Category: Baltimore Government

By DAVID McFADDEN Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — When Bernard “Jack” Young automatically became Baltimore’s acting mayor earlier this month, he emphasized that he’d act only as a “placeholder” for the elected mayor as she departed on a leave of absence amid an accelerating scandal focused on her self-published children’s books. But it’s been more […]

By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor There are thousands of people in Baltimore, many of them among the most disenfranchised communities of the city, who dread this week because they will have to bid farewell to Chief Melvin Russell, a man who embodied the term “public servant” as a member of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), […]

By John Schmid, Special to the AFRO Marilyn J. Mosby’s State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO) announced a victory in “justice over convictions,” last week. Maryland General Assembly House Bill 874, “Criminal Procedure – Post Conviction Review – State’s Motion to Vacate,” has left debate on both the Maryland Senate and House floors and passed unanimously in the […]

By Stephen Janis, Special to the AFRO A city that has endured a continuing cycle of scandals entered a new chapter April 2, with current Mayor Catherine Pugh taking an “indefinite” leave of absence.  The move thrust City Council President Bernard “Jack” Young into the top job, as he assumed the title of interim mayor. But […]

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore’s acting mayor told legislators Tuesday that the city “is in good hands” until the mayor decides whether to return after abruptly announcing a leave of absence to “focus on her health” amid a political scandal about “self-dealing” book sales. Mayor Catherine Pugh stepped away Monday, the same […]

By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore’s embattled mayor announced Monday she is taking an indefinite leave of absence, just as a political scandal intensifies over what critics call a “self-dealing” book-sales arrangement, threatening her political career. In a brief statement, Mayor Catherine Pugh’s office announced she feels unable to fulfill her obligations […]

By Stephen Janis, Special to the AFRO Another corruption scandal inside the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) came to partial resolution with the sentencing of former Baltimore top cop Darryl DeSousa to ten months in prison for failure to file taxes. The sentence was handed down by Judge Catherine Blake, who fell just within the recommendations of […]