Thinking of starting a business in Baltimore? Here’s a shot at free rent in the Mural Building, financing and mentoring.

This is an effort to get something going in the Waverly commercial corridor along Greenmount Avenue. My daughter is working on this project. She didn't ask me to, but I’m passing it along: “Root to Success Contest,” part of the Growing Greenmount campaign between 29th and 34th Streets. Winners will receive 12 months of rent-free … Continue reading Thinking of starting a business in Baltimore? Here’s a shot at free rent in the Mural Building, financing and mentoring.

The new patriotism: Being smarter, better informed than those still in Trumpworld

It makes me quite happy to see the U.S. Department of Justice nail hundreds of violent fools and other losers for their Trump-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On Friday, a Trump-nominated federal judge sentenced the 25-year-old guy who used a riot shield to crush a D.C. police officer in a … Continue reading The new patriotism: Being smarter, better informed than those still in Trumpworld

Lamentations: A priest and survivor of abuse on what’s been missing in the Church’s response

After the release of the Maryland Attorney General’s depressing report on child sexual abuse by priests and other religious of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, I reached out to Father Gerard McGlone, psychologist, senior research fellow at Georgetown, a Jesuit priest who works with survivors of abuse and a survivor himself.It was too late to incorporate … Continue reading Lamentations: A priest and survivor of abuse on what’s been missing in the Church’s response

What I didn’t know about Dr. Gallo

Until this week, when I looked deeper into his background for my current Sun column, I did not know Dr. Robert Gallo's origin story as a scientist. It was the death of his six-year-old sister, Judith, when Gallo was a boy in Connecticut, that launched his career in cancer and virus research. He went on … Continue reading What I didn’t know about Dr. Gallo

“Those who fought for the Union” essay/oratory contest

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

This is US: Death by gun more likely than death by motor vehicle

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

Riverside memorial

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

Pardon my pessimism

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

The worst thing Republicans have done to their own constituents

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

Why a Baltimore City Councilman refuses interview with the FOX affiliate here

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