Greg Morton

There’s a ghost town buried under Loch Raven Warren was once a bustling mill town, but it was flooded more than a century ago to enlarge the Loch Raven Reservoir. Now just a few remnants of the town haunt the surrounding woods.

By @juliemore19.bsky.social: There’s a ghost town buried under Loch Raven. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore The foreclosures could send neighborhoods spiraling and make Baltimore America’s next great housing crisis.

The players at the center of the crisis are out-of-towners — a group of investors from a small community in New York.

@halliemiller.bsky.social , Sahana Jayaraman and Giacomo Bologna on how Baltimore's problem could be the start of something larger.

www.thebanner.com/community/ho...

NEW INVESTIGATION:

Investors have spent years falling in love with the 'debt service coverage ratio' loan.

The loans have allowed access to vast sums with few conditions, and now make up 40% of mortgage dollars in Baltimore.

Now they're going bad.

(Story below ⬇️)

State extends the child care scholarship freeze indefinitely The state projected getting back down to 40,000 child care scholarships by September. But the program is still thousands of vouchers over budget.

The child care scholarship is the main way Maryland families get help with child care. Since many can't afford it otherwise, day cares and preschools rely on vouchers to fill spots. So what happens when the program gets frozen - and doesn't come back when predicted? www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Ukrainian researcher’s future in doubt as Trump’s H-1B visa costs hit Hopkins, UMD Looking at Donald Trump’s new changes to H-1B visas, which now include a hefty $100,000 fee. Will Maryland colleges start hiring less foreign born faculty because of it?

New w/ @elliew0lfe.bsky.social: : The Trump administration will begin to charge $100k each for visas that UMD and Hopkins use to hire researchers, scientists and professors.

Among the affected? A Ukrainian researcher who may be forced to go home.

“I am terrified"

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

The pandemic babies are off to pre-K and kindergarten In a major pandemic milestone, the babies born during the early days of COVID-19 are finally old enough to start school.

It's been over five years since the onset of COVID-19, which means the babies born into the pandemic are off to pre-K 4 and kindergarten. How exactly can teachers support these kiddos, who spent their earliest years in isolation? I dug into it: www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Program for thousands of Maryland's students on the chopping block The Trump administration in its proposal called TRIO a “relic of the past,” adding “access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means.”

NEW: The Trump administration is proposing cutting all funding for TRIO, a set of programs that helps low-income, first-generation students attend college. More than 12,000 Marylanders relied on the program last year. Here’s the potential impact:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Can’t afford to buy a home in Howard County? New census data offer clues why New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests a harsh reality: it’s never been harder for young families to move to Howard County.

Howard county SHOULD be the perfect place for young families.

It has great schools, close proximity to DC and Baltimore, plenty of parks...

...so why are only 7% of homeowners under 35?

@jessmnocera.bsky.social & I on how HoCo became a "victim of its own success"
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...

Rent is guzzling Baltimore paychecks. The poorest feel it the most. Last year, 4 of 10 households renting in Baltimore spent 35% or more of their income on rent, according to a Baltimore Banner analysis of estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Baltimore's poorest residents are getting crushed under the weight of housing costs.

Nearly 40% of rental properties housed residents making less than $35,000 a year

By @jasminevaughnhall.bsky.social & @sahanajayaraman.bsky.social

www.thebanner.com/community/ho...

Incomes keep falling in Baltimore County Baltimore County incomes fell for the fifth time in a row, and that's placing a greater strain on the county's renters, a Banner analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau data found.

Inflation-adjusted incomes are falling in Baltimore county. That's bad news for a county that was already one of the most rent-burdened in the state

By Sapna Bansil

www.thebanner.com/economy/balt...

IT'S CENSUS DAY at @thebaltimorebanner.com!

The release of new 1-year ACS data told us a lot about the changing demographics and living experiences of counties across the country.

Here's what we learned about Maryland:

How loud are those Locust Point ships? We went to some noisy spots to find out. The plight of Locust Point residents who must live with constant noise from two military cargo ships got us wondering: How does the racket there compare to other noisy spots?

Locust Point residents have had to live all summer with a constant hum, about the volume of a vacuum cleaner.

How does their neighborhood compare to the loudest places in Baltimore?

We took to the streets (with a mic!) to find out!

www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Brandon Chasen reports that he owes more than $71M Chasen, 39, of Guilford, agreed on July 30 to voluntarily proceed with Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy.

Baltimore real estate developer Brandon Chasen reports owing more than $71M. (w/ @halliemiller.bsky.social and @invisibae.bsky.social) (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Under Trump, an increasingly isolated life for kids in immigrant families As deportation efforts and anti-immigrant rhetoric ramp up, kids are feeling more isolated, losing benefits and risking long-term detriments.

Head Start, the child tax credit, extra English help: These are all things undocumented and kids in mixed-status families stand to lose under the 2nd Trump admin. Anti-immigrant rhetoric & increased deportations are eating away at kids' mental health www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/ea...

ICYMI

From last night:

Prominent Baltimore developer Brandon Chasen has agreed to enter into chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Story 👇🏾

Baltimore real estate developer Brandon Chasen agrees to enter bankruptcy In a statement, Adam Freiman, Brandon Chasen's attorney, said his client "remains focused on seeing this process through with dignity and honesty."

NEW: Baltimore developer Brandon Chasen has agreed enter bankruptcy.

In a statement to @thebaltimorebanner.com, his lawyer said Chasen would learn from "painful and profound" lessons.

w/ @dylansegelbaum.bsky.social & @halliemiller.bsky.social

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/economy/grow...

How cuts to Medicaid and food stamps could end up hurting kids Spending cuts may be aimed at adults on paper, but kids could still end up without sufficient food and health care under the One Big Beautiful Bill.

The largest cuts to SNAP & Medicaid in U.S. history don't explicitly target kids - but they're likely to feel the pain when the adults who care for them lose benefits. Here's what social services experts are most worried about www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/ea...

McLaren revs up in Baltimore with new Tradepoint Atlantic facility McLaren’s “high-performance luxury supercars” are manufactured in England, but workers in Dundalk will soon apply finishing touches at a McLaren-specific facility at Tradepoint Atlantic.

Every McLaren supercar sold in the U.S. comes through the Port of Baltimore.

Soon, they will be processed at a McLaren-specific facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, as opposed to within a public terminal.

(Also: I test drove one today, maxing out at 25 mph.)
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/economy/mcla...

Bertha’s Mussels served up a prized parting gift — from its closet A recent find at the long-closed Bertha's Mussels got The Banner wondering: Have you come across a rare treasure in an old building?

Find something old and interesting tucked away in a Baltimore building? Reach out to @jasminevaughnhall.bsky.social, who has another fun story about hidden treasurers out now:
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/culture/arts...

John Harbaugh had an “amazing” experience at the White House. But if he had taken some time to think about what it meant to have a photo op with a president that bullies his home state, he would see why folks are disappointed in that decision: www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/raven...

A fitting companion piece to the column today:

Maryland just lost its most federal workers in a month in nearly 30 years Maryland’s federal workforce just saw its largest single-month job loss since 1996, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

NEW: The Trump administrations attempts to dismantle large parts of the federal workforce are starting to show up in the data.

In June, Maryland lost more federal jobs than any state in the country — the most in nearly three decades.‬⁩

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/economy/ripp...

Long bus rides limit students’ school choices, Hopkins study finds Baltimore high school students are less likely to pick a school — even the city’s best — if they face a long trip on Maryland’s unreliable transit system.

NEW: Research proves empirical what @lizbowie.bsky.social and I heard from many Baltimore City students: Long and complicated commutes on public transit limit their options even in Baltimore's universal school choice system.

We spoke with the researchers.
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-...

Scott Plank's pitch to move Foxtrot’s base seemed like a long shot. Then state money appeared. Although Baltimore City officials say they never sought the money from the state, they confirm they are exploring a deal with Plank to relocate the aviation unit.

By @emilyopilo.bsky.social, @justinfenton.bsky.social and @invisibae.bsky.social: Scott Plank’s pitch to move Foxtrot’s base seemed like a long shot. Then state money appeared. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Long bus rides limit students’ school choices, Hopkins study finds Baltimore high school students are less likely to pick a school — even the city’s best — if they face a long trip on Maryland’s unreliable transit system.

Long bus rides limit students’ school choices, Hopkins study finds, @lizbowie.bsky.social and @invisibae.bsky.social report. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

With at least 9 heat deaths, summer is off to a deadly start in Maryland At least nine people, including two children, have died from heat-related illness so far in 2025 — more than twice as many as this time last year, according to Maryland data.

At least 9 people have died from heat-related illness this year in Maryland so far — more than the entirety of some recent past summers.

27 died of heat in Maryland in 2024 — but only 4 by this point in the summer.

It’s not just late buses: Baltimore kids face serious safety risks Baltimore students have been followed, harassed, assaulted and held up at gunpoint while crisscrossing the city on public transit to get to and from school.

It’s not just late buses: Baltimore kids face serious safety risks, @lizbowie.bsky.social and @invisibae.bsky.social report. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

It’s not just late buses: Baltimore kids face serious safety risks Baltimore students have been followed, harassed, assaulted and held up at gunpoint while crisscrossing the city on public transit to get to and from school.

NEW: Baltimore students told about their experiences with violence and harassment on the way to school in the state's only district without yellow bus service for middle and high schoolers.

@lizbowie.bsky.social and I on what students are facing every day

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-...

Should local police help ICE agents? They're increasingly put in the middle The tensions surfacing in the Baltimore area are unlikely to ease anytime soon.

New: When Baltimore residents surrounded an ICE agent's vehicle after he arrested two members of their community, he called 911. Baltimore Police, who are by policy prohibited from immigration enforcement, cleared his way. Was it their "duty" or a "test?"
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...