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Analysis: How the Black Butterfly grew, changed over the last 80 years

If you read The Banner’s data work, you know the Black Butterfly — the majority Black area of Baltimore. You may not know, though, that it’s gotten smaller. The landmass known as the Black Butterfly shrunk, just slightly, for the first time in 2020, while becoming more prominent in Baltimore County. We’ve written a fair bit about the Black Butterfly here at The Banner. It’s appeared repeatedly in our data stories, and we recently published a roundup of different datasets where we’ve found it.

In a day of play, Frederick County celebrates people with disabilities

The Frederick County government invited people with disabilities to Walkersville on Wednesday for a day of play. This was the first time the county honored Disability Pride Month, said Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. Disability Pride Month commemorates the July 1990 signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which outlaws discrimination on the basis of ability.

 

 

Dental museum, UM School of Dentistry get $1.28M grant to innovate dental education

The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry (NMD) and the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) Department of Dental Public Health received a five year, $1.28 million Science Education Partnership Award grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to design innovative online tools that will redefine how young learners are taught about oral health across the country.

 

Partnership Brings Artists Into Schools’ Summer Academies

An arts program held in cooperation with summer academy is expanding the reach of the Worcester County Arts Council. With the help of the Worcester County Arts Council (WCAC), summer academy programs in local schools feature “Summer Arts Camp.” The program gives summer school students the chance to work with artists on a variety of projects linked to the academy theme.

The Chesapeake bay bridge.
EPA’s inspector general says agency should have done more to lead faltering Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort

The federal Environmental Protection Agency “did not fully embrace its leadership role” in the 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort, contributing to its failure, according to a report released Tuesday by the agency’s inspector general. The report comes in the wake of a painful consensus on the bay cleanup: The states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed won’t meet their promised goals to reduce pollution by 2025.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore region is building fewer homes. That’s a problem.

Despite rising rents and home prices, the Baltimore metropolitan area is on target to build fewer homes than at any point since the Great Recession. An analysis of census data shows Baltimore and its outlying counties issued permits for about 6,600 new housing units last year — the fewest in a decade. Rising interest rates and materials costs, as well as global supply chain issues, have made construction more expensive.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Four Baltimore institutions raise concerns about Artscape plan, call on city to ‘honor commitments’

Four Baltimore institutions that anchor the area where this year’s Artscape festival is expected to take place issued a joint statement to The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday raising the alarm about the “potentially crippling immediate and long-term impacts” that could result if officials allow poor planning to derail the event or significantly interfere with the organizations’ operations. “We feel obligated to express our growing concern for the evolving plan — or lack thereof,” reads the statement, which was issued by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Lyric Baltimore, the Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Baltimore.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Hot in Maryland; what to watch for if your kids are outdoors

It will be another hot and hazy day in Maryland on Tuesday, where there is a code orange for poor air quality with temps in the low 90’s. High temperatures and extreme heat can cause children to become sick. It can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, chair of pediatrics, Dr. Esther Liu said its important for parents to watch for symptoms of heat illness.

 

Updated: Judge postpones decision to separate Jenkins, Krop trials

A federal judge on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to separate the trials of Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and local firearms business owner Robert Krop on charges of conspiring to acquire machine guns. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher said she wanted more information about how audio recordings of each defendant’s interview with federal agents could affect the other man’s defense if played during a joint trial.

 

New MoCo Anti-Hate Task Force targets growing number of bias incidents among youth

When Jim Stowe’s adult daughter was exiting his Rockville neighborhood in her convertible one day, she was stopped by someone asking what she was doing in the area. Even when she said she had been visiting her parents, she was asked where her parents live. In another instance, when Stowe’s son was visiting from college and took the family dogs for a walk, he was stopped by a community member who also asked what he was doing in the area.

 

Read More: MOCO360

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