Ellie Wolfe

MoCo bill would prohibit ICE building permits The Montgomery County Council announced its latest step Monday to counter the federal campaign to deport immigrants, which has disrupted the lives of hundreds of county residents.

Montgomery County wants to ban permits for ICE facilities after seeing warehouses turned into detention centers in other parts of the state. My latest: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Hundreds of Panamanian golden frogs are breeding in a closed-to-the-public section of the @marylandzoo.bsky.social in an effort to save them from extinction. Soon, zoo workers plan to bring some back to Panama…

When immigrants can’t leave their homes, this reading expert comes to the door Amid a federal immigration crackdown, scared families are avoiding public spaces and staying home. Norma Montesino is one of the few people they’ll let in.

A little bit of happy for your Wed. morning: We've been reporting for months that the federal immigration crackdown is keeping some scared immigrant families from venturing outside their homes. Norma Montesino is the bilingual Santa Claus bringing reading to them. www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

How a rediscovered Baltimore Bible provides a glimpse into Black history In September 1885, Winnie Harris wrote her last will and testament in the pages of a leather-bound, gilded Bible. About 140 years later, that Bible, now an official government record, was rediscovered...

A snow day read: Who is Winnie Harris? She wrote her will in the pages of a Bible. It became a state record, $ now it lives at the Maryland State Archives — where what she wrote & other records give a glimpse into Black life in Baltimore shortly after emancipation.
More in @thebaltimorebanner.com

University of Maryland Police officer accused of sexual misconduct with student has powers stripped by state An internal investigation by the University of Maryland Police Department found that Meadows met the College Park student on a social media website known as “FET: Kinky BDSM Dating.”

Scoop from @conarck.bsky.social + me: A University of Maryland, College Park police officer lost his certification last month after being accused of an inappropriate, and at times nonconsensual, relationship with a UMD student who he met on a BDSM kink website:
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

Affirmative action ended. So why are these Maryland colleges more diverse? Less selective Maryland colleges have begun seeing historic rises in applications and enrollment from Black and Hispanic students.

Race conscious admissions was banned by the Supreme Court in 2023. So why are some Maryland colleges more diverse than ever? My latest in the @thebaltimorebanner.com shows how the "cascade effect" is impacting Goucher, UMBC and Towson:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

A stunning 1942 photo of a couple inspired a search for a Baltimore love story How a photo sent a reporter on a quest to find a complicated love story in Baltimore.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

For nearly two years, this photo has lived rent free in my mind.

I finally got to find out what happened to Ellin and Franklin, the former Frederick Douglass High School students whose spark electrified this photo from 1942.

www.thebanner.com/community/fa...

UMB shares renderings of its ‘college town’ in downtown Baltimore The University System of Maryland Board of Regents voted on Friday to approve UMB’s plans for a $300 million downtown development.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore got its first needed approval to build a $300 million "college town" in downtown Baltimore. Our latest about the plans, in @thebaltimorebanner.com, includes visual renderings of what it will look like. What do you think?
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

How schools will respond to rumored ICE ramp-ups Rumors of an influx of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents coming to Maryland have put communities on edge.

With rumors and anxieties swirling over a potential uptick of ICE activity near Baltimore, you may be wondering what happens if ICE shows up to your school or college. We rounded up the answers for Central Maryland. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Frostburg State University gets a new president Shadow Robinson joins Frostburg from the University of Arkansas, Forth Smith.

Frostburg State University has a new president with strong ties to Appalachia and a track record of increasing enrollment and shrinking deficits, something the western Maryland university needs. Meet the pick:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

UMB wants a $300M ‘college town’ in downtown Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore, is trying to create a $300 million “college town” near the heart of its downtown campus, featuring high-rise residential buildings.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore is trying to create a $300 million “college town” near the heart of its downtown campus, featuring high-rise residential buildings, an outdoor recreation area and even a pub. Last spring, UMB laid off 30 employees.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Aspiring teachers thought they were getting a full ride. Then the bills came. The Teaching Fellows for Maryland Scholarship is advertised as covering all tuition and fees, but it didn’t work out that way for some students.

My latest story: "Aspiring teachers thought they were getting a full ride. Then the bills came."

Students are accusing the state's higher education commission of bungling scholarships for the second time in six months. This time, for teacher education.

www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Super Bowl-night ads will push BGE’s agenda to build and run power plants in Maryland Baltimore Gas and Electric has called on Maryland leaders to pass legislation allowing the utility to build and own power plants — an ask it’s underscoring with ads during NBC’s Olympics and Super Bow...

New: In ads to run ahead of Super Bowl kick-off & during post-game, BGE will push its legislative agenda to build and own Maryland power plants, a reversal on decades of state regulatory policy. $150K ad buy includes spots in Super Bowl-night & Olympics coverage
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Some of Maryland’s brightest immigrant students can’t go to college Some undocumented immigrants can’t get in-state tuition in Maryland, making college unaffordable.

New: Maryland grants in-state tuition to undocumented students if they submit three years of tax returns. But now the IRS is working with ICE, and students fear they'll be deported. It means that some of Maryland's best students aren't going to college.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Some of Maryland’s brightest immigrant students can’t go to college Some undocumented immigrants can’t get in-state tuition in Maryland, making college unaffordable.

New: Maryland grants in-state tuition to undocumented students if they submit three years of tax returns. But now the IRS is working with ICE, and students fear they'll be deported. It means that some of Maryland's best students aren't going to college.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

The Banner announces expansion to Prince George’s County The Banner announced it will take its award-winning journalism into Prince George’s County this spring, continuing its ambition to serve readers across Maryland.

Hey, look, it's GOOD media news. @thebaltimorebanner.com and @bannermoco.bsky.social are coming to Prince George's County. 🗞️
www.thebanner.com/banner-pr/th...

Iced sidewalks, no buses: How Maryland School for the Blind finally reopened Reopening was complex for the Maryland School for the Blind in Northeast Baltimore, where over 200 students with visual disabilities, some of whom use wheelchairs or canes to get around, go to school.

Thought it was hard for your school to reopen after the storm? The state's only school serving blind students had to de-ice thousands of feet of sidewalk while stuck beholden to surrounding districts' closure decisions. Plus, they're not allowed to go virtual. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Loyola University Maryland gets 3 record-high donations Together, the donations bring in $32 million for Loyola University Maryland, the private college in North Baltimore.

💸Loyola University Maryland has received three record breaking gifts, back to back to back in under two months. The gifts, totaling $32 million, "mark an inflection point," for the private Jesuit university in Baltimore.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Random junk marks the spot in Baltimore’s snow parking wars To chair, or not to chair? Baltimore residents turn to children's kitchenettes, tiki torches and good, old lawn chairs to preserve hard-won parking spots as the dig-out from Storm Fern continues.

Household items are making their way outdoors in Baltimore. Do you save your parking spot after a snowstorm?

www.thebanner.com/community/tr...

University of Maryland students encouraged to leave campus amid heat outages Over 100 university buildings, including residence halls and dining halls, are still without heat and hot water.

New: Students at the University of Maryland, College Park are being encouraged to leave campus if they can after more than 100 buildings, including residence and dining halls, have lost heat and hot water. This is the state's flagship public university:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

University of Baltimore loses 3 academic deans in a month Deans at the Merrick School of Business, College of Public Affairs and Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences have announced their departures at the University of Baltimore.

Scoop: All three main academic deans at the University of Baltimore have announced their departures in the last month, as the struggling institution continues to lose students and money.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Towson University delays spring semester as winter storm expected to slam region Towson University announced Thursday it is delaying the start of the spring semester because of the approaching winter storm.

Towson University is delaying the start of its spring semester, canceling classes and urging students to postpone their return to campus because of this weekend's expected snowstorm.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

As MICA hits 200, the art school looks to a new kind of student After years of bleeding cash and students, the Bolton Hill-based college, MICA, announces a new strategy.

🎨After years of bleeding cash and students, the Maryland Institute College of Art announced new strategic investments to turn things around. My story about changes coming to Baltimore's art school and its 200th anniversary celebration, here:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Johns Hopkins taps former COVID Center leader as interim provost Lainie Rutkow, the university’s executive vice provost, will lead academics at Hopkins.

🚨: Johns Hopkins University has named an interim provost, who will take over once Ray Jayawardhana departs in mid-February for CalTech.

Meet Lainie Rutkow, known for leading the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center:

www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

UMD, BCCC violated law in union negotiations, labor board finds The University of Maryland in College Park and Baltimore City Community College violated state labor laws while bargaining with their unions, according to the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board.

New: The Maryland Public Employee Relations Board ruled that the University of Maryland, College Park and Baltimore City Community College both violated state labor laws while bargaining with their respective unions. The decision is unusual, experts say:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

2 minutes of testimony can change the world. Here's how to do it. Column: Thousands of people will testify before delegates and senators in Annapolis over the next several weeks, all trying to convince them to see the issues their way. Most have just two minutes to ...

Thousands of people will testify before delegates and senators in Annapolis this year, all trying to convince them to see issues their way, to vote in favor of their positions. Most will get two minutes.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...

Is this Morgan State policy a threat to free press? For years, current and former editors said, reporters at The Spokesman, the HBCU’s student newspaper, have hit a wall getting the information they need to cover the news.

Is this Morgan State policy a threat to free press? @elliew0lfe.bsky.social reports. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Redistricting commission to vote on new congressional districts Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s redistricting advisory commission plans to vote Tuesday afternoon on new boundaries for the state’s congressional districts.

NEW: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's redistricting commission plans to meet at 4 p.m. today to vote on recommending a new map of Congressional district boundaries.

The meeting is not open to the public.

www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Is this Morgan State policy a threat to free press? For years, current and former editors said, reporters at The Spokesman, the HBCU’s student newspaper, have hit a wall getting the information they need to cover the news.

📝Morgan State University, Maryland's largest HBCU, is being accused by multiple national advocacy orgs of censoring its student newspaper. I spoke with experts, current and former student journalists and faculty about the policy. Here's what you need to know:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

After years of struggles, Baltimore’s only all-boys public school to close The Baltimore City school board voted Wednesday to close its only all-boys public school, Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, while putting off decisions on two other proposed school closures.

After a contentious renewal process, Baltimore is shutting down its only all-boys charter school. Two small traditional schools were also up for closure, but the board chose to kick the can down the road - to when they'll have a new CEO in charge of recommendations. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...