WYPR News

Maryland’s government won’t contract with any company that boycotts Israeli products or services over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. The change is the result of a new executive order Gov. Larry Hogan signed Monday opposing the BDS — Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions — movement.

State Senator Jim Brochin officially launched his campaign Thursday for the county’s top office.

Brochin, a four-term state senator, has been plotting this run for a long time. Brochin made his announcement at Towson Manor Park.

Baltimore County came under withering criticism Wednesday from the State Comptroller over the conditions of two of its high schools. Comptroller Peter Franchot called the conditions at Dulaney and Lansdowne High Schools deplorable and unacceptable.

Baltimore officially submitted its proposal today to make Port Covington the site of Amazon’s second headquarters, or HQ2.

In an elaborate affair to say the least, the ceremony was complete with piano jazz and a multimedia production with the theme of “Why not Baltimore?”

A Baltimore police officer shot and killed a shotgun wielding 20-year-old man involved in an armed robbery at a 7-11 early Monday morning.

Police commissioner Kevin Davis said the officer, Kevin Amy, a 17-year veteran assigned to Northeastern District patrol, followed proper police procedure and turned on his body worn camera.

While thousands of people in Baltimore City remain homeless, uninsured, or under insured, one event this week provided a one-stop shop to residents for dental work, vision care, job searching, and more.

Trial boards for three of the five Baltimore police officers involved in the Freddie Gray case are to begin this month in public, but their results may remain private.

The hearings for Sgt. Alicia White, Lt. Brian Rice, and Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. may be open, but City Solicitor Andre Davis says it could be difficult making the outcomes of those hearings public.

The Baltimore County School Board is considering a proposal to keep schools open during the Jewish holidays next September. But the board got some blowback for that idea during a public hearing Tuesday night. WYPR's John Lee and Nathan Sterner talked about it on Morning Edition.

Baltimore activists sharply criticized Mayor Catherine Pugh last week, tweeting she hadn’t done enough for tent city residents staying at the old Pinderhughes Elementary School. But the reality on the ground is different.

Frederick County became the fourth school district in Maryland to create a policy specifically supportive of transgender students in the spring of 2017. A few months later, a mother and her daughter sued the school board that adopted that policy.

Reacting to the shooting deaths in Las Vegas and marking Mental Health Awareness week, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh called today for the strengthening of background checks for gun owners today.

Mayor Catherine Pugh is expected to release her $350 million plan to curb homelessness next week. But, tent city organizers tweeted the mayor isn’t moving fast enough.

The Baltimore County Council green-lighted a two million dollar state loan Monday to try to entice Amazon to build a distribution center at Sparrows Point.

County officials say they believe landing Amazon could mean more jobs than the official estimate of 1,500 at the distribution center.

Elizabeth Wexler stands at a chalkboard at the Baltimore City Police Training Academy while 50 cadets look on. She draws a large "T" and asks the class to say what comes to mind when they think of mental health.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Environmental Protection Agency. State officials say the EPA is not enforcing the Clean Air Act in five upwind states, and that creates an unhealthy level of smog in Maryland, particularly in the Washington and Baltimore metro areas.

Baltimore County is close to landing an Amazon distribution center, to be located at Sparrows Point in eastern Baltimore County.

A warehouse fire at 1026 East Patapsco Avenue in Curtis Bay this morning sent smoke billowing into the sky at South Baltimore. The fire was less than a mile from where a chemical plant released an acid cloud last week.

It's becoming more clear who will be running for Baltimore County Executive. There are three declared candidates with two more expected to follow in the coming weeks. The county GOP hopes the party will gain control of both the County Executive's office and County Council following the 2018 elections. WYPR’s John Lee talks it over with Nathan Sterner.

About 62 percent of registered voters in Maryland say they approve of the way Gov. Larry Hogan is doing his job, a decline from Hogan’s 70-percent approval rating last September, according to Goucher poll data released Monday.

For as long as there’s been a Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel at the mouth of the bay, there’s been a gift shop and restaurant perched on an island in the middle of it all. But now that Virginia has broken ground to add a parallel tunnel, the restaurant is about to become history.

Incumbent Republican Mayor Mike Pantelides will face Democrat Gavin Buckley in Annapolis's Mayoral Election in November. Pantelides handily won the Republican nomination in Tuesday's primary. Buckley's victory was a bit of an upset, as he beat State Senator John Astle. It all sets up what could be a heated race in the coming months. WYPR's Karen Hosler talks about it all with Nathan Sterner.

Donald Eurice was walking through one of his fields in Middle River when he picked up an ear of corn blackbirds had damaged.

"You take sweet corn," he said, pointing to gaps at the end of the ear where kernels used to be. "They take two picks on it you can’t sell it. It’s done."

Krishanti Vignarajah formally launched her campaign for governor on Tuesday after announcing her intent to run online last month.

Host Nathan Sterner talks to City Hall Reporter Dominique Maria Bonessi about the Justice Department not finding sufficient evidence in federal criminal charges on the six Baltimore City police officers involved in Freddie Gray Jr.'s death on April 19, 2015. State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the NAACP, and Maryland Democratic Congressmen all weigh in giving their reactions.

The state Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee convened a meeting Tuesday to examine record levels of violence in Baltimore — what’s causing it and how it can be stopped. WYPR's Rachel Baye spoke with Nathan Sterner about the discussion and the conclusions drawn.

Annapolis’ pre-Labor Day parade had the usual marching bands, dance troupes and city council members waving from antique convertibles. Then there was this guy strutting, skipping, and dancing down West Street, moving from side to side to shake a hand or grab a hug.

Just as he stole the show that day, Australia-born Gavin Buckley has injected the race for Annapolis mayor with a spark rarely seen in city elections.

"I feel like I have a passion to take the city forward and effect some change," Buckley said. "Not just talk about it."

Buckley, 54, is an entrepreneur credited with driving a nest of drug dealers and prostitutes from a main Annapolis thoroughfare.