Bill Henry kicks off a hearing on the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund by saying it’s been subject to unfair media coverage tinyurl.com/58rnueuc He apologized that he and other architects of BCYF “completely ignored the optics” of a taxpayer-funded entity that wd make it vulnerable to media scrutiny.

Community takes its case against Johns Hopkins DSAI project to City Hall, and loses. tinyurl.com/4evcxj2 Saying concerns about the Data Science & AI Institute were being ignored, @odetteramos.bsky.social had wanted deferral of the approvals Hopkins sought: “The lack of transparency is astounding.”

Today’s hearing on the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund could lead to much-needed accountability. tinyurl.com/9zvpkpfv Right now, sketchy grantmaking and lack of meaningful outcomes reporting make it hard to say if the funds are going to grassroots groups as intended. [OP-ED]

.@Zeke_Cohen confirms @baltimorebrew.bsky.social reporting, says locksmith contract was inflated by $3 million. tinyurl.com/yse4r2hj “There was an error in the calculation,” resulting in a 340% price increase that somehow city agencies and the mayor’s and comptroller’s offices ... didn't catch.

BREAKING Despite passionate pleas from residents and @odetteramos.bsky.social, Bd of Estimates ok's MOU allowing Johns Hopkins to make stormwater improvements on Wyman Park Drive to include tree cutting and, during construction, shutting the road down tinyurl.com/mwsb759v [this story to be updated]

City asked to approve stormwater upgrades for Johns Hopkins planned data science and AI buildings that will require tree cutting. tinyurl.com/mwsb759v Neighborhood critics of the DSAI project have targeted two items on today's Board of Estimates agenda.

Outgoing Inspector General Kelly Madigan calls for more transparency and higher standards in Baltimore County, as she heads out the door. tinyurl.com/5enjrkr4 We recap some of her investigations that ruffled feathers ... and the harsh attack from two council members that she survived.

BREAKING - The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) cancels plans to sell Sisson Street Drop-Off Center to a private developer. tinyurl.com/muhyptuj "We cancelled the RFP," @OtisRolley told the Task Force last night.

There's actually no authority in Baltimore County law for anyone to appoint an “acting” Inspector General. tinyurl.com/4a8jaypc Ironically, Kelly Madigan’s resignation sets up #worstcasescenario for proponents of a strong IG: Kathy Klausmeier will appoint someone for a 4-year term [OP-ED]

Now it looks like the @baltimorepolice.bsky.social parking garage - undergoing $11 million (so far) in repairs - won't reopen until 2027. tinyurl.com/53cydcbu (They're going to have to update that sign 👇 that says "Completion: Spring 2025.")

In his zeal for the zoning bills going thru his committee, @electryandorsey.bsky.social is skirting the rules and suppressing community voices, say critics. tinyurl.com/rd6deeav Including residents who have filed complaints with the state about his conduct of last week's hearing.

[email protected] 's handling of controversial zoning bills is sparking protests. tinyurl.com/rd6deeav There's a complaint to the state about him disallowing virtual testimony. Recently a councilman asked @zekecohen.bsky.social to stop zoning bills from going through his committee.

The TV tower-painting company that showered TV Hill with lead paint chips in 2022 pleads guilty and is fined $100,000 tinyurl.com/y95zh8wk Still pending, civil suits against tower owner TTI - managed by three Baltimore-area TV stations: @wbaltv11 , @wjz , and @WMAR2News.

Last-minute no-show by @BDCBaltimore last night angered Sisson Street Task Force chair @odetteramos.bsky.social who noted it was the BDC that initiated legislation to sell the land to a private developer in the first place tinyurl.com/46ca2a73 "They are not transparent.This is a huge problem!"

In do-over election, sanitation worker Stancil McNair wins Local 44 presidency – beating Trevor Taylor by an even greater margin than last time. tinyurl.com/kxjpwwhf "We got work to do and now we're finally on our way," he said today outside the @afscmemd.org union hall.

Local 44 election to be held tomorrow, after judge rejects sanitation worker’s bid to halt it. tinyurl.com/msdws5u8 Judge Abelson said an @afscme.bsky.social judicial panel’s decision to throw out the August election - that swept an insurgent slate into office - would likely be upheld.

A locksmith contract, set to rise by millions of dollars, is deferred by @zekecohen.bsky.social. Baltimore's spending board backs away from a 400% increase for locksmith services. tinyurl.com/ya7tky5w Questions remain . . . but documents show who okayed the previous expenditures.

Baltimore sanitation workers’ emergency motion to halt the rerun of the Local 44 election will be heard in federal court. tinyurl.com/3scef5db Stancil McNair, and other winners of the August leadership vote, are seeking a court injunction to stop a new election on December 6.

Sensing the public mood, a City Council committee pumps the brakes on @mayorbmscott.bsky.social high-priority zoning bill, 25-0066. tinyurl.com/yvx32f9a It was the culmination of community opposition and organizing, simmering for months, but ramping up sharply in recent weeks.

Winners of Local 44 election file injunction to block election do-over tinyurl.com/mrfj3tz7 Stancil McNair and his slate say 2nd election is “unjustified and unlawful.” @afscmemd.org aryland concedes judge could find the union “breached its Constitution by ordering a new election.”

Pondering some Black Friday shopping with one of those quick-cash apps? tinyurl.com/53wm65a9 A look at how Baltimore sued one for being predatory- meanwhile MD lawmakers earlier this year passed an industry bill that made it easier for them to operate. By @maddioneill.bsky.social Neill for The Brew

. @mayorbmscott.bsky.social denies trying to influence the hotly-contested Local 44 sanitation workers election. Today one candidate stood next to the mayor at City Hall while his opponent, the current union president, was out on his trash pickup route. tinyurl.com/yfhs57hu

Baltimore residents rally to say: bills removing zoning guardrails will worsen racial disparities, not heal them tinyurl.com/yc6vu3ft “We have heard every justification possible, every fallacy used to advance this bill."

IT'S OUT - The Sisson Street Task force takes the Falls Road site for a trash drop-off center - the one beside the Jones Falls - off the table. tinyurl.com/2nkwnudd The chair now says the group’s work won’t be done by @mayorbmscott.bsky.social's December deadline.

No official announcement yet, but Local 44 re-vote is reportedly happening on December 6. Trevor Taylor, the losing candidate who triggered the election re-run, is out campaigning on social media. Xx tinyurl.com/6p8f649f

"Why I lost faith in zoning." tinyurl.com/5n8sh428 Baltimore’s former zoning board executive director, on why she supports @mayorbmscott.bsky.social bills to promote more density and multi-family housing in the city. [OP-ED]

Tensions flare as Council VP Middleton denounces @mayorbmscott.bsky.social's upzoning bill 0066 and supporters push back. Both sides point to issues of race, as a sweeping bill to spur more multi-family housing in Baltimore is debated. tinyurl.com/yc3k7d52

The taxpayer-funded Baltimore Children & Youth Fund has spent tens of millions of dollars and, in its latest IRS filing, discloses 36% went to administration and staffing costs. tinyurl.com/mu4yuvd9 Striking details from an IG report and other sources on an org that gets little City Hall oversight.

Supporters and opponents gear up for tomorrow’s hearing on a zoning bill aimed at promoting multi-unit housing and density, Bill 25-0066. tinyurl.com/yx6nwtxz

By enabling “gentle density,” @mayorbmscott.bsky.social zoning legislation will support real people with real needs in my neighborhood. Anxieties about it, while sincere, are misplaced. tinyurl.com/29z4wv3f [OP-ED]

Baltimore residents, including Black residents, favor zoning that promotes home ownership as a way to build wealth and have a good quality of life. Why dismantle that with the @mayorbmscott.bsky.social administration's Bill 25-0066? [OP-ED] tinyurl.com/43psx9tb

The Baltimore County Council may have violated the law when it held a closed session on the appointment of a new county exec. But neither Kelly Madigan, the county's "watchdog" inspector general, nor the county attorney appears ready to call them out. #passingthebuck tinyurl.com/3dwkcuvr [OP-ED]

No progress for Baltimore if it allows neighborhoods to cater only to "the people who own." tinyurl.com/yuwennva So said @electryandorsey.bsky.social at the 10/30/25 Planning Commission mtg. As part of our coverage of the pending zoning bill (0066), we publish a transcript of his remarks.

Warning from Marble Hill: Zoning bill will reverse our historic Black neighborhood’s progress. tinyurl.com/3chfhjrc By stripping away zoning safeguards, Bill 25-0066 encourages speculative buyers to divide up properties and exploit communities, this West Baltimore resident says [OP-ED]

Those Confederate monuments - long off their granite pedestals in Baltimore - are now in a Los Angeles museum, paint spatters and all. tinyurl.com/yc52x8wn “They're a crystalline symbol of a white supremacist ideology," the curators say

Two workplace deaths preceded the big wage increase just ratified by Baltimore Local 44 sanitation workers. Still unsettled - the legal battle at AFSCME Maryland over the election of grassroots activist Stancil McNair. tinyurl.com/yjnzbnrm

Have you seen it?! Romare Bearden’s mural “Baltimore Uproar” in the Upton Metro Station.

Baltimore officials came under fire for homeless shelter conditions and adverse impacts on the community at an at-times contentious City Council hearing this week. tinyurl.com/mxjpcmt9

UPDATE - CAO Faith Leach reached out to The Brew to note that the executive coaching contract we reported on this week describes the payments as “$1,800/month” and that in addition to the 10 monthly one-hour sessions, it covers "unlimited check-ins." tinyurl.com/3ac525wk

Baltimore's Chief Administrative Officer Faith Leach arranges for ten $1,800-an-hour executive coaching sessions with her ex-D.C. boss. tinyurl.com/3ac525wk The city's Board of Estimates – including Leach herself, filling in for @mayorbmscott.bsky.social – voted to approve the spending today.

A nice alphabetically organized Baltimore neighborhood saddled with a not-so-nice name. tinyurl.com/2sm5m4x3 Folks love living in "The A to K" but why's it also sometimes called “Joseph Lee?” Who was he? A white-hot bigot, it turns out. No wonder they rebranded as "Bayview."

Werewolves of Hampden . . . and other creatures spotted last night. Ahoo! tinyurl.com/mtefubdr Did photographer Jennifer Bishop snap a shot of you at Hampden Halloweenfest?

Acknowledging it’s a leap into the unknown, Planning Commission signs off on @mayorbmscott.bsky.social's sweeping re-zoning bill. "We need to grow...the solution is to try more stuff, do more things, listen to people from other places and see what happens." www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/10/31/a...

Behind the plans for relocating the Sisson Street trash drop-off center: Two politically powerful players. tinyurl.com/5n8pncjc Seawall Development and MCB Real Estate own possible alternative sites, but you’d never know it listening to Baltimore city officials Monday night.

City Council seeks crackdown on smoke and vape shops modeled on recent “dollar store” legislation. tinyurl.com/2yhd955b Lately, 13 smoke shops have popped up in a 3-block area of his East Baltimore district, says Councilman Antonio Glover, some selling fentanyl-laced marijuana products.

Defending ending parking requirements for new apartments, Councilman Jermaine Jones said residents deserve better kinds of protections. tinyurl.com/5fk2yaxk Councilwoman Phylicia Porter said they've been "the only lever" for communities oversaturated w/ substance abuse and mental health clinics.

W/ little change from last week, Council approves @mayorbmscott.bsky.social' s zoning bills tonight. tinyurl.com/5fk2yaxk Councilman Torrence said Black citizens were being ignored and ppl waved “Democracy over Developers” signs, but the rule-relaxing, density-promoting bills passed as expected.

There’s a better way to craft bills that will change the rules for Baltimore housing. It starts with fairness and honesty – elements missing from the dialogue around zoning and housing legislation now being pushed through the City Council [OP-ED] www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/10/27/t...

A look at the last minute grassroots persuasion campaign mounted ahead of tonight's critical vote on controversial zoning bills backed by @mayorbmscott.bsky.social and @electryandorsey.bsky.social tinyurl.com/4vyj4a9c

Lobbying intensifies ahead of vote on @mayorbmscott.bsky.social controversial Baltimore zoning legislation. tinyurl.com/4vyj4a9c Opponents of two key bills – narrowly approved in a preliminary vote by the City Council – seek to flip votes at tomorrow’s meeting.