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Maya Lora

@mayaklora.bsky.social
545 followers 288 following 142 posts

Covering Baltimore City Public Schools, school choice & early childhood education at The Banner. Happiest in a classroom, reading weird fiction and at the movies she/her/hers 📍Baltimore

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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Hamilton Elementary/Middle parents wanted to help find their kids' 7th grade science teacher. But as they printed missing person flyers and spread the word online, Rogie Legaspi faced charges of allegedly sexually abusing a boy the same age as his students. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
How a search for a missing Baltimore teacher ended with news of his arrest
Hamilton Elementary/Middle School parents were worried about their kids’ science teacher. Then they found out where he was.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A Baltimore special education teacher set off to learn about sharks. Onboard a NOAA ship, she kept finding her students in the way the scientists hated school but loved working outside w/ their hands. She now uses her shark catching clout to teach 1st and 2nd grade. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Why a Baltimore teacher spent the summer catching sharks with scientists
Moravia Park Elementary’s Cheyanne Vanderdonckt was one of 11 teachers who took part in this year’s Teacher at Sea program, which is funded by NOAA.
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Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Prince Edward is coming to a Baltimore school Read @mayaklora.bsky.social's story to learn more: www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Britain’s Prince Edward will visit a Baltimore high school
The ladies of Western High School are about to welcome royalty, all thanks to their principal’s boss.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
You know how people track who says happy birthday to them? That’s me with Hispanic heritage month
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A little mood boost: At the Maryland State Fair, kids are invited to read farm animals to sleep. Yes, it's just as cute (and at times chaotic) as it sounds. Read all about it and see @jessicagallagher.bsky.social's adorable photos www.thebanner.com/education/ea...
thebanner.com
Counting sheep? At the Maryland State Fair, kids read them bedtime stories.
The final Cow Tales bedtime stories of this year’s fair are Friday and Saturday from 7-8 p.m.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
There are nearly 6,000 kids on the waitlist for Maryland's popular (and expensive) childcare scholarship program. The state hopes to reduce voucher costs by asking parents to chip in more. Some bills will rise over $100 a week for families barely scraping by. www.thebanner.com/education/ea...
thebanner.com
To get kids off the waitlist, Maryland will charge parents more for childcare vouchers
Some families using childcare scholarships could go from paying $3 a week to more than $100 as early as January.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Baltimore City College students who started as freshmen in 2025 may never step foot on their school's original campus. The school's renovation was pushed 6 months to a year for a handful of reasons, including workforce shortages that may tie back to data centers. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Baltimore City College renovations delayed by up to a year
Students were supposed to return to campus in fall 2028.
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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Why is the University of Maryland threatening legal action against a small, Colorado-based cannabis product company? It's shaping up to be a "David v. Goliath" fight, the owner of Terps USA, which sells terpenes for marijuana, told me. Read more: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
thebanner.com
UMD threatens legal action against cannabis product company over name
The University of Maryland, College Park, is threatening legal action against a cannabis product company over its “Terps” name.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Baltimore City Public Schools is partnering w/ OpenAI & ChatGPT for Teachers for use on tasks like adapting lesson plans and prepping for substitutes. City Schools says this will involve a limited number of staff before rolling out more broadly. Read more: www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Baltimore City Public Schools signs on to ChatGPT for Teachers
Baltimore City Public Schools is the only Maryland district to sign on in this newest wave of OpenAI partnerships.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The Trump administration has proposed erasing most rules governing Head Start and remaking the program. What happens in Maryland, where the popular early ed anti-poverty program serves 7,000 kids? w/ @lizbowie.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Head Start gave low-income children a chance to thrive. That is now at risk.
Changes to federal rules could dismantle hallmarks of the early childhood education program that serves 7,000 Maryland kids.
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Greg Morton @invisibae.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
NEW: This is Baltimore's longest continuously vacant building. It has been uninhabitable for more than 43 years straight. How has it escaped city oversight for so long? By @sahanajayaraman.bsky.social & @jessicagallagher.bsky.social Read about it here: www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
Baltimore's longest continuously vacant building with a three growing through its windows sits between two recently renovated homes in the city's East Baltimore Midway neighborhood.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Nationally, less than 5% of teachers & kids in early nature-based programs are Black. Atiya Wells wants to change that. Her fully outdoor preschool prioritizes Baltimore kids, students of color and will offer pay-what-you-can tuition. Read more (and see cute kids!): www.thebanner.com/education/ea...
thebanner.com
Baltimore mom creates fully outdoor preschool for kids who love nature as much as hers do
At one of the first licensed fully outdoor preschools in Maryland, low-income and kids of color won't be shut out of the benefits nature brings.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This past February, some members of The John Carroll School were outraged when Deacon Ken Goedeke suddenly departed the school. This past Wednesday, Goedeke was arrested on charges of sexual solicitation of a minor in another Chris Hansen sex sting operation www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
thebanner.com
Bel Air deacon, former Catholic school teacher charged with soliciting minor
Kenneth Goedeke has taught religion and worked in schools for over a decade.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Wake up kids, new MCAP scores just dropped. Baltimore City students have seen some of the largest literacy gains in the state since the pandemic, though their scores remain the lowest in MD. The new CEO, a true data nerd, says he's encouraged but has work to do www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Baltimore students’ English test scores are rising fast, even as they struggle in math
Baltimore schools’ post-pandemic gains are some of the highest in the state in English.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 21/07/2026
A network of eight free, self-serve pet food pantries has sprung up across the Baltimore area, helping owners keep their pets fed and out of shelters.
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Inside Baltimore’s free pet pantry network
A network of eight free, self-serve pet food pantries has sprung up across the Baltimore area, helping owners keep their pets fed and out of shelters.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 21/07/2026
Parents wait up to two years for a spot in Hampden Christian School’s daycare, run by members of an Anabaptist church. The Mennonites’ conservative dress and beliefs stick out in hipster Hampden, yet the preschool has grown so popular that it’ll soon take over a former Catholic church campus.
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Why urban parents wait years for a spot in a Mennonite-run preschool
A conservative Anabaptist group runs one of the hottest preschools in Baltimore’s liberal Hampden neighborhood.
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Dylan Segelbaum @dylansegelbaum.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Federal judge orders mother detained on Baltimore school campus released from ICE custody. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com) (w/ @mayaklora.bsky.social and @lizbowie.bsky.social)
thebanner.com
Judge orders mother detained on Baltimore school campus released from ICE custody
U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ordered Adriana Gavilan Sanchez to be released from immigration custody.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
We finally know where Sonja Santelises is heading after 10 years at the head of Baltimore City Public Schools: D.C.'s Council on Foreign Relations, where she'll head its education resource arm and promote civil discourse during a "fraught political moment" www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Former Baltimore schools CEO snags top job at DC think tank
Sonja Brookins Santelises wants to make classroom conversation civil again.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Commodore John Rodgers leaders spent all year telling immigrant families that as ICE cracked down in Southeast Baltimore, they were still safe at school. It took federal agents mere minutes and 2 detainments to unravel that promise. Where does CJR go from here? www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
For this Baltimore school, an ICE arrest turned fear into reality
An arrest on the Commodore John Rodgers campus shattered the sense of safety school staff spent years building.
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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
💰: Ron Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, earned $5.8 million in 2024, according to newly released tax documents. That makes Daniels one of the highest paid college presidents in the country. Here’s a breakdown of his pay: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
thebanner.com
Johns Hopkins president among America’s highest paid college leaders
Ron Daniels, the president of the Johns Hopkins University for 17 years, received a multiyear payout ahead of a drastic drop in federal research funding.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
For teen moms like Rylee who fell behind in class while trying to raise a baby, one family center in Baltimore has a way to help them beat the odds and get a diploma: They send their babies to free preschool in the same building. Their success rate? 89% www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
On-site daycare helps close the graduation gap for Baltimore’s teen moms
Half of teen moms don’t graduate high school. Excel Academy is different.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The 7-way race for 2 Baltimore school board seats is TIGHT. With all precincts reporting Election Day results, we have 3 basic locks - both incumbents and a challenger. But less than 100 votes separate the candidates for the fourth spot on the November ballot www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
thebanner.com
Esposito leads Baltimore City school board race
Challengers Kevin W. Parson and Jamar Day ended Tuesday night neck-and-neck for the fourth spot on November’s ballot.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
At the end of the month, Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises will step down after 10 years at the helm, an abnormally long and stable tenure. @lizbowie.bsky.social was there for it all — let her show you exactly what this moment means app.thebaltimorebanner.com/VP3HLWKOIVAI...
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Baltimore schools are shedding an old reputation built on years of dysfunction
Sonja Santelises brought hard-won stability. Will incoming CEO Jermaine Dawson take City Schools to the next level?
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Jasmine Vaughn-Hall @jasminevaughnhall.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Three generations. One AFRAM. How 50 years of the festival has resonated with attendees! www.thebanner.com/culture/arts...
thebanner.com
3 generations reflect on AFRAM, 50 years later
These AFRAM attendees remember their experiences, both personal and professional, at the annual Baltimore festival.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Since ICE detained two Baltimore parents at their daughter’s school last week, little has emerged about their lives. But details about the quiet, hardworking mom and dad, as described by their neighbors, are at stark odds with the government’s narrative. app.thebaltimorebanner.com/XWV6QBFUZRCO...
app.thebaltimorebanner.com
These Baltimore parents’ lives revolved around their kids. ICE detained them at school drop-off.
The chaotic way two Baltimore parents were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside their daughter’s school stands in stark contrast to what their neighbors describe as their norma...
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Last week, ICE agents detained a mother and father during morning drop-off at a temporary learning space for Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School kids in far East Baltimore. The school is over 40% Hispanic and over a third of kids are learning English. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
ICE agents detain parents dropping off kids outside Baltimore school
ICE agents detained two adults on public school property Thursday in a chaotic scene caught on video.
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Dylan Segelbaum @dylansegelbaum.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
ICE vehicles hit Baltimore father’s car as he took his children to school, attorney says. (w/ @mayaklora.bsky.social and @lizbowie.bsky.social) (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)
thebanner.com
ICE vehicles hit Baltimore father’s car as he took his children to school, attorney says
ICE says Jesus Acevedo Sanchez and his wife, who were detained while dropping off their children at a Baltimore school, face federal charges.
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Ginny Bixby @ginnybixbywrites.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Why was Montgomery County Council member Laurie-Anne Sayles in Hawaii during budget deliberations? I got the records: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
thebanner.com
Before a critical budget debate, one council member flew to Hawaii
At-large member Laurie-Anne Sayles said her conference attendance benefitted the county.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The former Baltimore teacher of the year charged last month with sexual solicitation of a minor said he was just trying to warn the (fake) teen against dangerous relationships with older men. He also insisted he thought "Aiden" was 16 - the age of consent in MD. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Former Baltimore teacher of the year confronted by Chris Hansen in YouTube sting
Former Baltimore teacher of the year Dennis Jutras told Chris Hansen he was trying to warn a teen in a Harford County sting operation targeting adults seeking sex with minors.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 03/06/2026
Gov. Wes Moore will soon face what could turn out to be one of the most influential education decisions he’ll make as governor. Will Maryland opt in to Trump's national school voucher program? It’s a risky calculation.
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Will Maryland opt in to a national school voucher program?
Gov. Wes Moore soon faces what could turn out to be one of the most influential education decisions he makes as governor.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Baltimore lets any family with a 4-year-old apply for public pre-K. The school choice program prioritizes low-income kids, so not everyone can go where they want or where they live closest to. But it's always free. Here's how to get a spot: www.thebanner.com/education/ea...
thebanner.com
What happens when your child doesn’t get into pre-K at your neighborhood school?
Baltimore City Public Schools prioritizes the neediest kids first. Here’s what else to know.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 29/05/2026
Baltimore’s pre-K ‘dumpster fire’ is shutting some families out of neighborhood schools
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Baltimore’s pre-K ‘dumpster fire’ shuts some families out of neighborhood schools
Middle-class families who live near the most popular pre-k schools in Baltimore City may end up shut out of their neighborhood programs.
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Cody Boteler @codyboteler.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
BREAKING: Annapolis has reached a tentative settlement agreement in a years-long housing discrimination lawsuit. Read more in @thebaltimorebanner.com:
thebanner.com
Annapolis tentatively settles yearslong housing discrimination lawsuits for $15M
The city of Annapolis agreed to a $15 million settlement in two housing discrimination lawsuits.
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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Morgan State University, Maryland’s largest historically Black college, is expanding its off-campus housing options after another year of record-breaking enrollment. The public research university has seen five straight years of enrollment growth. www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
thebanner.com
Morgan State University adds housing for 300 students after record enrollment
Morgan State University signed an off-campus housing agreement and expanded another after five consecutive years of enrollment growth.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
How the show went on: Back in February, the Baltimoree School for the Arts shuttered for weeks after a pipe burst flooded parts of the 100-year-old building. The arts community helped get kids back on track, but things aren't quite back to normal just yet www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
The Mount Vernon arts community rallied around teachers and students who knew the show must go on.
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Dylan Segelbaum @dylansegelbaum.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood, @mayaklora.bsky.social reports. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)
thebanner.com
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
The Mount Vernon arts community rallied around teachers and students who knew the show must go on.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 19/05/2026
Harford County school board selects its first Black superintendent
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Harford County school board selects its first Black superintendent
Dyann Mack, the interim superintendent for Harford County Public Schools, will continue to lead the district for the next four years.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 20/05/2026
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
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Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
The Mount Vernon arts community rallied around teachers and students who knew the show must go on.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Dennis Jutras, who until recently worked with Baltimore City Public Schools students, was charged with sexual solicitation of a minor for allegedly trying to meet and hook up with an officer posing as a 15-year-old boy www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Former Baltimore teacher of the year charged with sexual solicitation of a minor
Dennis Jutras, a longtime City Schools employee, allegedly tried to meet up with an officer posing as a high schooler.
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Liz Bowie @lizbowie.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Maryland students made one of the fastest pandemic recoveries www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
Maryland students made one of the fastest pandemic recoveries
Maryland ranks 3rd for improvement in reading, and 5th in math.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 14/05/2026
It’s the bike bus, Baltimore’s cutest mode of transportation. The idea is simple: A bunch of kids and parents meet up to ride their bikes to school together. buff.ly/Mexswbn
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 14/05/2026
Immigration enforcement is inching closer to Southeast Baltimore schools
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Immigration enforcement is inching closer to Southeast Baltimore schools
Reports of immigration enforcement activity near Southeast Baltimore schools last week are frightening parents and spurring City Council members into action.
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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The new head of Baltimore City Public Schools is a math whiz known for using data to turn around struggling schools. But as CEO, he'll need to do a lot more than just academics while answering for controversial decisions. Is this the job that finally sticks? www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
6 cities, 2 decades: Can Baltimore schools’ new CEO make lasting change?
Jermaine Dawson will finally fulfill his goal of leading a school district. Baltimore will be the ultimate test.
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Education Writers Association @edwriters.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Congratulations to the journalists who made the 22nd class of EWA Reporting Fellows! Each EWA Reporting Fellowship provides up to $5K to help cover reporting costs, plus other assistance. ewa.org/members-news... #eduSKY #journalistSKY #education #journalism #reporting
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 11/05/2026
“I want people to care because otherwise he gets away with it." Women at the University of Maryland Medical Center say pharmacist Matthew Bathula secretly accessed intimate photos, emails and camera feeds from their online accounts. buff.ly/VC9bJoI
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Brenda Wintrode @brendawintrode.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Menopause. The once avoided conversation is now everywhere online and in the news. Women left in the dark on what’s happening to their bodies are thirsting for information. Maryland wants to ensure doctors know how to help them. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
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Justin Fenton @justinfenton.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
BREAKING: Feds level criminal charges in Key Bridge disaster, accusing company and 1 employee of improperly using flushing pumps — which can cause blackouts — and lying to investigators. W/ @hayesgardner.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
thebanner.com
Federal prosecutors charge ship operator, employee in Key Bridge collapse
Federal prosecutors have leveled criminal charges in the Key Bridge collapse against the operator of the Dali, Synergy Marine Group, and one of its employees.
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Cody Boteler @codyboteler.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Candidates for Anne Arundel County Executive were receptive to the idea of a tax on secondary luxury homes, sometimes called pieds-à-terre, in the county. And if that sounds familiar, it's b/c Zohran Mamdani and Kathy Hochul have proposed such a tax in New York. Read more @thebaltimorebanner.com:
thebanner.com
Anne Arundel executive candidates considering secondary luxury home tax
Speaking at a forum hosted by the Anne Arundel Affordable Housing Coalition on May 7, Democratic county executive candidates Allison Pickard, James Kitchin and Pete Smith said a supplemental tax on se...
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talia-richman.bsky.social @talia-richman.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
“We love you, Mrs. Moore!” the students screamed at a surprise pep rally. The consummate educator turned it into a teaching moment. “You know, love is reciprocal,” she told the children. “When you love someone, they want to love you back.” “I love you, too." www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
thebanner.com
To honor 5 decades in the classroom, a school rallies for Mrs. Moore
“We love you, Mrs. Moore!” the kids screamed.
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