It is one of the hardest decisions that elected officials charged with running an historic city must make: when to protect an old building and when to let an owner destroy it. The calls are almost always close ones. Perfectly preserved buildings are easy to protect. The ones that have been badly damaged and no longer being used for their original purpose, which now may be unneeded and unwanted by the owner, present a tougher question.

In central Baltimore, children traverse through a maze of construction barriers and metal fences to reach City Springs Elementary/Middle School. Luxury developments have sprung up around Harbor East, Fells Point and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, areas surrounding the Washington Hill neighborhood, which is home to City Springs and abuts the Perkins Homes public housing community. Since 2021, however, the area has been undergoing a major overhaul as part of the Housing Authority of Baltimore’s $1 billion Perkins Somerset Oldtown Transformation plan.

Dueling protests regarding the rights of transgender students emerged outside the Baltimore County Board of Education’s meeting Tuesday night. A group of parents and children with the group P.A.S.S. (Parental Alliance for Safer Schools in Baltimore County) gathered to protest the county’s policy that follows federal mandates allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. The group also wants Baltimore County to force trans athletes to compete on teams that match the gender on their birth certificates, rather than their gender identity.

 

Another contract awarded by the Maryland Aviation Administration is drawing criticism and unwanted attention. Last month, a high-ranking state lawmaker requested that the Office of Legislative Audits look into whether a lucrative contract to operate two gas stations and convenience stores near BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport was awarded properly.

Baltimore public safety officials said Wednesday that they aim to expand a promising anti-gun violence strategy into its third policing district by the end of October, a few months later than originally planned. Leadership in the Baltimore Police Department and the mayor’s public safety office expressed confidence at a City Council hearing Wednesday that the Group Violence Reduction Strategy is continuing to put a dent in Baltimore’s violent crime, not only in the two districts where it has been implemented but for other parts of the city as well.

Longtime Hagerstown public servant Bob Bruchey resigned from the Hagerstown City Council at the end of Tuesday’s mayor and council meeting, according to a city release and a YouTube video of the meeting. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s great. Just an opportunity for me and my family to change a little bit of direction,” Bruchey said during the part of the meeting when council members comment on general matters.

Community members shared their views Tuesday on a new piece of legislation before the Montgomery County Council that would require firearms retailers to provide suicide prevention literature upon purchase. While most speakers supported the measure, a couple voiced concerns about infringement on gun shop owners’ First Amendment rights. In Maryland, 42% of all suicides are committed with a firearm and suicides make up 36% of all firearm deaths in the state, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Meet the Baltimore area’s leading voices in business, activism, research and more. Look for the 25 Women to Watch in a special magazine supplement in some editions of The Baltimore Sun on Sunday, Oct. 15. The women will be honored with a celebration at the Baltimore Museum of Art on Oct. 11.

Rabbi Daniel Burg was among hundreds of Jewish Marylanders who gathered Tuesday night in Baltimore County for a vigil to remember the victims of a terrorist attack in Israel that left more than 1,000 people dead. The service, organized by multiple Jewish congregations in Baltimore, was held at Beth Tfiloh in Pikesville. Hamas militants launched an unexpected and deadly attack on sites in southern Israel over the weekend, citing worsening conditions for Palestinians in the Israel-occupied Gaza Strip.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stressed the importance of making electric vehicles more affordable and improving transit options during an appearance Tuesday in Baltimore, highlighting them as ways the Biden administration can fight climate change. Appearing at iMPACT MARYLAND, a daylong event focused on innovative ideas organized by The Baltimore Banner, Buttigieg touted wins from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and affirmed his support for active community engagement in transportation projects.