The fact that Baltimore's chronic problem with violent crime is finally being abated by smart law enforcement strategies and social science gets the big year-end headline: Homicides at historic lows. Here's my take on that very positive development, published on Substack, and, for more background, here's my recent interview and data dive with Ivan Bates, … Continue reading A crime statistic worthy of its own headline
A wicked busy year ahead in theater
Allow me to take a moment, at the start of the new year, to report not one but three theatrical undertakings in 2026. In addition to the upcoming historic drama, "No Mean City: Baltimore 1966," in March, my troupe of players will be staging our original play, "Baltimore, You Have No Idea," in December. Tickets … Continue reading A wicked busy year ahead in theater
Thrift shopping surge: A sign of economic stress or the recycling ethic?
A short take before wishing you a Happy New Year. . . . A press release from Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake says thrift shopping has surged across the region, with shopper traffic up more than 30% for the year, and some locations exceeding 40% growth. Goodwill notes increased demand for used goods -- women's … Continue reading Thrift shopping surge: A sign of economic stress or the recycling ethic?
From the Archive: A war correspondent’s holiday letter to his children
Lee McCardell was the most famous war correspondent of the Baltimore Sun. The first Sunpapers writer to get into the action after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, he reported on the fighting in Italy and covered D-Day. He was believed to be the first American correspondent to reach liberated Paris and was among … Continue reading From the Archive: A war correspondent’s holiday letter to his children
Three memories of Christmas Eve
One Christmas Eve in the early 1990s, while driving along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Baltimore, I looked up at the old high-rise public housing projects that were to be torn down a few years later. I had done some reporting on the poverty and crime in those buildings, and had met a single … Continue reading Three memories of Christmas Eve
Photos: Backstage at Pierpoint Restaurant, Baltimore
For 36 years, Nancy Longo has cooked seafood in a cluttered kitchen the size of an elevator. The other night she took the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes to the top floor, and invited me to go along for the ride and even contribute a dish. I fixed a traditional Portuguese baccala (bacalhau) salad. … Continue reading Photos: Backstage at Pierpoint Restaurant, Baltimore
The Berger Cookie crowd crush
"I've never really seen one, but that's got all the earmarks of a Berger Cookie stampede." The atlas of affection for Berger Cookies is primarily the Mid-Atlantic states, but nowhere is the passion for these handmade confections — chocolate-topped discs of shortbread — more intense than right here in Baltimore, where they are produced by … Continue reading The Berger Cookie crowd crush
Annie, suddenly the less socially distant retriever
BREAKING NEWS: Annie, the socially distant rescued retriever, recently brought me a toy. She recently licked my hand. She now regularly approaches my desk in the hopes that the top right drawer will open and a treat will therein be found. It has been a time of break-throughs as Annie, rescued off the streets of … Continue reading Annie, suddenly the less socially distant retriever
Announcing a free student matinee of “No Mean City: Baltimore 1966.” Taking reservations now.
The run of my next play, "No Mean City: Baltimore 1966," will include a free student matinee on Wednesday, March 11 at noon. Seating in the Meyerhoff Theater of the Baltimore Museum of Art is limited to 350, so Baltimore-area high schools are urged to make reservations now. "No Mean City" is a historical drama … Continue reading Announcing a free student matinee of “No Mean City: Baltimore 1966.” Taking reservations now.
A model train metropolis 40 years in the making
Antoni Gaudi won’t be around to see the completion of his masterwork; the basilica Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is not scheduled for completion until 2026 — 144 years after Gaudi designed it and 100 after his death. Gustav Mahler took six years to compose his magnificent Symphony No. 2, and Freddie Mercury needed most of … Continue reading A model train metropolis 40 years in the making
Dan Rodricks 