Emily Opilo
City Hall reporter
Emily Opilo covers City Hall for The Baltimore Banner. Before joining The Banner, she spent five years on the same beat for The Baltimore Sun and was named Baltimore magazine’s City Hall reporter of the year for 2024. A Pennsylvania native, Emily previously covered city politics for The Morning Call in Allentown.
The latest from Emily
Wes Moore’s future is tied to Baltimore. That cuts both ways.
Gov. Wes Moore has emphasized Baltimore during his first term. The city’s trajectory and his political future are connected.
Baltimore City Council ready to create agency handling lower-risk 911 calls
Baltimore lawmakers greenlit plans for a new department that would divert 911 calls away from police and into the hands of mental health professionals, despite the fact that officials have no estimate for how much it will cost.
Baltimore approves 25-year tax savings for UMB ‘college town’ project
The University of Maryland, Baltimore, was awarded a tax break Wednesday that will abate $80 million over the next 25 years for a proposed “college town” development.
Why BGE thinks city residents should pay higher utility bills than county residents
The proposal calls for city customers to face a surcharge of around $9 per month to accommodate conduit-related expenses.
Harborplace plans revealed: A luxury hotel and $7,000 rents
A confidential report reveals plans for $7,000 apartments, a luxury hotel and up to $366 million in tax relief for Baltimore's Harborplace redevelopment.
Baltimore’s Baby Fund could aid new parents. Here’s how it would work.
After courts struck down an attempt in 2024, the Baltimore Baby Fund is on city ballots this cycle. What would the fund do, and who would decide where the money goes?
Baltimore’s modern mayors ranked, according to Brandon Scott
We asked Mayor Brandon Scott to rank the modern mayors of Baltimore. To our surprise, he did.
Baltimore might spend $8.5M on properties it sold for $175,000
Baltimore officials have proposed buying back — at nearly 50 times the sale price — a swath of properties the city owned decades ago to use them as apartments for the homeless.
Harborplace developer never formally applied for downtown tax break
Baltimore’s law department says no applications have been submitted for the city’s downtown property tax break program. Yet the city is poised to award a tax break anyway.
What the new leader of Baltimore’s Public Safety Committee has planned
Last month, Baltimore City Council member Mark Conway was ousted as chair of the influential Public Safety Committee in favor of council member John Bullock.
Ex-Baltimore school commissioner’s groups got millions in taxpayer money
Government funds made up the entirety of KEYS Empowers' $4.7 million in revenue for 2023 and 2024.
Baltimore school commissioner resigns after FBI searches site of his nonprofit
FBI agents on Wednesday searched a building where Baltimore City School Commissioner Mujahid Muhammad operates a nonprofit mental health organization, according to the FBI’s Baltimore press office.
Mayor posts 8 a.m. email challenging IG’s contempt claim over records access
Isabel Cumming filed a motion midday Monday saying the city has failed to restore her office’s direct access to city records as ordered by a Baltimore Circuit Court judge.
What we learned this week about Baltimore’s plans for data centers
Here’s what you need to know about what the Baltimore City Council is considering and what could be next.
Mayor Scott appeals order to restore inspector general’s access to city records
The administration will ask an appeals court to stay the production of records.
Baltimore mayor must restore inspector general’s records access, judge says
The decision brings to a close the first chapter in a legal dispute between Mayor Brandon Scott and Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming over access to city records. A city appeal is now likely.
New Baltimore agency would divert more 911 calls away from police
Baltimore lawmakers are considering a new Department of Neighborhood Safety that would incorporate the city’s existing crime diversion office and bolster 911 responses that don’t include traditional law enforcement, according to a city official.
Baltimore council shake-up: Conway removed from key public safety post
Conway, who was informed of the decision Thursday, said the changes were retaliation for his outspokenness on the council.
It used to take months to get a trash can in Baltimore. Things are changing.
A Banner analysis shows city residents wait weeks, often months, and sometimes almost a year to get a trash can when they request one.
Baltimore official tried to block IG from accessing their documents, report says
Investigations of the same city employee have taken on growing importance in the fight between the mayor and the inspector general over city records.
