Podcast Central

Residents in West Baltimore and parts of Baltimore County have been given the green light to consume their tap water again. Construction has begun on a multi-million dollar complex in the city that aims to entice emergency responders to live where they work. A gun scare and a death in city and county schools have left students grief stricken at one…and on edge at another. Johns Hopkins health system warns they may stop accepting plans from one of the nation’s biggest insurers and what’s the human and dollar cost of Baltimore’s vacant housing? A new report has some data.

E.Coli bacteria contamination has left West Baltimore residents boiling tap water since Monday, but we have an update from DPW. The Mervo High School community is coming together with mental and emotional support for those affected by last week’s traffic and fatal student shooting. Baltimore county council members have voted themselves a pay boost, the first one since 2014. Thousands of roadways in the county will get a 3-D review to see where repairs are needed. I’ll have those headlines and more, plus Dr. Lena Wen talks about the threat to public health officials and the COVID booster to fight omicron.

The first week of school ended today with a deadly shooting outside of a Baltimore City high school this afternoon. A deadly shooting at an apartment complex near Morgan State University has left students and area residents shaken. New COVID booster shots will be available for Maryland residents as early as next week, now that the FDA and CDC have approved them. A program that gave thousands of needy Maryland students a free lunch during the pandemic has ended. A dire report from the National Center for Education Statistics shows how the pandemic eviscerated math and reading scores and we’ll hear from a labor reporter about how millennial workers are a driving force for unionization.

A greenlight from the FDA today on two new COVID boosters to ward off the highly contagious omicron variant. The U.S. has its first death believed to be the result of Monkeypox. Baltimore County health officials are reaching out to residents considered high risk for contracting the virus. County Council members are eyeing a raise for themselves as well as the county executive who’s raked in the dough, according to the latest campaign finance reports. I’ll get a breakdown from our state government reporter on how much is in the coffers of Maryland’s gubernatorial candidates and our education reporter has a conversation with a Johns Hopkins medical director about how the weight of the past two-and-a-half years will impact learning this school year, and beyond.

It was back to school for thousands of students across Maryland today. I’ll have a quick recap of the kickoff in the city and counties. Workers at a grocery chain in Baltimore have voted to unionize for better pay and job security and when it comes to American politics from national, down to our local elections, it seems we are more divided than at any other time in recent history. We’ll share an excerpt from a Johns Hopkins political science professor who’s co-authored a new book that speaks to the violence and danger of what she calls, “Radical American Partisanship.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore says he welcomes a debate with his republican opponent ahead of November’s midterm election. President Joe Biden paid a visit to Maryland last night to rally Democrats. As schools open across Maryland Monday, the Baltimore County teachers union has put off a contract vote to boost salaries. At a City council hearing last night, public school leaders and local agency officials gathered to come up with solutions for tackling violent crime and we’ll have a report on what city officials plan to do about the rising number of carjackings.

A brazen afternoon shooting at a Baltimore intersection ends in one fatality and several injuries. Local city, state and federal officials gathered in Maryland today to promote new efforts to tackle violent crime. The city council has approved spending one-million dollars on new cell phone tracking technology. Time is running out for Marylanders to take advantage of the Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit Program. I’ll have those stories in headlines, plus Baltimore County is scrambling to fill teacher vacancies before school starts next week and a giant indoor salmon farm on the Eastern Shore is raising the eyebrows of some environmentalists.

Maryland’s covid positivity rate lingers in the double digits, just below 12-percent. Dr. Fauci says he’s calling it quits at the end of this year. The FDA has greenlit the expansion of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine to kids as young as 12. Hundreds of thousands of kids across the country fell behind on routine vaccinations since the start of the pandemic and as schools across the state welcome back students next week, we’ll hear from a local pediatrician who breaks down the myths vs. the wisdom of keeping kids current on routine vaccines.

There’s new movement in a legal case calling for more funding for Baltimore City schools. Anne Arundel county school officials are telling parents there are still hurdles in efforts to hire more bus drivers. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is trying to rid parts of the Eastern shore of gang activity and drug trafficking and Baltimore County officials are trying harder to give away free bus rides on the Towson Loop.

COVID19 cases continue to stack up in Maryland. As the new school year approaches, Baltimore City public schools have a new COVID policy for those students planning to play sports. When Baltimore County students make their way back to class, the county’s head nurse says many pandemic protocols will no longer be in place. The Baltimore City Council has approved a bill aimed at stopping street and stunt racing and a newly formed coalition takes up the homelessness issue in Baltimore by setting up camp.