Gov. Larry Hogan – Baltimore Magazine

Will the Harm from Baltimore’s Highway to Nowhere Ever Be Repaired?

Aaron Hope — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:49:59 +0000

In the late 1960s, Baltimore began demolishing Black neighborhoods to make room for an ill-fated expressway. Will the harm from the Highway to Nowhere ever be repaired?

By Ron Cassie

Photography by Isaiah Winters

Historical images by John Van Horn and I. Henry Phillips

Opening spread: The image of the forlorn girl on the outskirts of the Highway to Nowhere was shot by John Van Horn in the fall of 1968 (see sidebar at the end of the story).

News & Community

Road to Ruin

In the late 1960s, Baltimore began demolishing Black neighborhoods to make room for an ill-fated expressway. Will the harm from the Highway to Nowhere ever be repaired?

By Ron Cassie

Photography by Isaiah Winters

Historical images by John Van Horn and I. Henry Phillips

Opening Spread
The image of the forlorn girl on the outskirts of the Highway to Nowhere was shot by John Van Horn in the fall of 1968 (see sidebar at the end of the piece). JOHN VAN HORN

February 2023

CLOSED THE CAR DOOR and stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his childhood home when he recognized an old friend coming toward him. “Chubb!” Smith called out with a big smile. It was right before Christmas and the two men, both in their mid-70s, began reminiscing about growing up in the Rosemont neighborhood, specifically the Lauretta Avenue blocks around the Smith family’s corner rowhouse.

“‘Fort Lauretta,’ that was the Smith house,” says Laneaue Burch, explaining that everything and everyone had a nickname in the close-knit West Baltimore community. (“I got ‘Chubb’ because I was skinny.”) “This is where we gathered and played football. I caught a lot of passes in this street and that empty lot,” he continues, gesturing across the intersection. “This time of the year, we’d be pulling out our new footballs and roller skates—those metal skates you snapped over your shoes. Skating in the streets was big. Oh man, we had fun.”

Ironically, a sign on the corner now reads: “No Ballplaying in the Street,” though few kids appear to live or play here anymore.

Their neighborhood had everything a family needed in the 1950s and 1960s, says Smith, one of eight children raised by his father, grandmother, and a half-dozen “block moms” after his mother died. “This wasn’t the food desert it became. There were corner stores and grocery stores, clothing, furniture, and hardware stores, bakeries, pharmacies—mostly Black- or Jewish-owned—and movie houses, like the Harlem Theater at Edmondson and Harlem, the Bridge Theater at Edmondson and Pulaski,” he says, ticking off two favorite Saturday hangouts. “I tell people it was a Norman Rockwell existence.”

Then, in 1969, two years after Smith graduated from Edmondson High, the city informed his family that their home stood in the path of a planned expressway, and they intended to demolish it. Originally named I-170 (later re-designated Route 40), it was supposed to connect the booming white suburbs to Baltimore’s downtown business district. It certainly wasn’t conceived to assist Black commuters. The Franklin and Mulberry streets corridor had first been identified in 1944 by consultant and notorious New York highway builder Robert Moses as the path of least resistance—in other words, low income and Black. Neither Smith’s father, a crane operator, nor Burch’s father, who cooked at a white country club, owned a car. Before the expressway, the city had a dependable transit system: streetcars, and then buses, that reached Black neighborhoods.

Glenn Smith sits on the steps of his childhood home on Lauretta Avenue in Rosemont.

“What choice did he have? My father took the money offered and moved to Windsor Hills,” recalls Smith, glancing down the hill to the near-empty east-west expressway, or rather the 1.39-mile stub, since known as the Highway to Nowhere because it never got connected to I-70, I-95, I-83, or any other major road. “Then, he had to get a car. My youngest siblings moved with him. I joined the Marines and the rest went on their own. I don’t think my father, who’d come to Baltimore from North Carolina after he got out of the Navy, ever adjusted.”

The dismantling of corridor neighborhoods had begun shortly before the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.—and ramped up after them. Ultimately, 971 homes, 62 businesses, and one school were leveled, and more than 2,800 people were displaced. On Lauretta Avenue and elsewhere, almost everyone Smith and Burch knew—whether homeowners, tenants, or “rent-to-own” families—were forced out. It is a cruel twist that Fort Lauretta was spared and resold by the city after construction began in 1974. (Burch’s aunt was one person who did not sell, however, and her Lauretta Avenue home was spared as well. Burch eventually took over her home after she passed.)

For decades, Smith and Burch will tell you, their beloved neighborhood has been a literal shell of what it was. Despite knocking down 130 vacant homes and buildings in recent years, the city still has 373 vacant building notices posted in the community. Next door in Harlem Park, which took the brunt of the expressway’s wrecking ball, there are 570. Long stretches on the Franklin Square and Poppleton side of the Highway to Nowhere—less than a half mile from the Edgar Allan Poe House Museum—have also been shuttered for decades, although a driver coming in from Baltimore County can’t really see the boarded-up neighborhood from the expressway’s voluminous concrete valley, also referred to as “the Ditch.” Planners intended to provide commuters with a “pleasant view” of the city skyline on their approach into town.

“You know a funny thing that I notice when I come back to our old house?” Smith says, pointing to the side of the Lauretta Avenue rowhome. “The Formstone. I remember when my father had that put up. Not a mark on it. Still perfectly intact.”

The Highway to Nowhere, taken from a drone in October. —Video by Isaiah Winters

From top, women on Palm Sunday in the late 1950s in Lafayette Square, a few blocks from the Highway to Nowhere; a young girl in Lafayette Park, also in the late 1950s. I. HENRY PHILLIPS

A 1960 rendering of the planned expressway through West Baltimore.

I n his acclaimed book on blockbusting and the redlining of Black communities, Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City, former Baltimore Sun reporter Antero Pietila estimates that roughly 94,000 people—mostly Black residents—were dislocated between 1965 and 1980 by various expressway building, “slum clearance,” and “urban renewal” efforts. Many affected families had come to Baltimore looking for jobs after World War II, as part of the Great Migration, and now they were uprooted again. Payouts offered to homeowners in the Franklin-Mulberry corridor—based on declining “fair market” values in the area—were rarely enough to purchase a comparable house in one of the few neighborhoods open to Black homebuyers. (Future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and his family struggled mightily to find a home after he was traded to Baltimore in 1966; his wife Barbara was so disgusted by the race-based real-estate market she threatened to move back to California with the couple’s two children.)

“Monuments to segregation,” ACLU lawyer Barbara Samuels called the high-rises, all since imploded as failed housing policy experiments.

Meanwhile, the destruction in the neighborhoods split by the Highway to Nowhere metastasized. The east-west expressway plans had cast a pall over the Franklin-Mulberry corridor for two decades, and when the condemnations began in 1966, and then the demolitions a few years later, things quickly took a bad turn. By the time the highway opened on Feb. 5, 1979, the surrounding blocks—and their communities—had been gutted for a decade.

Today, residents in the Black neighborhoods divided by Route 40 have the longest average commute times in Baltimore, almost three times greater than in the city’s well-to-do white neighborhoods.

“The effects of that little underpass didn’t just go into the 300 or 500 block [of a street in its corridor],” Alton West, who later organized annual reunions among those displaced, told an interviewer back in 2009. “It just spread its wings either way. Call it the ‘domino effect’ or whatever you want...[things] just fell and kept going. If the 400 block was affected, now the 3 and the 5 are . . . and after a while the 600 or the 100 [block]. I would say by the mid-’70s to the late ’70s, it was like the spread of cancer. It was just inoperable.”

As far as strategies to rehabilitate the community after the fact, added West, a retired Baltimore housing inspector, “I say ‘we’ as a city government—we just probably didn’t have a clue.”

The 1870-built Sarah Ann Street rowhomes formerly scheduled for demolition by the city.

N ow, a half century after it consumed 52 acres of residential Black neighborhoods—and eight years after the Red Line light rail was abruptly canceled by a governor intent on building more highways—there are hopes that the Highway to Nowhere may finally be razed.

Passed in August, the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocates $370 billion to address climate change, includes $3 billion in Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants that can be used to reduce the effects of urban heat islands, for example, but also to remove harmful infrastructure, such as urban expressways.

The side-by-side Carrollton Avenue rowhomes owned by Sonia and Curtis Eaddy, who successfully fought the city’s eminent domain plans for 18 years.

That funding comes a year after the federal government set aside $1 billion in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which was modeled off legislation co-sponsored by Maryland senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen—with the Highway to Nowhere in mind. In October, the city applied for a $2-million grant through the program to study tearing up the ill-fated highway. Recipients should be announced this spring.

“Baltimore is the poster child for this program, which is designed to right a historic injustice the federal government helped facilitate,” says Van Hollen, who, along with West Baltimore-raised Congressman Kweisi Mfume, drafted a letter on behalf of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, urging consideration of the city’s bid. “I bring this up to Secretary Buttigieg every time I see him,” says Van Hollen. “He probably wants to turn in the other direction when he sees me.”

At the same time, the state has a newly elected governor from Baltimore. Wes Moore, the first Black governor since the 1632 founding of the Maryland colony and just the third-ever elected in the U.S., has vowed to jump-start the 14-mile, 19-stop Red Line light rail initiative. As previously designed, it would have passed directly through the long under-resourced Highway to Nowhere corridor.

With proposed stops at the West Baltimore MARC station—in Rosemont, Harlem Park, and Poppleton, neighborhoods where up to 60 percent of households don’t own a car—the anticipated light rail promised reliable access to employment, the Social Security office complex in Baltimore County, the University of Maryland, the downtown business district and the Inner Harbor, as well as the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. It meant access to schools, grocery stores, healthcare, recreation, and entertainment.

The construction of the Red Line—pitched to help repair a half-century- and-counting of damage from the Highway to Nowhere—was six months from putting out bids when former Governor Larry Hogan canceled it without a single formal review in 2015. The building of the project alone was expected to create 15,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Maryland Transit Administration was already working with the state’s Department of Labor to create a training program tailored for engineering, construction, and maintenance positions at Glenn Smith’s old high school.

Today, any attempt to bring the now dust-covered Red Line plans back to life faces enormous hurdles. The original price tag of $2.9 billion, which included $900 million in attached federal funding, has climbed significantly with inflation. Federal transit funding remains hyper-competitive, and winning back approval any time soon is hard to imagine. (When Hogan sent that nearly $1 billion back to the feds, he also flushed away a dozen years and $290 million in local and state planning.)

Federal dollars also require a commitment from the state, which will likely have to foot at least two-thirds of the project again. Former Governor Martin O’Malley increased the gas tax to generate revenue for the Red Line, but that money is gone. How Moore intends to raise funding remains to be seen. Not to mention, recent residential and commercial developments in Canton and Greektown will require new engineering work-arounds. Environmental studies will have to be repeated. Community outreach, always a contentious process to some degree, will have to begin again.

While both Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott are committed to bringing down the Highway to Nowhere—by no means a sure thing given the funding necessary—the bigger question is: What should, or will, come in its place?

Will Moore and Scott fight for a full light rail plan like the one Hogan canceled and has the potential to create the greatest economic impact? Or will they settle for a less expensive—but more doable—rapid bus version of the Red Line? In an interview, Scott said he’s committed to an east-west light rail system while acknowledging a rapid bus line may ultimately play a role. The removal of the Highway to Nowhere and the once shovelready light rail—linked by purpose and overlapping geography—remain separate initiatives until Moore and Scott decide on a common vision.

Former Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary John Porcari was on the ground floor when the ironically named Red Line (“redlining” traditionally referred to mortgage discrimination against Black home buyers) was first conceived 20 years ago, in large part to address systemic racism in transportion exacerbated by the focus on building highways to accommodate automobile drivers. He says that even with equity and environmental justice as a priority at the DOT under Buttigieg, funding for transit and expressway removal remains exponentially harder to win than highway-building dollars. That said, the availability of Biden infrastructure money and Reconnecting Community grants, according to Porcari, “presents a unique opportunity that is not going to last forever. The city and state need to get their plans together and act quickly.”

To Red Line advocates such as Samuel Jordan, a longtime community- based organizer, the stakes could not be higher.

Mayor Brandon Scott, with the Highway to Nowhere behind him, and elected officials, including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Kweisi Mfume on his right.

Jordan co-founded the Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition with Glenn Smith after the project was canceled by Hogan. In December, the organization commemorated the 66th anniversary of the end of the Montgomery bus boycott with a webinar update on its Red Line and transit equity efforts.

“Frankly, this is a social justice and civil rights struggle,” says Jordan, 74. With Smith and two others, Jordan filed a federal civil rights suit against the Hogan administration, as did the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. A transportation economist using the state’s own models, “found that whites will receive 228 percent of the net benefit from [Hogan’s] decision, while African Americans will receive -124 percent.” (The Obama Administration decided the NAACP case merited an investigation, but that inquiry was dropped by former President Trump’s Department of Justice without comment.) Jordan emphasizes that at the same time Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, and others were refusing to surrender their seats in Alabama, Baltimore’s politicians and business community were planning to demolish Black neighborhoods for an expressway to serve white automobile drivers.

“The racial equity struggle is more than just being able to sit wherever you want on the bus,” he says. “What about the quality of the service itself? What about the racial disparity of transportation and transit spending? That’s what our coalition seeks to eliminate. We want to put a halt to, and address, the structural racism that has always been central in public transit policy and that got us here.”

A view of the Highway to Nowhere from a bridge above the 1.39-mile expressway.

R emarkably, Baltimore’s urban expressway system, which also includes I-395 and crash-prone I-83, could’ve been much worse. The concept of a cross-town expressway was first studied by local engineers hired in 1942. Baltimore passed the baton two years later to the aforementioned Moses, and the New York highway builder’s subsequent report originally called for displacing not the 2,800 residents eventually resettled, but an estimated 19,000 people. The sprawling plan, tweaked a dozen times over the ensuing decades, was initially intended to link an east-west expressway to Route 1 and Route 40, roads leading to Philadelphia and Washington. Bulldozing Black neighborhoods was not the most controversial part at the outset; it was plowing just south of The Walters Art Museum and the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon to connect to the Orleans Street viaduct and Route 40.

In fact, the bulldozing of low-income, minority neighborhoods to alleviate congestion for white automobile drivers was sold as a feature, not a bug. Moses, who interestingly never learned to drive, did not understand that neighborhoods in older cities like New York and Baltimore were like small towns or villages onto themselves. Ambitious, arrogant, and particularly unconcerned with Black and brown communities, he anticipated and dismissed citizen opposition in Baltimore as he did in New York.

“Some of the slum areas through which the Franklin Avenue Expressway passes are a disgrace to the community and the more of them that are wiped out, the healthier Baltimore will be in the long run,” Moses wrote in his Baltimore Arterial Report, the basis of which laid the foundation for the Highway to Nowhere route. “Nothing which we propose to remove will constitute any loss to Baltimore.”

Robert Caro, who covered Moses as a young reporter and then profiled him in the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, The Power Broker, characterized Moses as “one of the most racist men” he’d ever encountered.

Citizen outrage against the Moses plan was immediate, with some 1,500 people filling an auditorium for a city council hearing on the proposal in early 1945. Sun columnist H.L. Mencken called the Moses plan “a completely idiotic undertaking.” And a member of the traffic committee that hired Moses said the plan “poses a mountain of human misery.” Yet, Baltimore’s civic and business elite pushed ahead.

A well-orchestrated protest by a bohemian collection of artists, artisans, and LGBTQ community members on a single, colorful block of Tyson Street rowhouses—described as Baltimore’s mini-version of Greenwich Village—helped quash the Mount Vernon thruway. In its place, however, city planners in 1959 came up with an equally crazy scheme. The new plans called for taking the Franklin-Mulberry expressway south to intersect with I-95 and I-83, which were in the works, along with the Baltimore Beltway. Everything was to culminate (see rendering) in an overpass 40 feet above the Inner Harbor and a 14-lane interchange where Harbor East now sits. That expressway proposal would have ripped through Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park, the middle-class Black neighborhood of Rosemont, the Franklin-Mulberry corridor, Sharp-Leadenhall in South Baltimore—a one-time abolitionist hub established by freed slaves—before lopping of the top of Federal Hill and crossing over the Inner Harbor.

A great deal of Fells Point, written off by many as a white working-class slum, was marked for the scrap heap, which famously launched a then-social worker from the area named Barbara Mikulski into action. And if you now reside in Federal Hill, Fells Point, Canton, or Harbor East—or simply enjoy the Inner Harbor, Rash Field, and the bars and restaurants along the city’s unique sevenmile waterfront promenade—you have Mikulski and a scrappy group of activists to thank. Born from the democratic idealism of the 1960s, highway protestors formed grassroots organizations with feisty names like M.A.D. (Movement Against Destruction), a cross-city, biracial coalition of 35 neighborhood groups; R.A.M. (Relocation Action Movement); and S.C.A.R. (Southeast Council Against the Road).

“They would rather run the expressway through Black folks’ bedrooms than a white folks cemetery,” was a popular R.A.M. slogan aimed at a plan to knock down homes in Rosemont to avoid Western Cemetery. Together, they organized one of the most successful, though not perfect, highway revolts in the country. “We had maybe eight people when we started,” recalls the 86-year-old Mikulski, referring to S.C.A.R. “We met almost every night of the week in some bar or church basement to make it look like we had a lot of support.”

In 1967, the inaugural Fells Point Fun Festival was organized to raise funds for anti-highway legal efforts. Two years later at the annual street party, which continues to this day, a then-33- year-old Mikulski shouted her opposition as then-Council President William Donald Schaefer, a big expressway proponent, tried to speak. “The British couldn’t take Fells Point, the termites couldn’t take Fells Point,” railed Mikulski, who would soon win her own seat on the City Council. “And we don’t think the State Roads Commission can take Fells Point either.”

Paradoxically, as the federal government was doling out billions for expressway expansion—funding 90 cents on the dollar for highway projects—it eventually passed legislation that would also prove a boon to local anti-highway activists.

The Federal Aid to Highways Act and The National Historic Preservation Act, both passed in 1966, had provisions to protect natural habitat, park and recreation land, and historic buildings. Those laws became vehicles for activists to delay the Leakin Park, Federal Hill, and Fells Point sections of the broader expressway system plans in court. Preservationists got Fells Point placed on the National Register of Historic Places in early 1969. Federal Hill won the designation a year later. Both neighborhoods, then and now majority-white, would ultimately be saved.

“The national highway system was truly a great American achievement, that was Eisenhower’s plan,” Mikulski says. “However, the Robert Moses approach, his vision destroyed neighborhoods so he could create other neighborhoods.”

Several cities Mikulski is referencing—New York, Boston, San Francisco, Oakland, Milwaukee, Chattanooga, Providence—have already converted urban expressways to more neighborhood-friendly boulevards. Others are in process.

The tragedy is the city’s long effort to link the east-west expressway to I-70, I-95, and I-83 was all but dead by 1974, when then-Mayor Schaefer gave the final go-ahead to build the now pointless 1.39-mile spur. Relatedly, Schaefer’s and city leaders’ obsession with building highways through the city is the reason Baltimore doesn’t have a full Metro system like Washington, D.C., which did not have a thriving downtown like today when planning began for that project in 1967.

“It was well beyond the time when a reasonable person would have said, ‘Wait, it’s time to reevaluate,’” says Evans Paull, a former city planner and author of Stop the Road: Stories from the Trenches of Baltimore’s Road War. (See our full interview with Paull, here.) “[He] was also a very strong pro-business guy, and the Greater Baltimore Committee was the No. 1 cheerleader behind the highway plan. . . . The irony is that if the city business interests advocating for highways had been successful, it would’ve been economically disastrous for the city. The later redevelopment of all those [Inner Harbor] neighborhoods might not have happened if the highways been built.

“I also don’t think the city would have ever entertained an expressway through a comfortable middle-class white neighborhood, the way it did Rosemont, for example,” continues Paull. “I think it’s just characteristic of the city’s low regard for African- American neighborhoods that it was the only section that got built in the end.”

To his point, just this summer, after an 18-year battle with the city, Sonia and Curtis Eaddy saved their rowhome, which sits a block south of the Highway to Nowhere, from demolition. The city first sent a condemnation notice to the Eaddys back in 2004, along with more than 100 of their Poppleton neighbors, including dozens of homeowners. Baltimore officials had decided to clear out the neighborhood for a University of Maryland expansion and a New York-based company’s proposed development.

The Eaddys’ struggle was part of a broader successful community campaign to preserve a small block of distinct 19th-century rowhouses around the corner from their home on Sarah Ann Street. Unfortunately, those residents were all forced to leave before the homes were finally designated offlimits and safe from development. Only a few, if any, are likely able to return.

“My dad grew up in this block,” says the 57-yearold Sonia Eaddy. “He was at 329 Carrollton Avenue and I’m 319. He bought his house in 1969 or 1970, and that’s where I grew up. ‘The Highway’ was up the corner. My grandmother and grandfather moved to the 1200 block of Mulberry, across the street, so as a kid, I remember when the city demolished their property. I remember the gravel, the metal poles with the wire surrounding the blocks that were demolished. We used to play on those lots and throw rocks. Then when they started to dig, you had to take what we called ‘the bridge’ across to see friends, go to school or church, or go to Edmondson Avenue, which had a lot of shops.

“I was young, I can’t speak directly to how people felt about the city condemning their property at the time,” she continues, “but with our home and the Sarah Ann Street homes, it was basically like, ‘You don’t count. You don’t matter.’”

There are also historical echoes between the building of the Highway to Nowhere and the cancellation of the Red Line.

Just two months before King’s assassination and the riots in Baltimore, Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro III—in an address to the American Road Builders Association, no less—acknowledged the dark truth that the planned expressway, “will displace thousands of families, will dismember neighborhoods and communities, will disrupt industry and commerce, and will destroy parks and historical landmarks.” The Little Italy native, whose father had been mayor when the east-west expressway plans were first hatched, added that “the problem of dislocation of people is particularly critical.” He even forewarned the dislocations would become “a major cause of unrest.”

Nonetheless, as Paull highlights in his book, only two weeks after the riots, D’Alesandro decided to stick with the final expressway design that would devastate the Franklin-Mulberry corridor.

In an analogous gut-punch to a reeling West Baltimore, Governor Hogan announced his decision to defund the Red Line two months after the uprising following Freddie Gray’s death. At the same time, he said he would increase infrastructure spending on roads and bridges by $1.35 billion—“from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore.”

At a 2015 news conference, Hogan defended, at least in part, his decision this way: “We just spent $14 million extra money on the riots in Baltimore City a few weeks ago.”

Thirty years earlier, in the mid-1980s, Schaefer, on the cusp of running for governor, approved a deal that sent $261 million of the last of the unused city-expressway funding back to the state. Part of that money was used for an I-68 project in Western Maryland. History, as they say, may not repeat, but it often rhymes.

Rowhouses in the Franklin-Mulberry streets corridor, which the city had acquired, being demolished in 1968 to make room for the Highway to Nowhere. John Van Horn

I n hindsight, it is amazing how quickly the automobile transformed American culture and transportation planning. From 1945 to 1965, car ownership doubled in the U.S., outpacing vehicle ownership rates in Europe by a sometimes 4-to-1 margin. Americans still drive twice as many per capita miles as Europeans.

A 1959 rendering of the planned 14-lane interchange that was designed to connect the future east-west expressway with I-95 and I-83.

In Baltimore and elsewhere, the automobile age was not just driven by the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1956, which funded 41,000 miles of new highways over the next decade—then the largest public works project in American history. It had been hastened a decade earlier by the orchestrated collapse of streetcar and trolley systems.

Baltimore, where the first commercially operated electric streetcar had been put into use in 1895, boasted one of the densest networks. Routes ran all through downtown and to the Catonsville, Towson, and Dundalk suburbs, among others, knitting the metro region together. It was the invention of the streetcar that first led to the development of the suburbs.

Gas and tires had been rationed during World War II, a period when reliance on transit use peaked in Baltimore. After the war, National City Lines took over the privately owned and operated Baltimore Transit Company in 1945, and purposely began tipping the scales—in favor of cars and the combustible engine. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but National City Lines was in fact a holding company owned by General Motors, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California, and Phillips Petroleum. It acquired streetcar operations across the country, then began systematically replacing the Baltimore streetcars with GM-built buses and Firestone tires, which of course also ran on Standard Oil and Phillips Petroleum. They disinvested in maintenance, cut back service, and started dismantling streetcars, which often carried more than 100 people. Ridership dropped dramatically year over year. You can see where this is going.

The major east-west line streetcar line, the No. 15, ran along Edmondson Avenue, through the heart of West Baltimore, and almost parallel to what replaced it, the Highway to Nowhere.

National City Lines wasn’t only to blame, however. City officials and business leaders wanted the streetcars gone to make room downtown for cars, especially after work began on the modernist Charles Center. Expressways and automobiles, they were convinced, were the future. Unfortunately, so was the air pollution that disportionately affected Black communities and the public health consequences of leaded gasoline, particularly for children living near highways. The last two electric streetcar routes, the No. 15 and No. 8, which ran to Towson, were converted into bus lines in November 1963.

In other words, the concept behind the east-west Red Line light rail is not new. In 2015, projections estimated the project would stimulate $4.6 billion in development along the route, with particular hopes of sparking transit-oriented development around the Poppleton, Harlem Park, Rosemont, and West Baltimore MARC stations.

“Public transportation, good or bad, is the connective tissue between everything else, whether that’s climate change, or employment, economic development, and education—issues we know that also underlie poverty and crime,” says Baltimore City state delegate Robbyn Lewis, who, in 2011, as a community organizer founded the grassroots Red Line Now PAC to lobby for the project. “I won’t forget a Johns Hopkins study a couple of years ago that linked [the Maryland Transit Administration] bus system waiting times for Baltimore students to absenteeism, which is chronic in the city. After a certain age, kids in the city can go to any school they want to, if they get accepted. But the bus system, which is run by the state, is underfunded and unreliable. So, kids are late to school. I met a mother in Brooklyn whose child had been accepted at City College high school, a tremendous opportunity. She just didn’t know how they were going to get there.”

Or to put it more plainly: “There is just no separating housing and transportation policy from white supremacy and structural racism,” says Lewis, acknowledging pushback from some residents in white-majority Canton against the Red Line when it was initially planned.

Given its density, the width of Boston Street, and the fact it has the highest rate of automobile commuters in the city, Canton would seem like an ideal location for public transit. More recently, a “Save Suburbia” campaign has begun in Baltimore County amid discussions to build a city/county light rail in the York Road corridor. Sixty years ago, white residents in Anne Arundel County blocked a planned extension of the Baltimore Metro subway, deriding it as the “loot rail.” “We need a light rail system, and we need more buses, and more bus drivers,” Lewis says. “We need it all.”

One of many stretches along the Highway to Nowhere that suffered in its aftermath.

L ike Glenn Smith, who ministers with a local faith community and now lives in a senior apartment building a dozen blocks away from his childhood rowhouse, Denise Griffin Johnson grew up in the Franklin-Mulberry corridor.

Her parents separated when she was young, but her father rented a home within walking distance to remain close to the children. He lived on Franklin Street, the one-way parallel to Mulberry Street, until he was forced to relocate for the Highway to Nowhere.

Community advocate Denise Griffin Johnson, who grew up next to the Highway to Nowhere, in front of the Arch Social Club, whose previous location was demolished for the expressway.

Johnson’s parents had migrated from Mississippi to Baltimore after her father returned home from World War II and heard about jobs at Bethlehem Steel open to Black workers. (One Black veteran spoke up in a City Council hearing related to condemnation of the neighborhood, saying that he’d fought in the war to save his country, only to have to fight his country to save his home.)

“We used to go to Lexington Market together,” recalls Johnson, now 64. “One of the things I remember is when he had to move after condemnation, he couldn’t take his dog to his new house. It really bothered him. He asked my mom to take it, but she had seven of us to take care of.”

A family counselor by profession and community volunteer by practice, Johnson co-founded Culture-Works in 2007 with artist Ashley Milburn, whose graduate Community Arts thesis at the Maryland Institute College of Art focused on the Highway to Nowhere. Four years later, they brought an annual “Roots Fest” conference and arts festival to the same neighborhood.

“There had never been a public discussion by the former residents who were displaced about what happened,” Milburn told the City Paper at the time. “I attended a meeting during my first internship at Bon Secours, and this one woman in her 80s stood up and was talking about rampant crime and all this stuff, and then she got on to the Highway to Nowhere, because she said, ‘It used to be different.’ I turned around and looked at her and she was crying. And I looked at other people’s faces and they had this empathy, there was something here.” Baltimore artist and performer Sheila Gaskins later wrote and directed a well-received play, Last House Standing, based on Milburn’s research.

That sadness still exists for many of the older community members, says Johnson. “The fact that this story continues to be told and written about, you’d like to think there is the possibility at some point, to tell a different story about what is occurring in the space to benefit West Baltimore.”

She notes the walking paths, trees, benches, and exercise equipment that have been added to the grassy knolls alongside the Highway to Nowhere in recent years. But also that decades of promises have failed to transform the 1.39-mile concrete desert.

In 1997, former Mayor Kurt Schmoke and his housing chief pitched the idea of tearing up the road, filling in “the Ditch,” and creating affordable homes that would once again connect Poppleton and Franklin Square on one side with Harlem Park and Rosemont on the other. “[The expressway spur] was a great mistake, and we were thinking of ways to correct it—the money just wasn’t there,” says Schmoke today. “When it was built, the federal government was funding 90 percent of the cost. By the time I became mayor, it was more like a 50-50 split, and let’s just say removal projects were not the priority.”

In 2010, Governor O’Malley and then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake touted a $2.5-million project to remove a small, elevated piece of the Highway to Nowhere as a gamechanger. Headlines hyped it, too. One read “Highway to Nowhere heads to the dump,” but it merely replaced a short section with two additional MARC parking lots. No subsequent development ensued.

For his part, Smith won’t be satisfied with any plan that isn’t light rail. Even well-intentioned proposals like the razing of the Highway to Nowhere, a rapid-bus version of the Red Line, more green space, or the possibility of affordable homes in the corridor, would still be a wasted opportunity, he says. They won't do enough.

In terms of frequency, on-time dependability, and the ability to move lots of people quickly, he doesn’t believe light rail can be matched by rapid bus service. Transit-oriented development traditionally follows rail, he notes, which when built attracts investment because of its permanence. New bus lines, according to standard planning thinking, don’t spur economic development; they follow it.

“No other project than the light rail will bring relief and healing to the devastation we’ve been through,” he says. “The impact must be equal to the destruction.”

Destruction of a Neighborhood: Baltimore's Highway to Nowhere

The black and white photographs of the demolition of the Franklin-Mulberry corridor that accompany this story were captured by then-college student John Van Horn. Now 72, Van Horn recently self-published a collection of those photos. This is his memory of the images:

“In the fall of 1968, I was a freshman at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College. I was a history major, but my passion was photography. As I was driven into Baltimore on Route 40 by my college friend Larry Sanders to go to a photography store, we went through this neighborhood being demolished. I returned on my own via a bus ride and a second time with Larry to photograph the area.

I recall most vividly the series I took on my own when I took the bus into Baltimore one early Saturday morning. I was from a small town in New Jersey, photographing a poor inner-city neighborhood. This was 1968, a year of political and racial violence and unrest, with the Vietnam War always in the background. However, the deserted neighborhood was just that, deserted. I only saw a couple of children at play, which I photographed, but don’t recall any interaction with them or any of the few adults I encountered beyond perhaps a ‘good morning.’

The initial reaction, that this destruction would be interesting to photograph, soon turned into thinking of what a waste this was. I was looking at rows of iconic Baltimore rowhouses being destroyed . . . probably a large part of some people’s identity. I saw the destruction of a neighborhood, the homes, and the businesses. The photos looked like images of a war zone, like those of Europe during WWII and today from Ukraine. The big difference is, war damage can be rebuilt and residents return; here, it was final. These photos still bring up deep feelings about injustices brought upon people who had little or no voice in their destinies. Every time I look at them, I have strong emotions. It is still hard to decompress those emotions after 50 years."

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2020: Year in Review

Lauren Cohen — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 20:06:06 +0000

Twenty of the most pivotal events in Baltimore this year, in chronological order.

By Ron Cassie, Lauren Cohen, Janelle Erlichman Diamond, Ken Iglehart, Christine Jackson, Jane Marion, Max Weiss, and Lydia Woolever
Photo illustration by Lorann Cocca

News & Community

2020: Year In Review

Twenty of the most pivotal events in Baltimore this year, in chronological order.

By Ron Cassie, Lauren Cohen, Janelle Erlichman Diamond, Ken Iglehart, Christine Jackson, Jane Marion, Max Weiss, and Lydia Woolever
Photo illustration by Lorann Cocca

We’re not going to lie, 2020 was a lot. But the funny thing was, when we were sitting around “the office” (a Zoom chat room) trying to brainstorm the 20 biggest events of the year, we were a bit stumped. It’s not that a lot of stuff didn’t happen—it did. But, in a way, everything seemed to fall under the same three umbrellas—COVID, our nation’s and region’s racial reckoning, and the incendiary political climate. Heck, this entire list could’ve been about COVID alone—the heroic local efforts to combat and chart the spread; its massive unemployment toll; its impact on the dining, retail, and arts scenes; the canceled events (no Artscape or AFRAM); the disparities, both in terms of health care access and economic stability, that the virus underscored; the greater understanding of the “digital divide” that we gained, and so on. But, at the same, we literally spent the majority of the year stuck in our homes—so we were a little short on actual “events.” That said, here’s our best attempt to sum up an undoubtedly tragic and surreal year. —MW

JHU’s COVID-19 Dashboard Becomes a Go-To Resource

In January, a team of Johns Hopkins University engineers started tracking the novel coronavirus as it began its initial spread around the globe. Lauren Gardner, an infectious disease specialist and co-director of the school’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, led a tiny team of PhD students to build an online, real-time dashboard to document the data, which quickly went viral itself. This summer, it garnered more than 4.5 billion hits a day from public health authorities, researchers, and the general public. Gardner’s impressive work landed her on Time magazine’s list of “The 100 Most Influential People of 2020,” in which Baltimore’s own former health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen declared the dashboard an “indispensable resource” and its inventor a hero in her own right. “In the face of an existential threat, Lauren took action,” wrote Wen. “She didn’t wait for others—she stepped up first. She democratized data and filled a void of public-health leadership. Lives will be saved because of her proactive work.” Photography by Mike Morgan

Restaurants Show Resilience

Restaurants have always been the lifeblood of our city, so when they were forced to close in mid-March due to the pandemic and then, over many months, re-opened at varying rates of capacity, we feared that this could spell the end of dining out as we know it. And while only time will tell, for now, something stirring has happened, as signs of reinvention and resilience abound. We could go on and on, but the pivots we appreciate most include outdoor parklets and streeteries, heated tents complete with swinging chandeliers, individual greenhouses, QR codes in place of paper menus, temperature checks, and contact lists, ad-hoc pantries, and soup kitchens feeding not only the hungry and the homeless but health care workers, too. While we mourn the ones we’ve lost (we will miss you Lobo and The Milton Inn), new spots—from Nihao to Café Dear Leon and Ovenbird Bakery—have sprung up, too. Clearly, the scene—however changed—is here to stay. We are smiling beneath our masks. Photography by Scott Suchman

“Spy Planes” Launch Into the Skies Over Baltimore

High-tech aerial surveillance—some would say Orwellian—planes flew over Baltimore this past year, which city residents no doubt saw and heard day after day. A U.S. District Court judge gave the go-ahead in April to the civil liberties-challenged and privately funded Baltimore Police Department pilot program known as Aerial Investigation Research (AIR). The first of its kind in the country, the initiative collected images of vehicle and pedestrian movements across 90 percent of the city, up to 12 hours daily, for six months from May through the end of October after former Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young greenlit the experiment without a vote by the City Council. Newly elected Mayor Brandon Scott has said he does not support the surveillance program, or “spy planes” as the effort is often derided, so its future remains unclear. One recent follow-up study showed the aerial surveillance indicated a slight benefit—an increase of 3.6 percent—in “provisionally” closed cases with an arrest, but the question remains at what cost to Baltimoreans’ civil liberties. Meanwhile, the Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems, which owns the technology, is pitching its eerie aerial program in St. Louis. Shutterstock

The Sun Wins Pulitzer Prize

It’s what every journalist dreams of—writing an investigative story that brings down a powerful figure and results in the Pulitzer Prize. And that’s exactly what happened this year when staff of the Sun won the Pulitzer for “Local Reporting” for discovering and covering the Catherine Pugh Healthy Holly scandal. But even as the paper continued to do superlative journalism, not all was rosy. In May, the Sun news guild announced it had found a local ownership group—its ranks include the Abell Foundation, the Goldseker Foundation, and former Baltimore County executive Ted Venetoulis—that wanted to buy the paper and turn it into a nonprofit. This proposal stemmed from the Guild’s dissatisfaction with the current owners, Tribune Publishing, whose relationship with notorious hedge fund firm Alden Global Capital has led to layoffs and other budget cuts. “As a nonprofit, any profits the Sun makes could be put back into making sure that it becomes a better newspaper,” reporter Liz Bowie, co-chair of the local unit of the Washington-Baltimore Press Guild, told us in May. “We could have more reporters, more photographers, more editors.” Updates on the Guild’s efforts can be found here. Photo courtesy of Weller Management

Iconic Charm City Festivals Go Virtual

Typically, as the last of the ice melts and temperatures begin to climb, organizers of Baltimore’s spring and summer festivals begin gearing up for the likes of HonFest, Artscape, and AFRAM. But with coronavirus cases rising and officials actively discouraging large gatherings, the city took a year off from hosting many of the time-honored get-togethers that have been a part of our culture for decades. That meant no cooling off in the water misters at Artscape, no dancing along the parade route at the Baltimore Caribbean Carnival, no watching the toilet bowl races down Chestnut Avenue at Hampden Fest. If there was a silver lining, it was seeing organizers turn lemons (stuck with peppermint sticks in the case of Flower Mart) into lemonade, with virtual events that were able to maintain the spirit of the summer. HonFest celebrated the city’s best beehives on social media, Artscape hosted an online artists’ market, and even winter events like the 49th annual Monument Lighting in Mt. Vernon followed suit with virtual iterations as the holidays rolled around. Courtesy of BOPA

Baltimore Stands with Black Lives Matter

In the weeks following the death of George Floyd, an outpouring of rage and grief swept across the United States, including here in Baltimore, just one month after the five-year anniversary of the death of Freddie Gray. From downtown to the county, dozens of peaceful protests popped up, with Baltimoreans of every age and race, including then mayoral candidate—now incumbent mayor—Brandon Scott, taking to the streets with colorful signs and calls for action. Youth activists demanded more inclusive curriculum in public schools, while transgender organizers reminded the community of their particular plight within broader systemic racism, with a photograph from the latter march by local photographer Devin Allen landing on the cover of Time magazine. Meanwhile, residents used art installations in their local parks and murals on the asphalt of their neighborhoods to declare solidarity with Black Lives Matter—three simple words that have become a clarion call for justice in 2020. Photography by Lorann Cocca

Columbus Statue Toppled, Thrown Into the Harbor

Amid Fourth of July fireworks displays across the city, activists toppled the marble Christopher Columbus statue near Little Italy and dumped it into the Inner Harbor. The destruction of the memorial to the Genoa-born Columbus followed similar actions in cities across the country and hardly came as a surprise here. Two weeks before the vandalism, an anti-racist protest group known as Baltimore Bloc had warned Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young that activists planned to take down the Columbus monument if the city did not act to remove it as it had done previously with Baltimore’s four Confederate monuments. The statue at the eastern edge of the Inner Harbor, the most prominent of three Baltimore monuments to Columbus, had been unveiled in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan and Mayor William Donald Schaefer. The 14-foot statue was paid for by a fundraising campaign led by the Italian American Organizations United of Maryland, which is recreating the statue with plans to reinstall it on private property elsewhere in the region. Shutterstock

Larry Hogan Raises His National Profile

Larry Hogan has never met a media opportunity he didn’t like—or so it seems. It comes as no big shock, then, that the historically popular two-term Republican governor is starting to hint at a run for higher office—maybe even that really high one, especially since the GOP is in such dire need of a reinvention by a likeable, Reagan-esque leader. (It was Reagan’s name, after all, that Hogan claimed he wrote in as a protest vote in November.) And, in fact, after burnishing his reputation here and nationally with a fairly capable response to the pandemic, the frequent Trump critic has said he wouldn’t rule out a run for president in 2024. At the least, however, he intends to play a role in the future of the party. “I do want to be a part of the discussion about where we go as a party and where we go as a country,” the former chairman of the National Governors Association told Bloomberg TV. “So I’m going to try and continue to be involved and speak up and let people know what I think we should do.” But Hogan, 64, said he plans to stay in Annapolis for now: “I made a commitment to the people of Maryland to serve out my term." Courtesy of Maryland GovPics

Mo Gaba Passes Away

A collective sense of heartbreak was felt among players, fans, and the entire city as the Orioles took the field for their home opener at Camden Yards on July 29. But it wasn’t because the birds would be playing to an empty stadium, or because the start to their season had been delayed due to the effects of the pandemic. It was because, one day prior, the city lost perhaps the most beloved fan in local sports history. Hours before 14-year-old Baltimore sports superfan Mo Gaba lost his lifelong battle with cancer on July 28, it was announced that he had been awarded the Wild Bill Hagy Award and elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame. Since his passing, the city has continued to honor Gaba—a shining light who inspired us all with his infectious smile, gentleness, and positivity—in thoughtful ways. The Ravens filled sections, dubbed “Mo’s Rows,” with cardboard cutouts of Gaba and painted “BaltiMOre” in the endzone at M&T Bank Stadium. And a street near both of the stadiums will soon be dedicated as Mo Gaba Way. All are but small reminders of the massive mark Gaba left on the world. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Orioles

Trohv Shutters its Doors in Hampden

In a year filled with so much loss, the closing of Trohv felt like a pile-on. The beloved shop on The Avenue—always filled with the best gifts, home goods, and cards—was no match for the pandemic and unforgiving rent due. Despite a groundswell of support for the store and its gem of an owner Carmen Brock, Trohv closed its doors in August. A Hampden mainstay for almost 14 years, the shop was the true heart and soul of the community. People came out in droves the last four weeks of business, their sad faces hidden behind masks, telling Brock with tears in their eyes, “this was my favorite shop” or “I had my first kiss here.” It all felt like a bad dream that could have been avoided if small businesses were given a lifeline during an impossible situation. But in true Carmen fashion, she was focused on the sunshine. “It has been the joy of my life to have a small business in Baltimore,” she told us before the closure. “For me, Trohv felt like a laboratory that sort of became a personal love story, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked, hustled, lived, and loved the many creative people in this beautiful town.” Photography by Mike Morgan

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Enters a New Era

One year after picket lines and protest signs were a daily sight at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra finally reached a period of healing—with both the organization’s musicians and management agreeing to their first long-term contract since 2016. It ended years of contentious negotiations, and marked a new chapter for the 104-year-old arts institution. The agreement included gradual pay increases for artists, the restoration of 10 full-time positions over the next five years, and the formation of a task force to address diversity, inclusion, and equity within the organization. To that end, in early September, assistant conductor Jonathan Rush and artistic partner Wordsmith were appointed to the BSO’s artistic team, joining cellist Esther Mellon as the orchestra’s only African-American artists, and serving as advisors on original programming. Amidst these changes, maestra Marin Alsop will also step down from her podium in 2021, leaving behind a legacy as the first female conductor to ever lead a major North American orchestra and the founder of the organization’s vital OrchKids program, which she will continue to oversee as music director laureate. Meanwhile, the LA Opera’s James Conlon will come on as artistic advisor in 2021 while the search for her replacement gets underway. Photo courtesy of the BSO

Maryland State Parks Break Records

There was really only one safe thing to do when quarantine fatigue started: Take to the trails. And Marylanders did, in record numbers. In October, Governor Larry Hogan announced that the Park Service had already recorded 17.1 million visitors, compared to 14.9 million for all of 2019. In July alone, 3.4 million visitors hit places like Sandy Point, Elk Neck, Patapsco Valley, and Gunpowder Falls—almost one million more than the previous July. (That also meant some parks closed on busy weekends after reaching maximum capacity, and others like Calvert Cliffs imposed a residents-only rule.) But there were still plenty of parks to go around, and families, friends, and solo hikers were rewarded with waterfalls, swimming holes, swinging bridges, and changing foliage. Bike sales skyrocketed and camp sites quickly filled up, as folks took to the great outdoors—mask and water bottle in hand. Shutterstock

The BMA Causes a Stir in the Art World

When it was announced that the Baltimore Museum of Art would deaccession works by Andy Warhol, Clyfford Still, and Brice Marden in order to fund a $65-million “Endowment for the Future,” objections came from both within the BMA and far beyond its walls, garnering criticism from the likes of the Los Angeles Times’ Christopher Knight and Pergamon Art Group’s Martin Gammon in addition to letters penned by members of the BMA board. Though the endowment itself would be designated for care of the BMA’s collection, equitable pay for its staff, diversity programs, establishing evening hours, and extending free admission to special exhibitions, concerns were raised over the implications of using the museum’s collection like chips to cash in for funding initiatives beyond the collection. Whether the sale will eventually go through remains in the air. On Oct. 28, the original date of the sale, the BMA announced that it would be paused to allow for “further, necessary conversations” about their intentions, but the museum also reaffirmed its dedication to the Endowment for the Future, saying, “Our vision and our goals have not changed. It will take us longer to achieve them, but we will do so through all means at our disposal.” Photo courtesy of Mike Steele via Flickr Commons

Brandon Scott Wins Mayoral Election

After a tense few days counting mail-in ballots during the Democratic primary for mayor in June, 36-year-old City Council President Brandon Scott rallied and pulled out a close victory over former Mayor Sheila Dixon. In a crowded field with 24 candidates receiving votes, Scott won 29.6 percent of the tally. Dixon claimed 27.5 percent of the ballots cast—a margin of slightly more than 3,000 votes. (Perhaps the most surprising result was that Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, who had assumed office in the wake of former Mayor Catherine Pugh’s criminal plea, received just 6.2 percent of the vote.) Earlier this month, Scott—the youngest person to become mayor of Baltimore in at least the past century—was officially inaugurated as Baltimore’s 52nd mayor in a small ceremony at City Hall, which was broadcast online. “I am not a savior for our city,” the Park Heights native said afterward. “No one is coming to save us. We have the ability to save ourselves. But we can only do that together.” Photography by Meredith Herzing

Kweisi Mfume Wins Back His Former Seat

After two-plus decades out of elected office—and tenures leading the NAACP and his alma mater Morgan State University—72-year-old Kweisi Mfume’s return to Capitol Hill this year is a remarkable full circle moment. Overcoming a troubled youth, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1978. Eight years later, he went to Washington, filling the historic seat previously held by Parren Mitchell. Following the death of Elijah Cummings—who like Mitchell had become not just a Baltimore but national civil rights leader—Mfume returned to his former House seat in May of 2020 after winning a special election. He replicated the victory with another win in November, easily defeating Republican challenger Kimberly Klacik. Mfume has vowed to help those “struggling at this hour to fight off the terrible disease of coronavirus” as well as those struggling to meet their basic economic demands in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. He has pledged to work to improve the city’s public transportation and school infrastructure woes as well as advocate for stricter gun-control measures, including a renewal of the federal assault weapons ban, which he had pushed when he previously held the seat. Shutterstock

Trey Mancini Announces He's Cancer Free

Baseball fans were shocked in mid-April when Trey Mancini, the O’s best and most popular player, announced he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. It was hard to comprehend that someone so young, strong, and dynamic could be that sick. Mancini missed the entire 2020 season and went through several rounds of chemo, all the while being shown enormous love and support from the fans and his teammates, who sported F16HT shirts and handmade F16HT signs in his honor. And Mancini, always one to think of others first, created the F16HT campaign to raise money for colorectal cancer awareness. Then, the news we’d all been waiting for finally came: On November 12, Mancini announced that he was officially cancer-free and that he intends to play in the 2021 season. Orioles fans already rooted hard for Trey—now, if possible, we’ll root even harder. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Orioles

COVID Rocks the Ravens

A Thanksgiving matchup between archrivals the Ravens and the Steelers? It almost seemed too good to be true. And suddenly, it was. The day before the game, it was announced that, due to a COVID outbreak on the team, the game was being moved to Sunday. Little by little, the details emerged: That a (still unnamed) strength and conditioning coach had been sick and infected several members of the team, including running backs Mark Ingram and JK Dobbins. As Steelers players publicly grumbled about the cancelations (because they wanted to…catch COVID?), days went on and more players tested positive or were put on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including star quarterback and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, in an unsurprising twist, the Steelers placed three of their own on the reserve/COVID-19 list. (No comment.)

The game was finally played Wednesday at 3:40 pm (the strange time was so as not to preempt the lighting of the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree, scheduled to air that night—oh, how the mighty have fallen). The Ravens played without a dozen key contributors. Robert Griffin III started at QB and second-year backup (and inexplicable TikTok phenomenon) Trace McSorley led a memorable touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. It was actually a gutty effort by the Ravens—they were in it the whole game—but they ultimately fell to their division rivals, 19 to 14. But their COVID saga wasn’t quite over yet. On Tuesday, December 8, the Ravens were scheduled to play the Dallas Cowboys. All eyes were on former Cowboy Dez Bryant, who made it clear how stoked he was for the chance to “make a point” against his old team. And then—you guessed it—shortly before kickoff, it was announced that Bryant had tested positive for COVID and wouldn’t be able to play (he has since tested negative twice). “I’m about to drink some wine and cope,” he tweeted, as excellent a summation of 2020 as we can think of. Photography courtesy of Baltimore Ravens

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Storytelling Shines

What a year to be Ta-Nehisi Coates. In addition to the particularly wise choice to remain off Twitter during an election year, the celebrated author was part of several exciting new projects. Coates guest-edited the September issue of Vanity Fair curating a special edition on race in America that explored art, activism, and power. Then in November, Coates’ Between The World And Me—a letter from father to son about growing up in Baltimore and in a society that enables white supremacy—was adapted as an HBO special. When we heard the news, we were equal parts excited and curious. Would the filmed version have the same power that the National Book Award-winner carried in its pages? The short answer: Yes. Based on the 2018 adaptation and staging at the Apollo Theater, the project brought together a cast of dozens of Black celebrities and luminaries to help tell Coates’ story. Powerful voices and visuals fill just over an hour, and together they form a stunning companion piece to the author’s work. The continuation of Coates’ film projects, an adaptation of his 2019 debut novel, The Water Dancer (which came out in paperback and revived Oprah’s Book Club this year), produced by Winfrey and Brad Pitt is also coming down the pipeline. We can’t wait. Courtesy of HBO

John Waters Secures Appropriately Filthy Legacy

Someday, the powers that be will see fit to take John Waters from us. And while we hope that time is still a long, long way away, it is nice to know that when it happens, we will be able to mourn appropriately: from the bathrooms at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The auteur of filth announced this year that, upon his death, his collection of around 375 paintings, prints, and photographs—including works by such prolific artists as Andy Warhol and Betsy the Chip—will go to the BMA. In addition, his name will be added to two equally important museum spaces, “The John Waters Rotunda” in the European art galleries and “The John Waters Restrooms” in the East Lobby. Photography by Marnie Hertzler

Marylanders Mourn Lives Lost

Five-thousand, two-hundred and seventy—that’s the number of Marylanders who have died (at press time) from COVID-19. Not that any one life can be reduced to a number. Every number represents a person. A mother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, a niece, a nephew, a husband, a wife. There was Windsor Mill’s DJ “Sugar” Chris Tittle, who spread his love for old-school classic R&B and house music; Evelyn Caro, 69, who became a registered nurse at the age of 50; Mary Wilson, 83, the first African-American woman to serve as a senior zookeeper at what is now the Maryland Zoo. India Jaimala “Mala” Singh, 65, a Lutherville resident who designed tapestries and saris back in her native India and went on to become one of the top designers for Calico, a design store chain. Chianti Jackson Harpool, 51, a political fundraiser who owned a marketing and public relations firm. Eastern Stewart Junior, 71, a longtime house manager at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts. And Joseph Costa, 56, Chief of the Division of Critical Care at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, who succumbed after dedicating his career to caring for the sickest patients and continued to work on the front lines as the virus proliferated. All of you—as well as the thousands not named here—will be greatly missed. Photography courtesy of Mercy Medical Center

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Hogan Says All Businesses May Reopen Friday, But Baltimore City Takes Cautious Approach

Ron Cassie — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 16:16:30 +0000

Governor Larry Hogan announced Tuesday that based on the state’s flattening COVID-19 positivity and hospitalization rates, Maryland will begin to move into the state’s next phase of reopening.

As with earlier stages of reopening, individual jurisdictions are empowered to make decisions regarding the timing of the reopening of movie theaters and live entertainment venues, as well as increased capacity at restaurants, retail stores, and religious services.

Baltimore Mayor Jack Young said Wednesday that the city is not yet ready to fully move into the next phase of the reopening guidelines put forth by the Hogan administration. But Baltimore will loosen restrictions in some areas, including restaurants and movie theaters. The city will allow restaurants to open indoor dining to 50 percent capacity next week, Young said during a Wednesday press conference at the War Memorial Building.

Late Wednesday, City officials said movie theaters will be allowed to open Friday at 25 percent of their capacity, according to reporting by The Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said in a statement that the county will align with the state and move into the next phase of the Hogan Administration’s coronavirus recovery plan, allowing theaters to reopen and retail and religious facilities to expand indoor capacity.

“Baltimore County has taken significant steps to combat the COVID-19 pandemic while gradually and safely reopening our economy,” Olszewski said. “Thanks to our efforts, and the efforts of county residents to protect themselves and their loved ones, we’ve seen continued progress. This dangerous disease is still with us and I urge all our residents and businesses to continue to follow the best public health guidance. In the days and weeks ahead, we will continue to strictly enforce state laws and guidelines—any businesses found to be violating face-covering or social distancing mandates will be held accountable.”

According to state metrics, Baltimore County’s positivity rate has remained below 5 percent since July 7, 2020 and is currently 4.4 percent. Baltimore County’s case rate is 1,800 cases per 100,000 residents—35 percent lower than Prince George’s County, 22 percent lower than Baltimore City, and 2 percent lower than Montgomery County.

Face coverings are still required under state and local order. Individuals aged 5 and up must wear face coverings in any indoor business, service, organization, or establishment that serves the general public. Individuals aged 5 and up are also required to wear face coverings when outdoors and unable to consistently maintain at least six feet of distance from those who are not members of their household.

Individuals are not required to wear a mask if eating or drinking while seated, but face coverings are required when otherwise moving in or about a restaurant or bar premises.

“As we move into this third and final stage of our recovery, I want to sincerely thank our doctors, nurses, and public health officials, our small business community, and, most importantly, the people of Maryland who have pulled together over the last five months to respond to this unprecedented challenge with incredible courage and perseverance,” Hogan said.

Last week, Hogan implored local school boards to immediately take action toward reopening schools for in-person classes.

Although the rate of cases has flattened in Maryland in recent weeks, new cases continue to accumulate in the state with 3,833 positive results over the past seven days. Overall, there have been nearly 110,000 confirmed cases in the state. To date, there have been 3,623 coronavirus fatalities in the state, with another 143 probable tests, according to the Maryland Department of Health’s tracking program. Maryland ranks 12th in per capita deaths, tied with Delaware, and just ahead of Pennsylvania.

As part of the state’s new guidelines, the following gradual reopenings are allowed in Maryland:

Indoor theaters where live performances occur or motion pictures are shown may open to the general public at 50 percent capacity, or 100 people per auditorium—whichever is less—with appropriate health and safety protocols in place.
Outdoor venues where live performances occur or motion pictures are shown outdoors may open to the general public at 50 percent capacity, or 250 people—whichever is less—with appropriate health and safety protocols in place.
Capacity for retail establishments and religious facilities may increase from 50 to 75 percent.

Meanwhile, the Stronach Group—which owns the Preakness Stakes—and the Maryland Jockey Club announced Wednesday that the 145th Preakness will be run will without fans in attendance at Pimlico Race Course on Oct. 3.

“The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club have been working closely in consultation with local and state health and governmental authorities for the past several months to thoughtfully and safely plan for Preakness 145,” Belinda Stronach, chairman and president of The Stronach Group, said in a statement. “While we had hoped to be able to welcome fans as we have for the past 145 years, the health and safety of our guests, horsemen, riders, team members and the community at large is, and will always be, our top priority.”

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State Official Fired After Inflammatory Social Media Posts

Ron Cassie — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:52:45 +0000

An official in Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration was fired over the weekend after he posted social media content in support of the 17-year-old charged with shooting three anti-racism protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two of them.

Marches and demonstration erupted last week in Kenosha after local police shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man walking toward his car, seven times in the back in front of his three children. Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Arthur “Mac” Love IV, who served as the deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives shared a meme to his personal Facebook page of a white police officer with two thumbs and the all-caps quote, “DON’T BE A THUG IF YOU CAN’T TAKE A SLUG!” among other controversial posts.

The Governor’s Office of Community Initiative coordinates volunteer service activities and oversees the state’s ethnic and cultural commissions, including the state’s Commission on African-American History and Culture. Maryland’s official museum of African-American heritage, the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, operates under the purview of the Commission on African-American History and Culture.

Another post from Love featured a photograph of actor Leonardo DiCaprio lifting a glass of champagne with the caption: “When you see a skateboard wielding Antifa chickens*** get smoked by an AR toting 17-yr-old.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Love had been in his position since January 2015 when Hogan took office.

In a late July post, Love commenting on the clashes between armed police and protesters in Portland, wrote: “So at what point in time does the local militia gather to defend the local police from these radical anarchists and terrorists. . . . Asking for a friend.”

In another previous post, the 44-year-old Love, a longtime GOP operative who previously worked for former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and the Republican National Committee, added a comment linking the portrayal of LGBTQ characters on television to pedophilia.

State Del. Eric Luedtke was among the first to call for Love’s firing after seeing the post supporting the teenager accused in the triple shooting, describing them as “horrific” and “supporting extrajudicial murder.”

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin also weighed in as the outcry grew on social media Saturday. He tweeted: “It took a lifetime of buying into twisted viewpoints for Mr. Love to spew such filth in this moment. How long will it take for @MDGOP and @LarryHogan to renounce them?”

Prince George’s Del. Darryl Barnes, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, told Maryland Matters that he was shown Love’s social media posts Saturday morning and described them as “highly disturbing.”

“There’s no sense for it,” Barnes said. “There’s no reason someone like this should be part of our state government.”

By early Saturday afternoon, Steven McAdams, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, issued a statement saying that Love had been dismissed.

“These divisive images and statements are inconsistent with the mission and core values of the Office of Community Initiatives,” McAdams said. “Earlier today, I relieved this employee of his duties. Kevin Craft, administrative director of the Governor’s Commission on African Affairs, will assume these duties effective immediately.”

Shareese DeLeaver-Churchill, a spokeswoman for Hogan, released a statement supporting Love’s firing.

“These posts are obviously totally inappropriate,” DeLeaver-Churchill said. “We fully support the immediate actions taken by Director McAdams to address this matter.”

Love is the second Hogan Administration official to land in trouble this month.

Two weeks ago, Roy McGrath, Gov. Hogan’s longtime associate, advisor, and former chief of staff, resigned following criticism over a nearly $250,000 severance package—first reported by The Baltimore Sun—that he received after leaving Maryland Environmental Service, a nonprofit state agency, to work directly for the governor. The Sun also reported that McGrath submitted more than $55,000 in old Maryland Environmental Service expense reimbursement requests in early June, some of which dated to January 2019.

McGrath said in a statement after his resignation that the uproar around his case was “simply the sad politics of personal destruction.”

Former Baltimore City Councilman and state Del. Keiffer Mitchell Jr. is currently serving as Gov. Hogan’s acting chief of staff.

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Hogan Lifts Stay-at-Home Order, Reopens Businesses

Ron Cassie — Thu, 14 May 2020 10:19:00 +0000

Gov. Larry Hogan announced the easing of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions on Maryland businesses and some events during a late afternoon press conference Wednesday at the Maryland State House.

He announced that effective this Friday, May 15, at 5 p.m., Maryland will be lifting the state’s stay-at-home order and moving to a “Safer-at-Home” public health advisory.

Specifically, Hogan’s decision—the first phase of a broader reopening plan—means all retail stores and service businesses in the state may reopen at up to 50 percent of capacity, although curbside service is still encouraged where possible. In his statement, Hogan mentioned clothing and shoe stores, barber shops, hair salons, car washes, art galleries, and book stores as examples of businesses that may reopen at 50 percent capacity. Religious institutions may also begin to hold services at up to 50 percent of capacity, with outdoor services also still encouraged. All manufacturing businesses in the state may resume operations, as well.

“Marylanders will no longer be required to stay at home, but are strongly advised to stay at home, particularly older and more vulnerable Marylanders,” Hogan said in his statement. “If you can work from home, you should continue to do so. You should continue wearing masks in indoor public areas, retail stores, and on public transportation.”

Hogan said he decided to ease restrictions in the state based a two-week trend of plateauing numbers, in terms of hospitalizations, acute coronavirus cases, and deaths. As of Wednesday, there have been 1,694 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Maryland, with another 115 probable deaths. The number of hospitalizations has ticked down from its peak, but has remained above 1,500 patients in the state since the last week of April. Restrictions on gatherings of larger than 10 people remain in place.

“This allows us to cautiously and safely begin Stage One of the recovery plan,” Hogan said.

According to new modeling at University of Washington-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, COVID-19 deaths in Maryland are now projected to reach 3,799 by August 4.

“The fight against this deadly disease is far from over,” Hogan said. “But Maryland and our nation can begin to slowly recover.”

The governor added that, as the state cautiously moves forward, he fully understands that not all counties are in the same situation. The reopening allows individual county leaders to make decisions about their own jurisdiction.

As for Baltimore, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young and Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski, Jr. issued on a joint statement Wednesday evening on the governor’s Phase 1 re-opening. Young and Olszewski said they intend to examine the new state guidelines before making any local decisions.

“We are taking a close look at the specific actions announced today, and we will determine our next steps in the next 24 hours,” Young and Olszewski wrote. “We acknowledge that this will not be welcome news to all of our residents. Individuals and businesses continue to make real sacrifices, and those sacrifices are preventing the spread of a deadly virus. However, rushing to reopen in our large, densely populated jurisdictions jeopardizes the lives of our neighbors and loved ones.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich already said the county is not yet ready to reopen. Prince George’s County, the hardest hit county in the state, also does not plan to begin reopening Friday.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser extended the city’s stay-at-home order and closure of nonessential businesses through June 8.

“We all have concerns,” Young said Tuesday morning. “What we want to do is be coordinated in our efforts, so that one jurisdiction won’t be doing something different than the next one.”

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Baltimore “Spy Plane” Initiative Gets Okay from Federal Court

Ron Cassie — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 19:30:00 +0000

Editor’s Note: This article was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

High-tech aerial surveillance cameras will soon be coming to a cloud near you, Baltimore.

A U.S. District Court judge gave the go-ahead Friday to a controversial Baltimore Police Department pilot program known as Aerial Investigation Research (AIR), which will collect images of vehicle and pedestrian movements across 90 percent of the city—up to 12 hours daily—for six months starting this week.

Among his reasons for green-lighting the program, Judge Richard D. Bennett cited previous court rulings that have allowed warrantless camera surveillance and the “highly relevant” level of violence “afflicting the City of Baltimore.”

The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) has described the widespread aerial surveillance system as “simply a creative, technological assist” in fighting crime. Critics and the ACLU, which filed a lawsuit on April 9 seeking to halt the police department program, have decried the privately operated “spy planes” as an unconstitutional invasion of personal privacy and freedom from unreasonable government searches.

Judge Bennett concluded, however, that the ACLU lawsuit plaintiffs failed to meet the “heavy burden” needed to support a preliminary injunction.

“In a city plagued by violent crime and desperately in need of police protections, the public interest clearly does not favor the imposition of a preliminary injunction blocking constitutionally sound police programs,” Bennett said in his opinion. “The AIR pilot program may proceed.”

The ACLU, which plans to appeal the decision, disagreed, in particular on constitutional and civil rights grounds.

“It is tragic and unacceptable that the failures of the Baltimore Police Department, and the city’s long-term unwillingness to address the root causes of crime, have now led to the decision to impose the most far-reaching mass surveillance program in American history here in Baltimore,” David Rocah, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Maryland, said after the ruling. “If allowed to stand, this ruling is a decision that the city, and the country, will come to regret.”

“Baltimore is a city with a terrible history of racism and lack of accountability for abuses by police, which only further compounds our concerns about this program’s potential for misuse,” Rocah added. “We are hopeful that the courts will eventually recognize the serious constitutional issues here and stop the persistent aerial surveillance program.”

A previously secretive, publicly undisclosed iteration of the program—first reported by Bloomsberg Businessweek in 2016 after a tweet inquiring about the strange constant circling of planes overhead—was halted amid condemnations from civil liberties advocates.

We will appeal a federal court decision to allow the aerial surveillance pilot program to move forward. The program would put almost all Baltimore residents under constant, aerial surveillance.

We can’t trust Baltimore Police to use spy planes. https://t.co/nOG0gMu1gQ
— ACLU of Maryland (@ACLU_MD) April 24, 2020

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said he was pleased by the federal court ruling and that it will enable city police to move forward with the program as scheduled.

“The planning of the program’s implementation has been measured and deliberate, putting into place additional safeguards, oversight and review,” Harrison said in a statement released by the department. “I take very seriously the utilization of every legal and moral tool to address the unacceptable levels of violence that often besieges our most marginalized communities. The program will be submitted to great scrutiny during this pilot phase and I will continue to be cautiously optimistic about the potential. Ultimately, the data will show us the efficacy of this technology as a potential tool for the department in solving and reducing violent crime.”

The estimated nearly $3.7 million cost of the pilot will be funded by Arnold Ventures, a limited liability corporation founded by Texas philanthropists John Arnold, a former Enron executive and hedge fund manager, and his wife, attorney Laura Arnold. Future costs or funding support for the program remains unclear.

Harrison has said previously it is in the private company’s interest to abide by the memorandum of understanding (MOU) limitations with the department. Part of the existing MOU includes transparency around any potential technology upgrades—for example, the production of higher resolution images beyond one pixel per person, which currently prevents identification by race or gender, police say.

If the program is shown to be effective in Baltimore, there is every likelihood it could prove attractive to cities and towns across the country.

“They [Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems and Arnold Ventures], are relying on us to vouch for them,” Harrison said previously. “So this can be used in other cities. We are literally their only reference.”

The BPD anticipates the program beginning sometime this week.

Among lawsuit plaintiffs are Baltimore community advocates Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, a grassroots public policy think-tank; Erricka Bridgeford, co-founder of the Baltimore Ceasefire project; and Kevin James, a community organizer and hip-hop musician known as Son of Nun.

The plaintiffs have said such widespread surveillance would violate privacy rights, give more power to a police department with a documented history of civil rights violations, and impede community relations.

“The last thing the citizens of Baltimore need right now is to be watched every minute of every day,” James said. “Would you try and repair a relationship by spying on someone?”

In Friday’s opinion, Judge Bennett did note that the actual precision of collected images, described as dots that won’t identify personal characteristics, has not yet been proven. Plaintiffs also have standing under the First Amendment, he wrote, to “challenge the collection and retention of data associated with them.” There’s “no dispute” plaintiff’s images “will be captured by the airplanes deployed by Persistent Surveillance Systems and that those images will be preserved in a server it maintains.”

Unanalyzed imagery data collected by the sophisticated camera system, which will capture “32 square miles of the city every second,” will be stored by the company for 45 days, unless part of an investigation, police say.

The six-month pilot is also set to go forward despite Gov. Larry Hogan’s stay-at-home orders and staged re-opening plan that limits future public gatherings, which the ACLU has contended would undermine any effort to prove the trial program’s effectiveness in fighting crime.

“I find this bizarre given that the purported purpose of the pilot is to gather data to see if this is effective and whether there is a deterrence effect,” says Ashley Gorski, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. “How can they possibly measure the plane’s deterrence effect when there is a stay-at-home order? It makes no sense at all.”

In response, the BPD has argued that data collected will be meaningful because crime has continued in recent weeks despite the governor’s social-distancing and stay-at-home orders.

“As of April 13, 2020, Baltimore had experienced 81 homicides, five more than the same duration of time in the prior year,” the police department noted in its response to the ACLU suit. “Certainly, there is no shortage of murders, shootings, and armed robberies requiring investigation.”

There’s no indication that police would use the surveillance planes to enforce the stay-at-home order or related law enforcement, under the contract between BPD and the private company, Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems, which specializes in such military-grade technologies. Company videos reveal the Wide Area Surveillance system’s capabilities.

Under the contract, police access to surveillance images is limited. Police say they will request the company’s analysis of visual data for targeted violent crimes—such as homicides, shootings, armed robberies, and carjackings—though Commissioner Harrison also has discretion to request data analysis under “extraordinary and exigent” circumstances. Gorski adds: “There are no guardrails for that discretion.”

Plaintiff Dayvon Love, director of public policy with Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, called the district court’s decision “extremely disappointing.”

“This kind of technology should not be in the hands of any police department, especially one with a history of pervasive corruption,” Love said. “This technology will compound the harms inflicted on residents who have been impacted by well-documented police abuses in Baltimore.”

J. Cavanaugh Simpson is a former reporter for The Miami Herald and a freelance journalist based in the Baltimore area. She can be followed via Twitter @JoCavanaughSim1.

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Despite Rising Toll, Hogan Hopeful of Early May “Phase I” Reopening

Ron Cassie — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 19:00:00 +0000

Despite still-rising numbers of COVID-19 intensive care cases and deaths in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan sounded a positive note at a press conference Friday, presenting his outline for reopening economic and recreational activities in the state.

“I’m optimistic and hopeful that if Marylanders continue staying at home and practicing aggressive physical distancing for a little while longer, our numbers could continue to plateau,” Hogan told reporters in Annapolis, “and then we should be able to begin the recovery. I’m hopeful we could then begin our recovery in early May.”

With 74 additional deaths from the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the number of confirmed deaths to date in the state has now reached 797. Additionally, the state has reported another 78 probable deaths due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The African American community, in particular, has been hard by the virus, experiencing the majority, and significantly disproportionate, number of deaths in Maryland.

Outbreaks and deaths at nursing home facilities continue to drive the death toll in the state.

Confirmed cases and deaths from the coronavirus cases continue to rise in broader capital region, Hogan highlighted. In Maryland, 1,408 people remained in the hospital at the start of the weekend because of the virus.

On Friday, Hogan outlined a gradual three-step plan to reopen the state, including some retail shops, service businesses, outdoor religious gatherings, outside recreational activities—such as golf, tennis, boating and fishing—and elective surgeries in the first phase. He cautioned, however, that the state’s key COVID-19 outbreak data—including hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths—would need to decline for at least 14 days. Predicting when the state could resume full activities is impossible at this time, the governor added.

“Until a vaccine is developed, the way we go about our daily lives and the way we work is going to be significantly different for a little while longer,” Hogan said.

Public health experts and researchers have said a vaccine is likely many months, possibly up to 12 and 18 months, away from being available to the public at large.

In the second stage of the phased-in reopening of the state, the limit would be raised on social gatherings, non-essential workers who cannot telecommute would be allowed to return to work, and bars and restaurants could open with certain safety restrictions.

Stage three of the phased-in reopening would essentially return life to something closer to a new normal with larger entertainment venues open, larger religious gatherings allowed, a lessening of restrictions at state hospitals, and family visits allowed to nursing homes.

“We all want the state to reopen as quickly as it can, but it’s clear that if we open the state today we would risk a fast acceleration in the epidemic to very high numbers,” said Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and advisor to Hogan on coronavirus containment.

Among other unfortunate and potentially tragic news Friday, Gov. Hogan’s communication director, Mike Ricci, said more than 100 Marylanders called the state’s emergency hotline asking about whether injecting or ingesting disinfectants could help cure COVID-19 following President Donald Trump’s comments during a White House briefing Thursday.

MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE called Maryland's emergency hotline asking about whether injecting or ingesting disinfectants could help cure Covid-19, according to Gov. LARRY HOGAN'S comms director @riccimike

via @playbookplus
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) April 24, 2020

Hogan’s “Roadmap to Recovery” did not offer timeline goals—or specific COVID-19 health-related data, but emphasized the need for decreased numbers of hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and deaths.

“There isn’t a decline yet and we need to get to a point where the numbers are starting to move downward,” Inglesby said.

The governor did not offer an update on the continued closure of Maryland schools, which he said previously will remain closed through May 15. Most states have already decided to keep schools closed for the remainder of the spring calendar. Classes are held online, but not all students in the state have been logging on local school websites and participating, some due to lack of proper technology and internet access.

Maryland schools have been closed since March 13. Hogan ordered nonessential businesses to close March 23 and Marylanders to stay at home March 30.

Meanwhile, more than 344,000 people have filed for unemployment in Maryland from the start of the outbreak through April 18, more than 125,000 more state residents than all of last year.

By late Friday, some 44,000 people had logged on to the state’s new unemployment site, which crashed several times during the day with 19,000 new claims to process.

Last weekend, at least 200 protestors in Annapolis caravanned around State Circle, demanding the governor lift restrictions on public gatherings and reopen Maryland businesses.

Hogan also announced a “recovery team” Friday to assist in the planning of the state’s economic reopening and recovery.

Team members include: Arne Sorensen, the president of Marriott International; Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute; Kevin Plank, executive chairman of Under Armour; Jim Davis, chairman of the Allegis Group; Mark McManus, general president of United Association, a union; and Augie Chiasera, president of M&T Bank’s Baltimore and Chesapeake regions.

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Frustrated by Trump, Hogan Lands 500,000 COVID-19 Tests from South Korea

Ron Cassie — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 17:35:00 +0000

Frustrated by the Trump administration’s lack of progress in developing COVID-19 testing, as well as the president’s claims of broad availability of coronavirus testing, Maryland’s Larry Hogan and other governors spoke out over the weekend.

“It’s not accurate to say there’s plenty of testing out there, and the governors should just get it done,” Hogan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “That’s just not being straightforward.”

Hogan added that it was “absolutely false” to claim that governors were not acting aggressively enough to pursue as much testing as possible.

At a press conference Monday afternoon in Annapolis, Hogan announced that the state had secured 5,000 test kits from South Korea—which officials said would give Maryland the ability to perform 500,000 new coronavirus tests. The Korean Air flight arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Saturday, Hogan said, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other agencies signed off on the plan and shipment.

To date, Maryland has conducted more than 71,000 tests for the novel coronavirus. Nearly 14,000 confirmed infections have been recorded in the state, including more than 854 confirmed new cases in the last 24 hours. More than 3,000 people have been hospitalized in the state so far because of the COVID-19 virus. There are also now more than 500 confirmed deaths in Maryland from the virus and almost 70 other probable deaths.

The South Korean coronavirus tests come from a company based there called LabGenomics at a cost of $9 million to Maryland. In his remarks, Hogan said it was a small amount for the state to pay, relative to an estimated $2.8 billion in lost revenues as the state remains largely shut down in an effort to contain the virus.

Hogan also said that the shipment does not mean that Maryland suddenly has the ability to perform 500,000 tests. “We don’t have everything [else] we need,” Hogan said, noting a shortage of lab equipment, as well as the swabs and chemical re-agents required to successfully perform the tests. “Some [of those things] have been acquired. It will take time to ramp up everything we need to utilize all of the tests.”

Hogan said that is Korean-born wife, Yumi Hogan, was involved in getting the negotiation process started, adding that his team had been at work since late March on the effort he nicknamed, “Operation Enduring Friendship.” It was the first-ever direct freight flight from Incheon Airport to BWI. Yumi Hogan is the first Korean-American first lady of any state and the first Asian-American first lady in Maryland.

The new tests will indicate whether an individual currently is infected with the virus. Other equally important tests that indicate whether a person has had the coronavirus and successfully recovered—and is therefore protected by anti-bodies against further infection—remain elusive. A vaccine for COVID-19 likely remains many months away.

Last week, Hogan announced Maryland schools will remain closed through May 15. Most states, including Ohio, have already said they will not reopen this year.

Hogan has stressed that adequate availability testing is critical to reopening the state and the Maryland economy. He said last Friday that the state would not reopen until it at least triples daily testing capacity, greater hospital capacity is in place, adequate levels of personal protective equipment is on hand for frontline health care workers, and the state is able to deploy sufficient numbers of contact-tracing workers to track and help isolate newly infected patients.

On Saturday, at least 200 protestors in Annapolis caravanned around State Circle, demanding the governor lift restrictions on public gatherings and reopen Maryland businesses. That same morning, the capital region recorded 73 additional new deaths, pushing the number fatalities to close to 1,000 in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Similar protests, encouraged by President Trump on Twitter, have been taking place around the country and continued Monday with more than 2,000 demonstrators at the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg.

Prince George’s and Montgomery counties lead the state in coronavirus cases, with 3,583 and 2,647 cases, respectively. Baltimore County has reported 1,875 cases and Baltimore City—1,511. African-Americans continue to make up the largest racial/ethnic group in terms of COVID-19 deaths in the state. By zip code, the area with the greatest total—269 cases of coronavirus—is in the in 21215, which includes parts of northwest Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The zip code includes the FutureCare Lochearn nursing home where at least 170 people, 129 residents and 41 staffers, have been confirmed with the virus, according to reporting from WBAL-TV.

Former Baltimore City health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, a leading public health expert, essentially agreed with Hogan last week, stating the U.S. still needs a national coordinated effort to secure personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, ramp up testing, and build public health infrastructure before it’s safe to fully reopen the economy.

“But it seems we are doing this backwards because we shouldn’t be talking about a timeline as much as we should be talking about metrics and capabilities, including the number of tests that can be made widely available [and] the public health infrastructure needed to able to identity individuals who test positive and trace their contacts,” Wen told CNN. “And the healthcare infrastructure overall to be able to treat people and not be rationing resources all the time. We are nowhere near having these capabilities in place.”

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Hogan Touts COVID-19 Reopening Plans, Orders Facial Coverings in Public

Ron Cassie — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 10:07:00 +0000

Governor Larry Hogan put forth plans for a gradual reopening of the state Wednesday afternoon amid what he described as “very real reasons for hope and optimism” in Maryland’s ongoing battle with COVID-19.

The number of statewide deaths from the novel virus increased by 47 on Wednesday—the single-highest daily tally to date—as Maryland also added 64 probable fatalities to the list of victims, pushing the state total past 400.

Beginning yesterday, the state announced that it will start reporting both confirmed and probable deaths. Deaths are listed as probable COVID-19 fatalities if the death certificate lists the virus as the cause of death, but it has not yet been confirmed by a laboratory test.

Gov. Hogan announced in Annapolis that Maryland officials have been consulting with doctors and public health experts over the last several weeks to develop a plan for the reopening of the state as predictive models for the number of cases and deaths in the state have improved.

“It is too soon to say, ‘Yes, we’re going to start opening already.’ We’re not going to flip the light switch,” Hogan said at a press conference, adding, “It’s not too soon to start laying out what that will look like and maybe start considering when first steps might be.”

Hogan also gave notice of an executive order Wednesday that requires face coverings for anyone inside a retail business, including grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores, or when riding any form of public transportation in the state. The order mandates retail establishments require staff to wear face coverings and put appropriate social distancing measures in place, as well. It goes into effect on Saturday, April 18 at 7 a.m.

Hogan’s announcements come as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and others cautioned that it may be some time before large gatherings like sporting events or concerts may resume.

“It’s difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon, so I think we should be prepared for that this year,” Garcetti told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Wednesday. “I think we all have never wanted science to work so quickly,” he continued. “But until there’s either a vaccine, some sort of pharmaceutical intervention, or herd immunity, the science is the science. And public health officials have made very clear we have miles and miles to walk before we can be back in those environments.”

Hogan said the state’s reopening plans will be based on expanding testing capacity, boosting hospital surge capacity, increasing the state’s supply of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, and dramatically building out Maryland’s contact tracing operation. He said the state has expanded testing capacity over the past month, and is on track to more than triple current capacity and eventually perform up to 10,000 tests per day.

Maryland has also state entered into a separate agreement with Abbott Labs to acquire antibody tests that could identify those who were infected with the virus, but have recovered.

Today I announced that because of early and aggressive actions and the extraordinary sacrifices of Marylanders, we are now in a position to begin planning the safe and gradual rollout of our state’s recovery phase.

Details here: https://t.co/jx6sMDvZjz
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) April 15, 2020

In terms of Maryland’s contact-tracing operation, the state hopes to be able to investigate each positive test for the virus and make sure that those individuals remain in isolation for the duration of their illness.

Currently, Maryland has approximately 250 people statewide conducting contact tracing to identify those who have likely been exposed to the virus—with a goal of quadrupling its contact tracing network to at least 1,000 workers by utilizing additional state employees and hiring outside contractors. One issue in determining who to test, of course, is that many infected with COVID-19 and contagious are asymptotic. A mass vaccine for the virus is still expected to be 12-18 months away.

Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young’s office confirmed Wednesday that 129 residents and 29 staff members at the FutureCare nursing home in Lochearn have tested positive for coronavirus. It is the state’s biggest outbreak. FutureCare spokeswoman Holly O’Shea said the nursing home proactively implemented a process known as ‘widespread surveillance testing’ at the site. The testing monitors the intensity and spread of the disease in a community with high transmission.”

The mayor’s office and FutureCare said many of the people who have tested positive are not symptomatic, but the testing allows the medical staff to monitor and isolate positive patients. Johns Hopkins has provided staff guidance on controlling the infectious disease.

According to Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, the first case at the nursing home was found March 31. Dzirasa said most of test results came in Sunday and her office “will continue to monitor the situation at this facility.”

Hogan said earlier this week that coronavirus outbreaks have been confirmed in more 90 nursing home facilities in the state.

Hogan provided no timeline for and easing of restrictions in the state for non-essential businesses and social gatherings. He cautioned that Maryland likely has not yet reached its peak in terms of its number of daily cases and deaths from the virus.

“Fortunately, because of the early and aggressive actions and because of the extraordinary sacrifices of Marylanders, we are now in a position to move from containment and mitigation to planning the gradual rollout of our recovery phase,” Hogan said. “There are some very real reasons for hope and optimism right now and there is clearly a light at the end of this tunnel, but exactly how and when we will get to that light is going to be up to each and every one of us.”

He continued, emphasizing the importance of keeping social-distancing measures in place: “Right now while our numbers are still climbing and we are still heading up that curve, not down, it is absolutely critical for Marylanders to stay home, to continue avoiding crowds and gatherings, and to aggressively practice social distancing.”

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Hogan and Wen Offer Takes on Virus and Potential Reopening of the Economy

Ron Cassie — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 09:45:00 +0000

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the death toll in Maryland climbed again Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan and former Baltimore City health commissioner Leana Wen discussed the potential reopening of the economy, which President Donald Trump has been pushing for, on CNN.

Despite concerns from White House public health experts and governors and elected officials from around the country, President Trump continued to press for the removal of work and business restrictions on Twitter and during his daily briefing yesterday.

“I have been having discussions with my team and top experts,” Trump said, reading from a prepared statement before an ultimately contentious late afternoon event with members of the media. “We’re very close to completing a plan to open the country . . . We will soon finalize new and very important guidelines to give governors the information they need to start safely opening their states. My administration’s plans and corresponding guidelines will give people the confidence they need to begin returning to normal life.”

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surpassed 600,000 by Tuesday, including more than 25,000 deaths, the highest total of any country to date.

Earlier Monday, however, Gov. Hogan noted on CNN with Anderson Cooper that the decision to restrict commercial activity in Maryland, as well as more than 40 other states, was made by governors—not the president or federal government.

“[We’ve been] talking with our scientists and our doctors, some really smart folks, including Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who is the former FDA commissioner, [Dr.] Tom Inglesby from Johns Hopkins, along with some of our business leaders about how we would go about this in a safe way,” Hogan said. “I think it is something the governors are taking a lead on and will continue to do so.”

When Cooper replied that Trump was now making the case that the decision to reopen the economy was his—and not the governors’—Hogan pushed back against the president’s claim. “It’s not my understanding of the Constitution,” Hogan said.

In terms of the federal stimulus package, Hogan also noted none of the funding was directed to state governments to help alleviate local economic losses and growing budget deficits due to the collapse of state revenues.

“States are really in a position to be able to help get our economies back on line, and we’ve also suffered major revenue losses that we need to provide the basic services to all the people in our states,” Hogan said. “We made the tough decisions to shut things down and to put in place these tough social distancing practices, which are having an impact on the economy and we need that help from the federal government so we can help get the economy back on track when it is safe to do so.”

Hogan, who is chairman of the National Governors Association, told Vice President Mike Pence in a conference call Monday that governors across the country need $500 billion to save their budgets.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 9,400 in the state by Tuesday. More than 300 deaths have also been reported in Maryland to date, with the African-American community disproportionately impacted. The latest modeling from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that Maryland’s daily number of cases and deaths will peak this week, level off, and then steadily decline into the first weeks of May.

Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore City health commissioner and current visiting professor of public health at George Washington University, cautioned in a separate CNN interview that while the country may seeing a peak, in terms of daily cases and deaths from COVID-19, the outbreak of the virus is far from contained.

“The peak doesn’t mean that deaths have stopped,” Wen told CNN’s John King. “Actually, the peak that we may be hitting may be one in which there are thousands of ongoing deaths [in the country]. And, now there is also all this talk of opening our economy and removing restrictions.”

She added that the U.S. still needs a national coordinated effort to secure personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, ramp up testing, and build public health infrastructure before it’s safe to fully reopen the economy.

“But it seems we are doing this backwards because we shouldn’t be talking about a timeline as much as we should be talking about metrics and capabilities, including the number of tests that can be made widely available [and] the public health infrastructure needed to able to identity individuals who test positive and trace their contacts,” she said. “And the health care infrastructure overall to be able to treat people and not be rationing resources all the time. We are nowhere near having these capabilities in place.”

She also later took to Twitter to condemn the president’s defensiveness and continued attacks on the media Monday:

Is this for real--@whitehouse briefing w media clips to justify timeline? What we need isn't finger-pointing or defensiveness. We need to know what's the plan of action moving forward. People are dying. This is a public health emergency. It shouldn't be about politics. #covid19
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) April 13, 2020

Source

More than 2,000 Marylanders Died from Opioid-Related Overdoses in 2017

Ron Cassie — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 17:36:00 +0000

More than 2,200 Maryland residents died in 2017 from unintended drug and alcohol-related intoxication, setting an all-time mark for the state in the seventh consecutive year.

Of 2,282 drug and alcohol-related deaths in Maryland last year, 2,009 were opioid-related, according to a report released Thursday by the Maryland Department of Health. Those numbers have more than tripled since 2011, when the number of opioid-related deaths in the state first began to rise. The statewide data from the first quarter of 2018—which shows a nearly 20 percent increase in unintended intoxication deaths over the same period last year—indicates the ongoing public health crisis is only worsening.

Baltimore magazine chronicled the opioid crisis and its impact on Hagerstown and Washington County in our July issue.

In Baltimore City, 761 people died from drug and alcohol related deaths in 2017, a significant increase from the 694 fatalities in 2016—and a seven-fold jump since 2011—driven by opioid-related overdoses. Baltimore is one of hundreds of jurisdictions in the U.S. that has sued pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioids for their alleged criminal roles in bringing the drugs to market.

Baltimore City, by far, has the highest death rate for unintentional intoxications deaths in the state at 45.1 deaths per 100,000 residents. It is followed by Cecil County (31.4), Caroline County (31.4), Caroline County (29.9), Allegany County (29.0) and Washington County (28.8).

“We are seeing an epidemic of overdoses in Maryland and around the country and these numbers are terrifying,” said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen in response to the report. “We are not even at the peak of the epidemic and we don’t know what the peak looks like.”

Fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller, which is also made illegally and sometimes mixed with cocaine and heroin, continues to be one of the factors driving overdose fatalities.

“In the first three months of 2018 alone, we’ve seen 500 fentanyl-related deaths,” Maryland Department of Health Secretary Robert R. Neall said in a statement. “We’re asking those with a substance use disorder to immediately seek treatment and for more individuals to learn how to use and carry naloxone.”

Wen said the city needs more resources to combat the crisis, including additional funding to make naloxone, a medication that can be used by non-medical professional citizens to rapidly reverse an overdose, more available. “Everyday residents in Baltimore saved 1,130 people in 2017, but we are rationing its use,” Wen said. “Imagine how many more lives we could save if we had the money to do so.”

Wen added that the city also needs greater state and federal support to help treat those with addiction issues. “Treatment is not a one-off,” she said. “It needs to be sustained to be effective.”

The new numbers and report quickly became campaign fodder in the current race for governor between incumbent Republican Larry Hogan and Democratic nominee Ben Jealous.

“The opioid epidemic is one of the most challenging public health crises of our time and it is clear that Larry Hogan’s incremental steps are not getting the job done,” said Maryland Democratic Party spokesperson Fabion Seaton in a statement. “Ben Jealous has proposed a bold and innovative plan to take the opioid epidemic head-on, but Gov. Hogan shouldn’t wait to implement these solutions, he should implement them now. Lives are at stake and time is of the essence.”

The state Health Department called tacking the opioid epidemic “a top priority” of the Hogan-Rutherford Administration in a press release accompanying the report.

“Every day, numerous state agencies and other stakeholders are working together on the statewide response. We are seeing success on the prescriber side as hospitals and medical providers have been driving innovative solutions to reduce inappropriate prescribing,” said Clay Stamp, executive director, the state’s Opioid Operational Command Center. “Yet, we have to stay focused on and resolute in our three-pronged strategy – prevention and education, enforcement, and expanding access to treatment and recovery.”

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) will hold a roundtable discussion with Baltimore community leaders on efforts to combat the epidemic. Earlier this year, Cummings and Warren introduced the Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which is modeled on the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act. That act was enacted nearly three decades years ago with bipartisan support to boost federal investments and local decision-making to stem the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Source

Most Noteworthy Pieces of Legislation From General Assembly Session

Michelle Evans — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 10:21:00 +0000

Monday, April 10, marked the final day of the 437th Maryland General Assembly where, for 90 days, lawmakers met in Annapolis to review bills. In this year’s case, Gov. Larry Hogan signed 11 of the 27 bills that came across his desk, including the fiscal responsibility bill, school funding bill for Baltimore City Public Schools, an extension on the time frame in which sexually abused children can sue their abusers, and a permanent ban on hydraulic fracturing in Maryland. Here are the most big-ticket items from the grueling 90-day session.

Planned Parenthood Gets Funding.
Maryland is now the first state to enact legislation to provide funding for Planned Parenthood should the federal government cut its support. The measure was enacted last week after Gov. Hogan allowed the bill to move forward—he didn’t veto it or sign it. The new measure will protect preventative care for over 20,000 patients across nine centers in the state and takes affect on July 1.

The state has allotted $2 million from Maryland’s Medicaid budget and $700,000 for the state’s general fund the services. It’s worth noting that federal law prohibits using this funding for abortions; the bill is to ensure that patients will be able to receive basic healthcare.

Fracking Ban Passes
After years of debate and study, The Maryland General Assembly and Gov. Hogan cooperated to outlaw the controversial natural gas extraction method known as fracking. In doing so, Maryland became the first state (in which fracking is viable) to ban the practice by statute. (New York banned the practice by executive order in 2014, and Vermont banned the practice by law in 2012, but has no harvestable natural gas deposits, meaning the ban was largely symbolic.)

Western Maryland—particularly Garret and Allegheny counties—sits upon a portion of the Marcellus Formation, a large shale-rich geologic area that underpins much of the Appalachian range from Tennessee to New York. Proponents of fracking in Maryland had hoped the practice would bring jobs to Western Maryland and further lower energy prices. Opponents resisted fracking because of its ability to pollute air and groundwater. Anti-fracking activists hope Maryland’s ban will inspire neighboring states, such as Pennsylvania and Virginia to enact similar laws.

Oyster Sanctuaries to Remain Closed to Watermen
Blocking a proposal floated by the Hogan administration, the General Assembly voted to keep the state’s oyster sanctuaries off-limits to watermen until a study of the bivalve’s health is completed in 2018. According to The Sun, Gov. Hogan’s administration and a state commission were “considering a plan that could have periodically opened 11 percent of the [state’s] 8,600 acres of sanctuaries to watermen.”

Environmentalists opposed the idea, citing the fragility of the bay’s oyster population, which is estimated at about 1 percent of its pre-Colonial level, due to disease, pollution, habitat destruction, and over-harvesting. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day and oyster reefs provide habitat for numerous other species.

Styrofoam Ban Fails, For Now
Despite support from environmental advocates, a ban on the use of expanded polystyrene foam products—including food containers and packaging peanuts—failed to pass this year. The bill, co-sponsored by Del. Brooke Lierman of (District 46, Baltimore City) and state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (District 17, Montgomery County), called for a statewide ban on the hard, white plastic material, often mistakenly referred to as Styrofoam. (Styrofoam is a trademark of Dow Chemical Company and a separate substance.)

Advocates had hoped the measure would help combat litter and improve water quality, especially in Baltimore City, where expanded polystyrene products are the second-most collected items in the harbor trash wheels, after cigarette butts. Though Julie Lawson, the executive director of the nonprofit Trash Free Maryland, admitted disappointment, she also expressed hope for next year’s session. “The House Environment & Transportation Committee, having heard our bills for the past several years, has decided they want to take the summer to dig deeper into the issue . . . with an eye toward developing policies that the General Assembly should pursue in coming years,” she said.

Internet Privacy Bill Fails
The House of Representatives voted at the end of March to grant Internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T and Verizon the ability to collect, store, and sell users’ browser history for advertising purposes. SB 1200 was an emergency bill that would “prohibit ISP’s from selling or transferring a consumer’s personally identifying information to a person without the consumer’s express and affirmative permission.”

Current state law does not regulate the sale or sharing of personal information by ISPs. However, the bill died in a House Committee meeting late last night. According to House Economic Matters Committee Chairman Derek Davis, lawmakers need more time to study the issue.

Watered Down Immigration Bill Gets Rejected
Immigration advocates were pushing for a bill that would limit police involvement in federal deportation. The House passed the bill, known as the Trust Act, in March, however, a Senate committee only advanced portions of the original bill. The act would have prohibited local police from stopping and questioning people to determine their immigration status solely based on factors like as race and religion.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. spoke out against the bill last week, saying: “Maryland is not going to become a sanctuary state.” Gov. Hogan vowed to veto the original version of the bill should it reach his desk, but it died before the deadline. The bill was diluted so much that it lost the support of liberal lawmakers and committee chairman Derek Davis said that the issue was too complicated to make a decision in the final hours.

Education Accountability Act
This measure prohibits the state school board from converting declining public schools into charters, offering students taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private schools and placing said schools in a state-run “recovery” district.

This new legislation sets up an accountability system for the schools, where 65 percent of ratings will be based on academic assessments, including standardized test scores. This is the only piece of legislation Gov. Hogan rejected stating that the bill was “misguided” and would have a “disastrous effect” on the education system.

Child Sexual Abuse Laws Amended
Gov. Hogan also signed HB 642 into law, which extends “the statute of limitations on civil actions arising out of an alleged incident or incidents of sexual abuse that occurred while the victim was a minor.” The bill will be effective October 1 of this year and will not be applicable for any cases prior to that date.

Under the current law, a victim must file a compliant within “seven years of the date that the victim attains the age of majority” or age 25. Under the new law, the period has been extended from seven to 20 years from the incident or age 38.

New Brewery Bill Gets Pushed Through
After much controversy, a revised version of HB 1283 makes big changes to the local craft-brewing scene in Maryland. Inspired by the first American Guinness brewery coming to Baltimore County in the fall, the bill raises caps on barrel production to 3,000 per year, permits some contract brewing, and allows existing breweries to maintain their normal hours. However, the bill prohibits new or future breweries—which are not grandfathered into the bill—to be closed after 10 p.m.

Source

FeBREWary Festivities Continue with Love Thy Beer Festival This Weekend

Lauren Cohen — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:17:33 +0000

Former Gov. Marvin Mandel Dies at 95

Ron Cassie — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:15:00 +0000

Marvin Mandel, who served as Maryland’s governor from 1969 to 1979, died Sunday afternoon at 95 after spending the weekend celebrating his son’s 50th birthday in St. Mary’s County, his family announced last night.

Mandel was widely praised for modernizing the state government—organizing more than 200 independent state agencies into 12 cabinet-level departments, for example—but also proved a controversial figure during his tenure. He was convicted of mail fraud and racketeering after being found guilty of helping friends profit from a racetrack deal.

He also went through a public and messy divorce while in office, declaring he was in love with another woman.

A Democrat, Mandel served in the House of Delegates for 17 years, including five years as speaker of the House. He took over as governor in 1969 when Spiro Agnew resigned to become Richard Nixon’s vice president. Subsequently, he was elected twice to office by landslide margins.

Ultimately, Mandel was sentenced to four years in prison on the fraud and racketeering charges, a term which then-president Ronald Reagan later commuted to 19 months. However, his conviction was eventually overturned in 1989 and Mandel won back the right to practice law again.

Eventually, Mandel staged something of a political comeback—not to elected office—but as a behind-the-scenes advisor and power player.

In 2003, then-governor Robert Ehrlich, a Republican, appointed Mandel to lead a commission studying government efficiency. Ehrlich also appointed Mandel to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents.

Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted last night that he was “addened to learn of the loss of a great leader, mentor, and friend, Gov. Marvin Mandel,” and said flags would fly at half-staff in Mandel’s honor.

I am saddened to learn of the loss of a great leader, mentor, and friend, Gov. Marvin Mandel. pic.twitter.com/GjmMPeXbug
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) August 31, 2015

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake released the following statement:

“I join all of Baltimore in expressing my sorrow over the passing of former Gov. Marvin Mandel. I know that Governor Mandel will be remembered for many accomplishments during his time in state government, particularly the instrumental role he played in developing and promoting public transit in our region. I will fondly remember his love of state and local politics and the stories he would share. My thoughts and prayers are with Governor Mandel’s family.”

Mandel was born and raised in Baltimore City. He graduated high school from Baltimore’s City College and went on to earn Bachelor of Arts and law degrees from the University of Maryland. He also served in the U.S. Army.

“Governor Mandel was a great governor but more importantly a great father and grandfather,” his son Paul Dorsey said in a statement. “He spent his final weekend with family in St. Mary’s County eating crabs and enjoying the beautiful scenery that St. Mary’s has to offer. He lived life to the fullest.”

Source

Gov. Larry Hogan – Baltimore Magazine

Will the Harm from Baltimore’s Highway to Nowhere Ever Be Repaired?

In the late 1960s, Baltimore began demolishing Black neighborhoods to make room for an ill-fated expressway. Will the harm from the Highway to Nowhere ever be repaired?

News & Community

Road to Ruin

In the late 1960s, Baltimore began demolishing Black neighborhoods to make room for an ill-fated expressway. Will the harm from the Highway to Nowhere ever be repaired?

By Ron Cassie

Photography by Isaiah Winters

Historical images by John Van Horn and I. Henry Phillips

Opening Spread The image of the forlorn girl on the outskirts of the Highway to Nowhere was shot by John Van Horn in the fall of 1968 (see sidebar at the end of the piece). JOHN VAN HORN

February 2023

Glenn Smith sits on the steps of his childhood home on Lauretta Avenue in Rosemont.

The Highway to Nowhere, taken from a drone in October. —Video by Isaiah Winters

From top, women on Palm Sunday in the late 1950s in Lafayette Square, a few blocks from the Highway to Nowhere; a young girl in Lafayette Park, also in the late 1950s. I. HENRY PHILLIPS

A 1960 rendering of the planned expressway through West Baltimore.

The 1870-built Sarah Ann Street rowhomes formerly scheduled for demolition by the city.

The side-by-side Carrollton Avenue rowhomes owned by Sonia and Curtis Eaddy, who successfully fought the city’s eminent domain plans for 18 years.

Mayor Brandon Scott, with the Highway to Nowhere behind him, and elected officials, including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Kweisi Mfume on his right.

A view of the Highway to Nowhere from a bridge above the 1.39-mile expressway.

Rowhouses in the Franklin-Mulberry streets corridor, which the city had acquired, being demolished in 1968 to make room for the Highway to Nowhere. John Van Horn

A 1959 rendering of the planned 14-lane interchange that was designed to connect the future east-west expressway with I-95 and I-83.

One of many stretches along the Highway to Nowhere that suffered in its aftermath.

Community advocate Denise Griffin Johnson, who grew up next to the Highway to Nowhere, in front of the Arch Social Club, whose previous location was demolished for the expressway.

Destruction of a Neighborhood: Baltimore's Highway to Nowhere

The black and white photographs of the demolition of the Franklin-Mulberry corridor that accompany this story were captured by then-college student John Van Horn. Now 72, Van Horn recently self-published a collection of those photos. This is his memory of the images:

2020: Year in Review

Twenty of the most pivotal events in Baltimore this year, in chronological order.

News & Community

2020: Year In Review

Twenty of the most pivotal events in Baltimore this year, in chronological order.

JHU’s COVID-19 Dashboard Becomes a Go-To Resource

Restaurants Show Resilience

“Spy Planes” Launch Into the Skies Over Baltimore

The Sun Wins Pulitzer Prize

Iconic Charm City Festivals Go Virtual

Baltimore Stands with Black Lives Matter

Columbus Statue Toppled, Thrown Into the Harbor

Larry Hogan Raises His National Profile

Mo Gaba Passes Away

Trohv Shutters its Doors in Hampden

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Enters a New Era

Maryland State Parks Break Records

The BMA Causes a Stir in the Art World

Brandon Scott Wins Mayoral Election

Kweisi Mfume Wins Back His Former Seat

Trey Mancini Announces He's Cancer Free

COVID Rocks the Ravens

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Storytelling Shines

John Waters Secures Appropriately Filthy Legacy

Marylanders Mourn Lives Lost

Hogan Says All Businesses May Reopen Friday, But Baltimore City Takes Cautious Approach

State Official Fired After Inflammatory Social Media Posts

Hogan Lifts Stay-at-Home Order, Reopens Businesses

Baltimore “Spy Plane” Initiative Gets Okay from Federal Court

Despite Rising Toll, Hogan Hopeful of Early May “Phase I” Reopening

Frustrated by Trump, Hogan Lands 500,000 COVID-19 Tests from South Korea

Hogan Touts COVID-19 Reopening Plans, Orders Facial Coverings in Public

Hogan and Wen Offer Takes on Virus and Potential Reopening of the Economy

More than 2,000 Marylanders Died from Opioid-Related Overdoses in 2017

Most Noteworthy Pieces of Legislation From General Assembly Session

FeBREWary Festivities Continue with Love Thy Beer Festival This Weekend

Former Gov. Marvin Mandel Dies at 95

Opening Spread
The image of the forlorn girl on the outskirts of the Highway to Nowhere was shot by John Van Horn in the fall of 1968 (see sidebar at the end of the piece). JOHN VAN HORN