Author: Dan Rodricks

This stained glass memorial to those who fought for the Union in the Civil War is in Lansdowne Christian Church - Hull Memorial in Baltimore County. Charles Hull, a Civil War veteran and Baltimore real estate investor, gave the building for the church, and each year on the Sunday before Memorial Day the church honors … Continue reading “Those who fought for the Union” essay/oratory contest

My Sunday column in the Sun is about that horrific fatal accident on the Beltway on Wednesday at 12:40 pm. In gathering thoughts about it, I read up on the probabilities of death in the U.S., as reported by the National Safety Council. It turned up some interesting things — for one, that we are … Continue reading This is US: Death by gun more likely than death by motor vehicle

Someone hiked through mud and over large piles of flood debris to get to a spot on the river to plant a modest memorial to someone they cared about. It was impossible to miss against the gray-brown tableau of the recently concluded winter. Someone inserted the metal stems of fake sunflowers into one of thousands … Continue reading Riverside memorial

As I sat down to write today’s column, I heard the most amazing thing: Boccherini’s Cello Concerto No. 3 in G Major, the adagio, performed by Frederic Lodeon. So beautiful and tragic, it fit perfectly with how I felt — sweet air and sunshine in this strange winter/premature spring and horrible news from across the … Continue reading Pardon my pessimism

In their latest collaboration for The Washington Post, Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman suggest political consequences ahead for Republican candidates, such as DeSantis in Florida, who have refused to allow millions of low-income Americans to obtain health insurance through Obamacare. It’s a compelling political point they make, given the popularity of Obamacare and what just … Continue reading The worst thing Republicans have done to their own constituents

My column in the Sunday Sun tries to offer context for the decline in student test scores in the wake of the most deadly part of the pandemic, and particularly the distressing lack of math proficiency among Baltimore students. I do this because of what's been airing on the FOX affiliate here and because some … Continue reading Why a Baltimore City Councilman refuses interview with the FOX affiliate here

Just a quick note about this photograph, texted to me from Alan Klotz in Garrett County. They are Evening Grosbeaks. I have not seen them in years, and Alan's photo takes me back to winters in a small Massachusetts town. These amazing birds, colorful as canaries, would show up in our backyard to feed on … Continue reading Winter canaries

Russo February 27th was a sad anniversary in Baltimore — the night in 1981 when “the five-dollar doc” of Harford Road, Dr. Sebastian Russo, was shot to death in his office. I covered the story way back when, attended and wrote about Dr. Russo’s funeral at St. Dominic’s. The story gave me a real sense … Continue reading The unsolved murder of the five-dollar doc

The woman featured in my Sunday column, Tammy Finci, said something that stopped me: She hoped people would not think less of her because her father, the late David Gibbs, turned out to be a criminal -- in fact, a serial holdup man and convicted murderer who was one of Maryland's longest-serving inmates. (He's the … Continue reading The only shame is the shame we bring on ourselves

The Garrett County Commissioners on Thursday dealt another blow to a proposed trail along Maryland’s last official “wild river,” asking the state to use the $4.7 million slated for a Youghiogheny River passage to trail systems elsewhere in the western county.The commissioners – Paul C. Edwards, Ryan S. Savage and S. Larry Tichnell – made … Continue reading Looks like the ‘wild’ Youghiogheny River will stay that way