By Taylor StronskyBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer Howard County Executive Calvin Ball is searching for community members interested in serving on the Board of Social Services. “I encourage dedicated community members who are personally interested in the welfare of the county’s most vulnerable populations to apply to this board,” Ball said in a press release Friday. The board has nine members who serve three-year terms, Ball said. One member must be from the Howard County Government. The duties of board members include advising on state policies, procedures and programs that apply to Howard County, and evaluating the local director of the…
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By Jade FadrowskiBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, business employees and students have had to find a new way to work. And Kailyn Jones of Reisterstown is confident she has the best solution. In September, when the coronavirus forced schools, businesses, and retail establishments to shut their doors, Jones opened “The Pod,” which she describes as a socially distanced workspace in a clean and safe environment. Jones, who is co-owner and manager, said the idea for the business started as an escape for children after school, but since the pandemic, the owners decided to make it a place…
By Yuchabel SanonBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer WASHINGTON—Demonstrators gathered on Black Lives Matter Plaza Friday afternoon to protest against what they say is the mistreatment of Black women in America. The protest was organized in response to a Kentucky grand jury’s decision last month not to bring homicide charges against any of the three officers who fatally shot Breonna Taylor in her own apartment during a raid last March. One of the officers, Sgt. Brett Hankson, was fired and faces three counts of wanton endangerment. Topazz McBride, 47, one of the committee members who organized the protest, said Kentucky Attorney General…
By Anna HovetBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer Weeks after their original move-in date, 77 Towson University students were finally able to occupy their Aspen Heights Towson apartments on Saturday. The move-in comes after weeks of complaints from students and their parents over how Aspen Heights handled the delay. Students who were interviewed over the past week said they were unhappy with the housing accommodations the apartment managers have provided in the interim before they could move into their apartments, with some saying they would seek legal action if they had the money and time. Others said they tried calling the company…
Multple vicitms were shot in the 2900 block of Westwood Avenue Thursday, Baltimore City police said. Two victims were shot at approximately 9:55 p.m., police said. The two victims suffer from non-life-threatening injuries Over the next few minutes, five additional victims entered area hospitals and were also suffering from non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Southwest District shooting detectives are in the process of interviewing all the victims and sorting through potential evidence, police said. –Anna Hovet
A 27-year-old man was shot in the area of Woodland Avenue near Greenspring Avenue Thursday, Baltimore City police said. The victim entered a hospital after he was shot and police arrived at approximately 8:09 p.m., police said. The victim is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The victim was shot in the left hand, police said. –Anna Hovet
by Taylor StronskyBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer Baltimore County Fair Elections and others met Thursday to discuss “Question A: Citizens’ Election Fund System” on the ballot in the Nov. 3 presidential election. Question A is one of 10 questions voters must decide. The Citizens’ Election Fund System’s purpose is to level the campaign field for new candidates in Baltimore County, officials explained. This will help the candidates focus on the people and the issues at hand instead of worrying about raising money. The funding system will keep big corporations and high-spending businesses out of campaign fundraising, and will operate with small…
by Michael MistroffBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer Gov. Larry Hogan admitted Friday that he cast a write-in vote for former GOP President Ronald Reagan in the upcoming presidential election. “I know it’s simply symbolic,” the Republican governor told The Washington Post. “It’s not going to change the outcome in my state. But I thought it was important to just cast a vote that showed the kind of person I’d like to see in office.” Hogan said he rejected both President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. He explained that Reagan was his “hero in politics” and the presidential candidate that he…
A Baltimore teenager was arrested Wednesday in connection with an August murder in Owings Mills, county police said. Xavier Damon Byrd Jr, 17, of the 4100 block of Dudley Avenue was charged with first-degree murder in what police say was the shooting death of Gary Printice Melvin, who was found in the 11000 block of Reisterstown Road with gunshot wounds to his chest on Aug. 16. He later died at a local hospital. Byrd, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, is the second suspect to be arrested in the case, police said. The first suspect, Marvin…
by Madeleine MosherBaltimore Watchdog Staff Writer County Executive Johnny Olszewski said Baltimore County has expanded a small business grant to offer increased funds to business associations wracked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commercial Revitalization Action Grant typically offers business associations across the county up to $10,000 annually for use in things like beautification, website development and security cameras. This year, however, Olszewski said the county has upped that to $30,000. Only business associations and chambers of commerce in Baltimore County’s Commercial Revitalization Districts are eligible to apply for the grant. “Main streets are the bedrock of our communities and we’re…