The Baltimore Museum of Art has acquired an art installation highlighting the work of the city’s health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The installation, “More Than Conquerors: A Monument for Community Health Workers in Baltimore,” is a gift from the Glenstone Museum located in Potomac. It will be on display at the BMA in 2025 as “part of a year-long initiative focused on the environment.”
A Mexican restaurant in Baltimore that started as a food truck in Columbia has expanded again — this time into Carroll County. Taqueria La Patrona opened a stationary food truck location at 1305 Liberty Road in Eldersburg on July 1. The location adds to the traditional Mexican restaurant’s portfolio, which has a food truck in the Columbia area and a brick-and-mortar location at 101 W. Lexington St. that opened in August 2022.
Police have made no arrests or released many details about their investigation of Sunday’s mass shooting, four days after gunfire killed two people and wounded 28 others during a block party at a South Baltimore public housing complex. The shooting is likely the largest in Baltimore’s history, and most of the victims were teenagers, adding pressure for investigators to make an arrest quickly.
The Maryland League of Conservation Voters (LCV) was the first environmental organization to endorse Gov. Wes Moore during the 2022 Democratic primary campaign, and now it’s the first to release an evaluation of his first six months in office. The group’s overall analysis of the Moore administration’s performance on climate change, environmental justice and environmental stewardship in general was, unsurprisingly, positive.
Now let’s get to the budget and taxes. Here is more from my panel with Council Members Andrew Friedson and Kate Stewart at the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce’s real estate update on June 27. This question is for both of you. In this last budget, the county executive proposed a ten percent property tax hike. The council ultimately passed a 4.7 percent property tax hike which both of you voted against actually for different reasons.
During the past year, bank failures have been headline news. But largely unnoticed is an epidemic of personal check fraud. I know because a PNC Bank check of mine for thousands of dollars payable to the Internal Revenue Service was stolen, washed with a common chemical (like nail polish remover), made payable to somebody else in the same amount and cashed. Thus, my new skill set: how a check gets washed and how to prevent it.
Under Armour Inc.’s top executives saw increased compensation even as the company barely hit its financial targets for its last fiscal year. Under Armour (NYSE: UAA) reported adjusted operating income of $330.1 million and net revenue of $5.99 billion, just slightly above the thresholds of $330 million and $5.98 billion needed for the company’s named executives to receive performance-based compensation.
Reviving the Red Line to connect East and West Baltimore is long overdue. The idea for an East-West rapid transit connection goes back decades, and its need goes back even further — before the streetcars stopped running in 1963. Right now, we are in a historic moment. If we come together as a region behind this project, we can unleash the Greater Baltimore region’s economic renaissance.
The strongest communities are built on a surprisingly simple concept: a willingness to step up and give back. That’s the heart of what “Maryland Strong” means to me: the simple act of showing up. As Director of Community Initiatives under former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), it was my honor and privilege to witness what’s possible when our friends and neighbors commit to showing up for the communities we call home.
Maryland’s shortfall in affordable housing is well documented. One statewide study concluded that for every 100 extremely low-income Maryland households, there are only about 33 housing units available. The crisis isn’t isolated to Maryland or the Mid-Atlantic. Nationally, the United States faces a similar deficit affecting millions of families, a disproportionate number of them Black and Latino households.