Local government

Baltimore's revived attempt at a focused deterrence model has shown promise – coinciding with a 33% reduction in shootings during a pilot run in the Western District – but also cracks at points during the city's aggressive expansion push.

A new software system is gradually transforming how the city runs, the city's chief financial officer told City Council members Tuesday.

Baltimore County Council chair Julian Jones wants to exempt liquor stores from a forthcoming prohibition on single-use carryout bags that will apply to nearly all other businesses, including grocery markets, pharmacies, and most other retailers.

Thought leaders and newsmakers gathered at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore for The Baltimore Banner’s inaugural iMPACT Maryland thought-leadership conference.

Following years of poor recycling rates and lessened waste diversion, solid waste officials say they want to expand programs to encourage those who live in the county to recycle materials beyond what’s picked up curbside.

A shooting that injured five young people during homecoming week at Morgan State University should serve as a call to action for an entire community, columnist E.R. Shipp says.

Whether Mayor Brandon Scott and Sheila Dixon can change undecided voters’ fixed perceptions — or whether it encourages another candidate to jump in — is a significant dynamic in the still-early 2024 contest.

Baltimore needs to prioritize emergency rental assistance to protect families from the physical and mental harm caused by evictions, representatives of two community advocacy groups say.

Gov. Wes Moore is turning 45 and he’s throwing what could be one heck of a party.

Rev. Kobi Little of the Baltimore NAACP called for the resignation of two city housing officials and said that Mayor Brandon Scott “needs to either step up and lead or step aside” following a fire at a vacant building that damaged the organization’s offices.

The bill, introduced this week, would require a portion of all new residential developments with a certain number of units to be set aside for people with incomes at or below the Baltimore-area median.

Individuals don’t understand crime in their neighborhood, but communities do.

The 42-year-old filed her campaign paperwork with the state elections board earlier this week, but told The Baltimore Banner on Thursday she’s “still exploring” the race.

In the mayor’s race, Fox45 viewers prefer Sheila Dixon or some other candidate. WBAL viewers prefer Mayor Brandon Scott.

Institutions seeking to successfully engage with Baltimore’s Latino community need to appreciate its diversity and understand its challenges, community activists and leaders say.

The group, People for Elected Accountability & Civic Engagement, updated its statement of organization in August to reflect the new ballot measure.

Jason Mitchell resigned from the Department of Public Works earlier this year following a tumultuous tenure marked by and E. coli scare, a state takeover of a city wastewater plant, and curtailed recycling services.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a Wednesday morning press conference that the shooting likely stemmed from a dispute between “two smaller groups.”

Wednesday’s approval for Worley’s contract followed a dramatic City Council meeting Monday in which police reform activists interrupted proceedings with opposition and demanded a say.

The twin feelings of city residents — that Baltimore is headed in the wrong direction, but also that its future is bright — are shared by a majority of respondents, a new survey from Goucher College Poll in partnership with The Baltimore Banner shows.