The players at the center of the crisis are out-of-towners — a group of investors from a small community in New York. @halliemiller.bsky.social , Sahana Jayaraman and Giacomo Bologna on how Baltimore's problem could be the start of something larger. www.thebanner.com/community/ho...

NEW INVESTIGATION: Investors have spent years falling in love with the 'debt service coverage ratio' loan. The loans have allowed access to vast sums with few conditions, and now make up 40% of mortgage dollars in Baltimore. Now they're going bad. (Story below ⬇️)

The child care scholarship is the main way Maryland families get help with child care. Since many can't afford it otherwise, day cares and preschools rely on vouchers to fill spots. So what happens when the program gets frozen - and doesn't come back when predicted? www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Hear ye, hear ye: The do’s and don’ts of Renn Fest

Overall, 438.9 positions were eliminated to save millions, school officials reported. Just over 300 of those positions came from inside schools. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

I wrote my first ever obituary this week, about a Morgan State professor and former dean who truly transformed the lives of those he taught. "Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University" www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University

You've probably heard of Head Start, the federally funded, free early childhood ed program a lot of people worry might be going away soon. But Howard County is forging ahead - and extending seats to babies as young as 6 weeks old www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

ICYMI: People with a variety of views have a LOT to say about the University Boulevard Corridor plan in Montgomery County, which aims to increase transit-oriented housing and safer transit pathways. Here, I lay out the facts and attempt to dispel some myths: www.thebanner.com/community/lo...

NEW: The IRS has scrutinized Baltimore nonprofit Second Chance, its appraiser and donors for years. Donors have been writing off their entire homes, rather than just salvaged materials. Tax guys say, uh, no. Read @lillianreed.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com www.thebanner.com/economy/seco...

Today in Maryland higher ed news: The University System of Maryland Chancellor spoke about the "crippling" federal + state cuts the USM has faced, while the president of Johns Hopkins University announced their hiring freeze is continuing. Read: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

The national Blue Ribbon program has come to an end. @mayaklora.bsky.social wrote about what Maryland educators had to say about it. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

My pilgrimage from Baltimore to Buc-ee’s

I'm so excited to share my new freelancing website, madeleineoneill.com! If you're looking for a Baltimore-based writer for courts/criminal justice/legal coverage, features, editing, or help locating public records, I'm your girl. 📸 by the incredible @jessicagallagher.bsky.social!

My dad, who had a heart transplant this summer, is on United Healthcare. I recently found my neighbor weeping in her car because she wasn't sure how she would pay for cancer treatments at Hopkins. This is absolutely terrible, and it punishes patients most of all: www.thebanner.com/community/pu...

It's been over five years since the onset of COVID-19, which means the babies born into the pandemic are off to pre-K 4 and kindergarten. How exactly can teachers support these kiddos, who spent their earliest years in isolation? I dug into it: www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

More than two dozen Maryland professors were placed on Charlie Kirk’s professor watchlist. Some now worry about their own safety now that Kirk is dead. Others are grappling with how to mourn someone that caused trauma in their own lives. Read: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

NEW: The Trump administration is proposing cutting all funding for TRIO, a set of programs that helps low-income, first-generation students attend college. More than 12,000 Marylanders relied on the program last year. Here’s the potential impact: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

IT'S CENSUS DAY at @thebaltimorebanner.com! The release of new 1-year ACS data told us a lot about the changing demographics and living experiences of counties across the country. Here's what we learned about Maryland:

As universities embrace AI, St. John’s College backs books. Is it enough?

Is Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act working? It didn’t stop a Harford book ban.

Really great, contextual reporting from @mayaklora.bsky.social here—

By @mayaklora.bsky.social: Some say this nun created a ‘climate of fear.’ The archdiocese elevated her. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Moore makes it official: Governor is running for reelection

Some say this nun created a ‘climate of fear.’ The archdiocese elevated her.

Julius Warren Jr., Black-owned barbershop owner, was an institution in Howard County

a comfort read for your Thursday

Locust Point residents have had to live all summer with a constant hum, about the volume of a vacuum cleaner. How does their neighborhood compare to the loudest places in Baltimore? We took to the streets (with a mic!) to find out! www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Somerset County, where there's an ongoing fight over the MAGA-aligned takeover of the school board, was the second-most-improved in the state for literacy in this year's MCAP results. Math improvements are coming along at a much more sluggish pace www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

NEW: Amid declining enrollment and a multi-million dollar structural deficit, the University of Baltimore is consolidating majors. Majors such as history and English are being eliminated and consolidated into larger programs. Read: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

My colleague Talia Richman dug into the new MoCo MCAP scores and what they mean for MCPS: www.thebanner.com/montgomery-c...

Me upon receiving my preorder of R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis yesterday

Censure of Baltimore County school board member 'defies reason,' state rules www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

20 Baltimore County schools improve by double digits on state test

Some of Maryland’s largest literacy gains are coming out of Baltimore www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Powerful quote from Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wife as he was taken into ICE custody again: "Remember this moment when you go home and see your kids. You have once again kidnapped my husband." www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

From @thebaltimorebanner.com www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

NEW | The country’s oldest operating roller coaster once weathered a fire and a relocation to Maryland. It might not, however, survive a corporate merger. After millions of visitors, but years of neglect, Six Flags America is closing. www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...

this story from @jessmnocera.bsky.social (and great photos by @jessicagallagher.bsky.social!) on street names in a Howard County is a true delight.

An ICE officer told an angry crowd he had a warrant before a Baltimore County arrest. He lied

My very first story for The Banner was about how one nursery school director's ousting inspired her entire staff to resign. Plenty of families left, too. Now, that original school has closed while Miss Amy and her teachers are opening a new Howard County school www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

By @darreonna.bsky.social: From the streets to second chances: How Roca is changing the lives of Baltimore’s young men. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Maryland tax-free week ends Saturday, making it the best time to grab the clothes and book bags your kid needs for the new year. Here's how else to save on back-to-school season despite the rising cost of living & tariff threats www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-...

Don’t let tariffs get you down: How to save on back-to-school shopping www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-...

I'm going to publish the entirety of an exchange I just had with the press office of the DOJ. I want you to see how they are talking about truth.

The all-white school board’s is the latest in what some see as a drumbeat of right wing actions taken in recent years by conservatives who join Maryland’s nonpartisan school boards. More than 200 people gathered for a rally ahead of the Aug. 7 meeting in Calvert County.

A recent national study shows mental health has declined significantly for moms over the past ~decade. That's true in Baltimore too, experts say, but there are also ways to get help. Find out how in my latest www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/ea...

Five years ago, Morgan State University’s president had a big idea: He said the HBCU would earn Carnegie R1 status by 2030. Despite Trump cuts, the Baltimore university has already hit the numbers it needs to qualify, five years earlier than expected: www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/hi...

Hello prospective and renewing Birdland members. I want to talk to you about this! Looking for how ticket-buyers are feeling -- good, bad or indifferent (I have not seen a lot of "indifferent" though). DMs are open, or email me at kyle.goon AT thebaltimorebanner dot com.

Head Start, the child tax credit, extra English help: These are all things undocumented and kids in mixed-status families stand to lose under the 2nd Trump admin. Anti-immigrant rhetoric & increased deportations are eating away at kids' mental health www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/ea...