." It's part of a $500 million, 3-year plan that includes $137M in aid to local jurisdictions and $50M for state police bldgs.
Queen’s Gambit actor Moses Ingram's remarkable journey from West Baltimore to Hollywood: In 2016 she auditioned for Yale’s graduate program. With only an AA degree from BCCC (and kudos to advisor Nana Gyesie) she was accepted and on her way
#GoldenGlobes
A surreal experience bringing these Baltimore icons together and watching them interact. Baltimore is such a rich city of characters and character. When John Waters later asked for Brooks Robinson's phone number, felt like I'd fulfilled my destiny here.
@OsitaNwanevu
Lived in D.C. at the time and still remember the feeling of helplessness as I watched the invasion and war being sold to the American public by a lying president, a morally-bankrupt congress, and smug national journalists.
First successful
#NewYearsResolution
now completed: I consumed no meat in 2021—aside from crab, of course. I'm officially what's known as a Baltimore vegetarian.
After serving in World War II, Irving Phillips Sr.—as talented a photographer as Baltimore has ever produced—went to work for the
@afronews
, documenting side of the city ignored by white press. His son, Irving Phillips Jr., later became first Black photographer hired by The Sun.
Heartbreaking and just mind-boggling. A 15-year-old child of Baltimore shot to death shortly after 1:30 pm at the busy, vibrant, heavily trafficked intersection of E. Baltimore St. and N. Highland Ave. Ten minute walk from my house. Prayers to his family. We've got to do better🙏
“The medical system is so broken. Most of these families were making a go of it until someone has to go into the hospital or to the doctor for a serious (medical condition)...We can’t fix the system, so this is something we can do."
Church did it before:
The members of Trinity Moravian Church in North Carolina purchased nearly $3.3 million of local residents’ medical debt for just $15,048.
Then, they held a debt jubilee ceremony and burned up the debt, canceling it all.
I like when I randomly turn on
@MSNBC
and
@lukebroadwater
's explaining what's happening on Capitol Hill. Luke got to the
@nytimes
the old-fashioned way—working his way up from covering local politics at the Howard Co. Times to the Examiner to the Sun. Great reporter every step.
Would like to see Gov. Moore and other electeds take public transit with Baltimore residents and students to learn about their commutes - and candidates like Rep. Trone, P.G Co. Exec. Alsobrooks, and former Gov. Hogan vying for U.S Senate - transit relies on federal dollars, too.
Absolutely LOVE this series, the Mayor of Boston
@wutrain
is taking public transit with different residents to learn about their commutes and how to make the systems/city work better for people!
Watch complete video here (this app makes you trim):
Words matter. The phrase "so-called" is not a neutral term, but has a negative connotation and
@baltimoresun
writers shouldn't use it to describe "the so-called Black butterfly." Interestingly, the "white L" in same sentence is referred to as "by what’s known as the white L."
The idea of being above politics from someone who spent $9 million of taxpayer money on a South Korea testing kit publicity stunt and then went on book tour in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned the statues in 1909 and 1928—not long after the Wilmington White Supremacist Coup of 1898, which overthrew the city's elected, bi-racial government.
This isn't erasing history, it's getting it right.
Still have questions about how Baltimore SA Marilyn Mosby flipped one of her Florida properties this past fall for a quick $150,000 profit to a somewhat mysterious female buyer from Baltimore County who said she did not know Mosby, but whose husband has been employed by the city.
Gov. Hogan understands how misinformation + propaganda work better than most. Ran for office deriding stormwater fee for the Bay as the "Rain Tax," claimed Red Line project a "boondoggle" without single documented review, used acquisition of bogus S. Korea test kits for photo-op.
.
@GovLarryHogan
to
@DanaBashCNN
: "Frankly, it's crazy that that many people believe things that just simply aren't true, that they believe a different version of reality."
#CNNSOTU
Watching on TV last nite, by the 6th knew Orioles would win and biked over to catch the last two innings. Except the box office was closed and app wasn't selling tix anymore. Just then, random guy walking by asks if I need a ticket. Thank you baseball gods
#Baltimore
#Birdland
Do you believe in miracles?!?!!! Orioles win No. 100! Clinch AL’s best record and home field advantage thru the playoffs! Could not miss this!
#Baltimore
#Birdland
No joy in Mudville today. Patterson Bowling Center, founded by a Polish former stevedore in 1927 and home to generations of working-class duckpin bowlers in southeast Baltimore, goes apartment/condo.