Category: Baltimore News

Gay marriage advocates took to Baltimore City Hall July 12 to revive the same-sex marriage debate with the announcement of a new coalition, which plans to lobby the measure during next year’s General Assembly session. Marylanders for Marriage Equality includes a handful of progressive activist groups, including Equality Maryland, an LGBT lobbying group; Progressive Maryland, […]

The recent endorsement of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake by a longtime alliance of Black pastors incited a fiery debate on social networking sites last week. Community activists and everyday citizens expressed disdain for the endorsement and its process. “This is shameful, disgusting and repulsive. Shame, Shame, Shame,” Rev. Cortly CD Witherspoon wrote on his Facebook wall. […]

State utility regulators drafted a set of policies July 7 that would require electricity providers to scan public areas around the state for stray electricity. The Maryland Public Service Commission, during a day-long rule making session, mulled over “The Deanna Camille Green Rule,” which was proposed by the parents of the 14-year-old electrocuted in Druid […]

An outspoken principal, who openly protested violence in her school’s Northeast Baltimore community after one of her students was fatally shot last May, was abruptly dismissed from her job June 27. Parents, students and community leaders are now rallying for Dr. Camille Bell’s position at Montebello Elementary/ Junior Academy to be reinstated. A cluster of […]

After months of shaking hands and participating in mayoral debates, City Councilman Carl Stokes, D-12, decided not to run for mayor and filed for his 12th District seat instead. He made the decision the morning of July 4, one day prior to the filing deadline, he told the AFRO in a phone interview. “It was […]

Caroline Moore, leader of the team behind the pending 28-acre State Center Project, made an announcement about the massive development via e-mail recently. “Join us as we celebrate the signing of the ‘Economic Inclusion Plan,’ on Saturday, July 9th 11 am,” Moore’s message read. “This agreement between the project developer, the State Center Neighborhood Alliance […]

The West Baltimore businessman, real estate tycoon, venture capitalist and political heavyweight who famously had an illegal gambling conviction overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, died June 27 from pneumonia at the age of 97. William Lloyd “Little Willie” Adams might have been one of the wealthiest Black men in America, with an estimated worth […]

In August 2008, Baltimore City Police Maj. Melvin Russell realized he wasn’t going to combat crime and help build sustainable neighborhoods solely through police tactics. “We need a holistic approach and we need help from everyone – the community, faith leaders and the business community,” he said. His East Baltimore district is the smallest in […]

Roughly 11 weeks remain until Baltimore’s mayoral primary, but Democratic candidates are already dominating airwaves, television and print media, publicizing how they would transform Baltimore if they were mayor. Current Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who, by far, boasts the most money in her campaign coffers and the most endorsements, made her official announcement before a crowd […]

More tailored, expedited services for drug-addicted residents could help reduce Baltimore City’s crime rate, according to a Northeast Baltimore pastor. The Rev. Milton Williams, of New Life Evangelical Baptist Church, says that’s why he’s launching a walk-in component to his drug addiction treatment center on July 5. It will allow patients to receive doses of […]

One in 30 Maryland residents is a problem gambler, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The label refers to someone who is, according to substance abuse experts, at risk to become a gambling addict. The conclusions were drawn from a study conducted by phone by the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis […]

Former Del. Ruth M. Kirk, a longtime community activist who represented West Baltimore’s 44th district in the Maryland General Assembly for nearly 30 years, died of heart failure June 17. She was 81. Dubbed a “street-wise, tooth-and-nail politician” in her early years, Kirk advocated for “those who others had left behind,” according to U.S. Rep. […]