Greg Morton

Baltimore’s top educator wants to end the iPad kid epidemic Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises announced strict screen time limits for kindergarten through second grade students.

Kids in the "iPad generation" have grown more reliant on screens at home and in school since the pandemic.

The head of Baltimore's public schools has had enough. She introduced screen time and digital device limits, though she doesn't think they go far enough.

www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Maryland wants its $4 billion in tariff payments back.

Gov. Moore and top fiscal leaders are demanding Pres. Trump reimburse Marylanders for price hikes from import tariffs, an estimated $1,744 per household.

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

Oh bsky.app/profile/apne...

Happy birthday!

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...

This is fun

How do you define downtown Baltimore? Draw it and show us. Depending on how you draw its boundaries, downtown Baltimore is either a depressing and increasingly empty collection of tall buildings, or it’s a dynamic and diverse community poised for success.

Baltimore, what is YOUR version of downtown? Draw us a map! (Also, hate to say it, but Philly had it right ...) This is so fun, and a great read.
via @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/economy/grow...

Oh, it will!

Only someone from the county would think Mt. Vernon is downtown

As a former resident of downtown (who would literally never go back), this story and its accompanying videos are such a delight.

Downtown is bounded by Conway, Howard, Mulberry, and the Jones Falls. South is Otterbein, west is the Westside, north is Mount Vernon, and east is Oldtown and Harbor East.

Here's mine:

✅ Stadiums
✅ Harborplace
✅Lexington Market
❌ Mount Vernon
❌ Fells Point
❌ Almost all of Fed Hill

Show us yours!

How do you define downtown Baltimore? Draw it and show us. Depending on how you draw its boundaries, downtown Baltimore is either a depressing and increasingly empty collection of tall buildings, or it’s a dynamic and diverse community poised for success.

No one seems to agree on what "downtown Baltimore" actually is.

Is it a narrow strip of land near the harbor? Does it include Mount Vernon? The @thebaltimorebanner.com office?

Help us figure this out!

Use our new tool to draw what you think of as downtown:

www.thebanner.com/economy/grow...

A child died after crashing while fleeing a traffic stop in Howard County last month; the Attorney General's Office says it will not identify her, citing a juvenile secrecy law no one else applies this way. Im hoping someone out there knows who she was. Please reach out if you have info

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Annapolis as redistricting fight heats up As he walked into the State House, Jeffries said he would “in all likelihood” discuss redistricting with Gov. Wes Moore.

Look who is in town in Annapolis today to press state lawmakers to redraw Maryland's congressional district boundaries: U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Here is the developing story from your @thebaltimorebanner.com State House team:

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

Baltimore’s remarkable decline in drug overdose deaths comes with new challenges Baltimore’s overdose crisis does not appear to be ebbing, but evolving, according to interviews with experts. A mix of other chemicals — often less immediately lethal but dangerous in other ways — has...

After years of devastating overdose deaths, Baltimore is finally seeing progress. But the crisis hasn't ended — it's changed.

by @alissazhu.bsky.social & @sahanajayaraman.bsky.social

www.thebanner.com/community/pu...

I need to read 1,200 words on whatever happened in El Paso

Trump set off a surge of AI in the federal government. See what happened. The Trump administration is accelerating AI adoption across government, embedding the technology in policing, health care, defense and science.

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

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...

Gov. Wes Moore railed against "political redlining" in other states as one of many reasons Maryland needs to redistrict. Do the proposed maps move that needle?

Some accountability reporting here from @pwoodreporter.bsky.social, @leeosanderlin.bsky.social & @invisibae.bsky.social.

Moore’s latest argument for redistricting? Combating ‘political redlining’ Maryland has to redraw its congressional map to combat efforts by President Donald Trump and Republicans to “silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership” by redistricting red states to...

The Banner's analysis found:

- Current map has 4 majority non-white districts (held by Mfume, Ivey, Hoyer & Raskin)
- Proposed map would have 3 majority non-white districts. (Raskin's 8th would become majority white)

Read more:
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Moore’s latest argument for redistricting? Combating ‘political redlining’ Maryland has to redraw its congressional map to combat efforts by President Donald Trump and Republicans to “silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership” by redistricting red states to...

Gov. Wes Moore has been saying Maryland needs to redraw its congressional districts because of "political redlining" in other states.

What does he mean? And what's Maryland's role in addressing it?

from me, @leeosanderlin.bsky.social & @invisibae.bsky.social:

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

NEW: from the great @leeosanderlin.bsky.social, @pwoodreporter.bsky.social and I

Why did Baltimore County Police hire a former registered sex offender? Baltimore County follows Maryland regulations when hiring police officers, which stipulate that departments can disqualify applicants with criminal histories from becoming police officers. But Marylan...

By Céilí Doyle: Baltimore County Police hired a former registered sex offender. How did this happen, and why? (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

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-...

Of course! Can't wait!

Thanks so much dude!

Thanks, Caitlin!!

Congratulations to @thebaltimorebanner.com for earning first place. Their investigation chronicled students’ experiences on public transit and the impact that transit had on their academic futures. Read: bit.ly/4rrGyw2

By: @lizbowie.bsky.social @invisibae.bsky.social @ryanlittle.bsky.social

We are so incredibly thrilled to receive this honor.

Working on this project was one of the highlights of my career and I could not be more grateful to @ire.org and my entire team.

Thank you to all my colleagues at @thebaltimorebanner.com and all of our readers and supporters.