Baltimore City officials are closing four community recreation centers this week as part of what Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake calls her “restructuring plan” to overhaul the city’s rec system. The centers slated to close are located in different West Baltimore neighborhoods, but are close enough that children in those areas will be forced to travel substantially […]
Author Archives: Alexis Taylor
AFRO Staff Writer
Posted inHealth
Cord Blood: a Valuable Delivery Byproduct, Physician Says
Umbilical cord blood, teeming with potentially life-saving and disease-fighting substances, is more than worth the ten to fifteen minutes it takes to collect in the delivery room, according to an expert on child-birth procedures. Though reservations about the process exist, one thing is clear: gathering and storing the blood inside the umbilical cord at birth […]
Posted inHealth
Mental Abuse Wounds Kids as Deeply as Physical, Sexual Wrongs, Pediatrics Says
It’s seen and heard all the time: parents belittling their children, talking down to them, or ridiculing them for minor acts of misbehavior or disobedience. Yet, how many times have these acts occurred in public and someone actually intervened the same as if it were a punch to the stomach, or an inappropriate touch? Studies […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Bill to Ban Abortions after 20 Weeks in Washington, D.C. Fails
Legislators who advocate abortion rights for U.S. women added another victory July 31 as a bill to ban the procedure in Washington, D.C. after 20 weeks of gestation, failed to clear the House of Representatives. The D.C. Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, (H.R. 3803), was introduced by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and it failed, on […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Rob’s Barbershop: Community Changing Lives
Robert W. Cradle has spent his professional life transforming customers one cut, one shave and one spin in the barber chair at a time. Being therapist and friend to those who come into his shop on what could arguably be their worst day is all he knows and has ever desired to do. Representing all […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Cuts in Coppin State’s Workforce Anger Union, Non-Faculty Staff
Widespread layoffs and workforce restructuring over the last two months have triggered discontent at Coppin State University. Since the beginning of June, 25 of Coppin’s non-faculty staff members have been let go, with 12 workers at the 52-acre campus laid off, 13 more told that their contracts would not be renewed and 14 vacant positions […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Jerry Isaac, Murdered at 22, Unsolved After Five Months
Jerry Isaac had been a diligent convert in spreading the teachings of Islam and dedicated all his extra time to helping those around him. He was a peaceful young man with a bright outlook. Peace was on his mind on Feb. 13 when he broke up a fight between at least two young men outside […]
Posted inBaltimore News
“Day of Hope” Festival Comes to Baltimore’s Darley Park, South Clifton Neighborhoods
Giving communities across the Baltimore City more than just a day of food and games, the “Day of Hope” festivals hosted by Somebody Cares and the Eastern District Transformation team are quickly turning into a Baltimore institution. Aiming to uplift a community that has been rocked by the deaths of both Sean Johnson, 12, and […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Extreme Drought Causing Uptick in Food Prices
Severe heat waves, worsened by rain deficits, have made conditions perfect for one of the worst droughts to hit the farm industry in half a century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said July 25. Whole fields of crops in the Midwest have shriveled under the relentless rays of the sun, driving up feeding costs […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News
AFRO Clean Block Campaign Revived, Refined
At its height, the AFRO Clean Blockers was an army of 8,000 children using brooms, buckets of paint and elbow grease to take back their neighborhoods one inch of pavement at a time. The initiative aimed its’ entire arsenal at combating urban decay and crime seen in neighborhoods across Baltimore City and they were more […]
Posted inBaltimore News
BCCC Probation Lifted, Now Free to Move Forward
Dr. Carolane Williams holds nothing back when discussing the struggles Baltimore City Community College has faced under her command in the past year. Never doubting for a second that the college would overcome a brutal probation period, now lifted, Williams says it was never an option to move anywhere but forward. “It’s a high note,” […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Recent Bust Typical of South-to-North Cigarette Running, Franchot Says
Responding to an increase in illegal cigarette trafficking throughout the state of Maryland, Comptroller Peter Franchot held a news conference on July 25 to discuss his plan to toughen penalties. He also released the latest statistics on the illegal cigarette trade, and contraband alcohol and fuel. “…We’ve had an epidemic increase in cigarette smuggling and […]