Columns

COLUMN | Westgate Circle in Annapolis is more than an embarrassingly empty canvas for public art, a small round of grass that screams, “Fill this space!” It’s a symbol of what’s wrong with publicly funded art in Maryland’s small-town state capital.

COLUMN | Tristan King is not my kid, but his ordeal makes me, as the mother of a brown son who looks a little like him, wonder why the systems failed and how we can shore them up.

COLUMN | Most local governments don’t want you to know that they’re working with ICE. It’s not the horrific campaign to drag pregnant women and friendly neighbors to the border and give them a sharp kick. It’s the routine business of removing criminal aliens.

Manager Craig Albernaz said the pitching coaches were “studs” at December’s winter meetings and called them “elite” both then and at the start of camp.

COLUMN | Meteorologists’ apologies were almost as wild Tuesday as their forecasts were on Monday. Spring arrives at 10:46 a.m. Friday, if you define the vernal equinox as the first day. As this week showed, it is a difficult season for the forecaster.

COLUMN | For 30 years, the Eastport Oyster Boys have been at the center of Chesapeake Bay folk. With a benefit concert Sunday in Annapolis, they celebrate a shift to a slower pace and spending more time on their own boats.

I bet everyone around and employed by the Orioles has watched the last couple of weeks play out thinking Henderson was going to be on a mission.

COLUMN | For a first-year manager, Craig Albernaz has tremendous self-confidence, a combative personality and a motormouth. The Orioles have felt stagnant too often for the past season and a half. It’s hard to imagine Albernaz letting that happen.

It seems, as a parent, that Baltimore City Public School kids have too much time off. Some educators tried to set me straight.

COLUMN | The Mimi DiPietro Family Skating Center is scheduled to close forever after this season with no plan to replace it with a new indoor ice rink. The Baltimore Banners hockey team, whose existence may hinge on the dome staying open, is hosting a weekend rally in an effort to extend its life for a few more years.

COLUMN | The Orioles have a talented group of potential reinforcements who will be in the high minors this year and could contribute in the major leagues.

COLUMN | This is Holly Beach Farm. Minutes outside of Annapolis, it is a pocket wilderness hidden next to highways and urban centers. The state bought it for $1 and is figuring out how the public can enjoy it without loving it to death.

COLUMN | Gov. Wes Moore launched the experiment in November, giving state employees a chatbot to speed up approval of benefits like food stamps. What happens, though, when your innovation partner gets banned by the federal government?

COLUMN| I’ve been having flashbacks to a time, four decades ago, when my family was trapped in the Middle East, unable to get home. It was awful. But at least, unlike the Americans currently trying to make their way out of the same region, there weren’t any bombs.

COLUMN | At 24, Coby Mayo has flipped positions a few times. Now back at third, he’s trying to see a new coaching staff and a return to an old position as a clean slate rather than just the latest plot twist.

It took until last fall — the end of Bassitt’s three-year deal — for Toronto to put it together and finally realize their potential, coming inches from beating the Dodgers for last year’s title.

COLUMN | This is an all-time screw-up that makes Baltimore look either overly timid, underinformed or both.

COLUMN | The pursuit and crash that killed Dimeka Thornton started shortly after midnight on April 8, 2024, in a hotel parking lot in Windsor Mill.

COLUMN | Existing and excelling as a Black woman can be exhausting. This business owner chose to rest.

COLUMN | The Ravens’ franchise quarterback has a lot to gain from an extension before the new league year begins Wednesday. But the biggest advantage will be how the Ravens can help him with a better supporting cast.