Next week students from Johns Hopkins University will scour Baltimore City as volunteers for local agencies and nonprofit organizations in an effort, school leaders say, to mend relationships with surrounding communities while affording students practical experience. The Johns Hopkins Community Impact Internships Program will pay 25 students up to $5,000 to help out in venues […]
Author Archives: Shernay Williams
Special to the AFRO
Posted inBaltimore News
Ehrlich Testifies as Witness in Robocall Trial
Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was called to testify before a grand jury recently in connection with the controversial robocalls conducted during the 2010 gubernatorial election, according to WJZ TV. Ehrlich and several others, including a former aid and the former chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Party, came before the jury, which is […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Young Man and Pre-Teen Missing
Flash-Just In: Georgia Solomon Found In a statement June 1, police said 12-year-old Georgia Solomon has been located “safe and unharmed” and is now with her family. Further details were not released. The Baltimore City Fire Department and family members say they are concerned about a fire recruit, who has been missing since Memorial Day […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Residents Fight for More Youth Jobs
Next month, a city-sponsored youth employment program will pay wages for 5,100 teenagers as they land jobs around the city, but a coalition of community groups says that’s not enough. The Full Employment Baltimore organization wants the summer Youth Works program to serve 9,000 youth – the same figure the group thought was sponsored in […]
Posted inBaltimore News
‘Remember Me’ Works to Memorialize Missing, Murdered Black Women
Like so many around the country, Victoria Kent was horrified by the disappearance of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes. But while many residents merely followed Barnes story, Kent, 23, was inspired into action. It was at a local vigil for the teen that Kent decided Barnes and the countless other Black women who had experienced similar tragedies […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Mayoral Candidate Releases Agenda for a New Baltimore
A mayoral hopeful unveiled a policy agenda last week that he said would rebuild Baltimore’s government. The seven-page plan proposes to overhaul city agencies, ensuring they diligently collaborate to provide timely services; increases disclosures among city workers, agencies, contractors and lobbyists and provides more opportunities for the public to issue complaints and request information. “The […]
Posted inBaltimore News
State Argues HBCUs Not Needed
“If you create a ballpark in a cornfield, it doesn’t mean the baseball players will come,” Assistant Attorney General Campbell Killefer told a federal court judge May 18 in tones of disgust. Even if Maryland were to allocate additional funding to its four HBCUs, he implied, that wouldn’t elevate their retention or graduation rates nor […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Commerce Department Launches Digital Divide Initiative at Coppin
Commerce officials and federal lawmakers chose Coppin State University as the site to unveil a new website providing free internet and computer skills training and a host of best practices tools to help educators instruct new Internet users. The site, www.DigitalLiteracy.gov, offers a range of services and tutorials including how to apply to jobs online, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Partial Victory – State to Redraw Construction Plans for Youth Jail
Plans for a controversial youth jail proposed for East Baltimore has returned to the drawing table after an independent criminal justice research organization reported state prison officials overestimated the bed count. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) released a 24-page bed space analysis May 12, that said the facility would only need 117 […]
Posted inNational News
Obama Approval Ratings Improve
President Obama’s approval ratings have risen to 60 percent according to a recent poll—their highest level in two years—and more than half of Americans believe he is worthy of reelection. The poll was conducted by the Associated Press and marketing research firm GfK from May 5 to May 9, just days after U.S. forces killed […]
Posted inBaltimore News
MTA Holds Red Line Open House
Sheila Davis, a 34-year resident of Hunting Ridge—the serene, isolated community bound by Edmonson Village and Leakin Park—came to an MTA-hosted open house for the proposed Red Line last weekend with a gamut of questions. She’s worried that the new transit system, an above and underground train route that promises to connect East and West […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Young Fights for More Locals on City Projects
City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young says a local hiring preference program could help reduce Baltimore City’s sizeable unemployment rate, which looms at 9.9 percent. At the May 9 City Council meeting, he proposed a resolution that would charge members across five city agencies — the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, Baltimore Development Corporation, […]