Dan Rodricks

One year ago today, on March 5, 2020, Maryland’s Public Health Laboratory in Baltimore reported the first three positive cases of the novel coronavirus in the state. The infected people were from Montgomery County and had contracted the virus while traveling overseas. "We have been actively preparing for this situation over the last several weeks … Continue reading Where were you, what were you planning to do when the coronavirus arrived?

"We're not a nonprofit, but we're not a profit maximizer, either." I heard a businessman on a mission say that the other day, and while I found it refreshing, it also reminded me of something: People who have a lot of money want more of it. To be sure, there are different levels of desire … Continue reading Wanting to help the poor, but only at double-digit returns

Richardson If you receive the print edition of The Baltimore Sunday Sun, you'll find an outdated number in my column: Lyneir Richardson and Chicago TREND have raised $274,500 from 108 investors. I filed my column on Friday when TREND had raised $239,500 from 101 local investors. Because of The Sun's deadlines for print, I could … Continue reading Lyneir Richardson’s Big Idea: “Inclusive ownership” of a Baltimore shopping center

"In Europe, they've been doing this for years." How many times have you heard that when it comes to, oh, about a thousand things? The nations of Europe have run ahead of the United States on public transportation and train travel, health insurance, care for the aged, firearms regulation, infrastructure, energy conservation, recycling and all … Continue reading ‘In Europe, they’ve been doing this for years’

Anyone remember when Larry Hogan, as the Republican candidate for governor in 2014, bashed the O'Malley administration and his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, over the messed-up rollout of Obamacare in Maryland? Hogan included the criticism in one of his campaign ads, saying Brown was a weak leader and "just not ready" to be … Continue reading Maryland should’ve had one-stop vax registration from the start

Those ugly nests of dormant and live cables and wires that hang over alleys in rowhouse neighborhoods are a blight on Baltimore, and it's time to do something about them. Dozens of Baltimoreans have complained to me about them and shared photographs of the overhead tangles. Communications companies leave zombie wires hanging every time someone … Continue reading Baltimore: Time to take action against Wire Hell

Patience is a virtue, they say, and I have been therefore virtuous when it comes to adjusting to changes in lifestyle during the pandemic and in my personal wait (ongoing at this writing) for vaccination. I think I have been patient with the dog we adopted a year ago, a sweet animal who, to my … Continue reading No more suffering the insufferable Trump cultist

My column in Sunday's Baltimore Sun starts with a visit to the big drinking-water project at the city's Druid Lake. Baltimore now has the largest underground storage tank for drinking water in the whole wide world. That’s according to city officials and engineers who have earned the boast. The massive tank, located in Druid Hill … Continue reading Infrastucture: Another Trump fail, another Biden repair job needed

Marking the 20th anniversary of The Sun's Carbonara Cookoff The Baltimore Sun February 21, 2001 Donna Crivello and Elia Mannetta (Elizabeth Malby photos) Maybe all Italian food qualifies as comfort food -- the good stuff that warms the spirit as it nourishes the body -- so you'll probably think I'm as nutty as pinoli to … Continue reading Crazy for Carbonara: The Ultimate Italian Comfort Dish

The news that Maryland businessman and philanthropist Stewart Bainum stepped up to purchase the Baltimore Sun and the other publications of the Baltimore Sun Media Group and run our news organization as a nonprofit is a potentially huge development for readers in Baltimore and Maryland who want to be informed about life in their communities … Continue reading Some welcome news about The Baltimore Sun