Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Maya Lora

Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 4d

Take a peek inside UMBC's Garrett collection, one of the world’s largest archives devoted to the study of hauntings, poltergeists, out-of-body experiences and seances. Happy spooooooky season, Maryland:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

School spirit(s): Inside the ghost archives at UMBC

UMBC has one of the world’s largest parapsychology collections, including ghostly items such as seance photos and notes supposedly scrawled by spirits.

www.thebanner.com

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Ben Conarck @conarck.bsky.social · 7d

NEW: A few weeks ago, @muckrock.com
shared the Brady list for Baltimore County. Scanning it, I noticed the police chief was on there. I then spent weeks trying to figure out why. But no one — not the state's attorney, nor the police department — is explaining it. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

Baltimore County’s police chief is on a list of cops with credibility concerns

Robert McCullough, the Baltimore County Police Department chief, appears on a list of law enforcement officers whose potential credibility concerns require disclosure to defense attorneys if they’re c...

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Maya Lora

Greg Morton @invisibae.bsky.social · 12d

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...

The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore

The foreclosures could send neighborhoods spiraling and make Baltimore America’s next great housing crisis.

www.thebanner.com

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Greg Morton @invisibae.bsky.social · 12d

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 ⬇️)

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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 14d

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...

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.

www.thebanner.com

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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 18d

Hear ye, hear ye: The do’s and don’ts of Renn Fest

With just a few weekends left in this year’s season, here are tips and suggestions to get the most out of Renn Fest.

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Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · 18d

Overall, 438.9 positions were eliminated to save millions, school officials reported. Just over 300 of those positions came from inside schools.
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Baltimore Co. school officials haven't said which positions were eliminated

Baltimore County Public Schools cut more than 400 positions last school year, with most coming from inside the schools. But the system has offered few specifics.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 19d

I wrote my first ever obituary this week, about a Morgan State professor and former dean who truly transformed the lives of those he taught.

"Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University"

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

Morgan State marshal, alumni and dean was the epitome of the university

Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was once Morgan State’s director of student affairs, head of the honors program and its longest-serving marshal.

www.thebanner.com

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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 20d

Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University

Morgan State marshal, alumni and dean was the epitome of the university

Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was once Morgan State’s director of student affairs, head of the honors program and its longest-serving marshal.

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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 20d

Hi, thanks for reading! Early Head Start is for babies starting at 6 weeks old. While I definitely don't disagree parents deserve time at home with their newborns, not everyone's job offers such paid leave, and some parents are back at work within that 2-month window.

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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 20d

You've probably heard of Head Start, the federally funded, free early childhood ed program a lot of people worry might be going away soon. But Howard County is forging ahead - and extending seats to babies as young as 6 weeks old www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Early Head Start brings free child care to Howard County

Early Head Start provides free early learning for low-income kids starting as young as 6 weeks old. It’s a lifeline for some families in Howard County.

www.thebanner.com

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Ginny Bixby @ginnybixbywrites.bsky.social · 20d

ICYMI: People with a variety of views have a LOT to say about the University Boulevard Corridor plan in Montgomery County, which aims to increase transit-oriented housing and safer transit pathways. Here, I lay out the facts and attempt to dispel some myths: www.thebanner.com/community/lo...

What is the University Boulevard Corridor Plan?

The University Boulevard Corridor Plan’s supporters point out that the county is suffering from a severe housing shortage and argue that the plan will help put more homes on the market along transit l...

www.thebanner.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 21d

NEW: The IRS has scrutinized Baltimore nonprofit Second Chance, its appraiser and donors for years. Donors have been writing off their entire homes, rather than just salvaged materials. Tax guys say, uh, no.
Read @lillianreed.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/economy/seco...

Second Chance’s fight with the IRS brought scrutiny to donors

In a new court filing, an appraiser for Second Chance says the IRS is waging a “scorched earth assault” on the Baltimore-based nonprofit that sells secondhand furniture and building supplies.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 22d

Today in Maryland higher ed news: The University System of Maryland Chancellor spoke about the "crippling" federal + state cuts the USM has faced, while the president of Johns Hopkins University announced their hiring freeze is continuing. Read:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

‘Crippling’ federal cuts could prompt layoffs at Maryland's public universities

In the last two years, the state has cut the public university system‘s budget by $233 million. The sharp cuts have been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s reductions in federal grants, financi...

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Maya Lora

Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · 22d

The national Blue Ribbon program has come to an end. @mayaklora.bsky.social wrote about what Maryland educators had to say about it.
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

With the loss of Blue Ribbon program, Maryland school leaders are on their own

To “return education to the states,” the U.S. Department of Education ended the national Blue Ribbon program. Maryland education leaders need to find a new way to honor their shining schools.

www.thebanner.com

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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 26d

My pilgrimage from Baltimore to Buc-ee’s

I drove three hours from Baltimore to Buc-ee's. It was so worth it.

People from the Baltimore area are traveling hours just to visit the new Buc-ee's in Virginia. The Texas-born gas station has a cult following, and Baltimoreans can get in on the craze.

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Maddi O’Neill @maddioneill.bsky.social · 28d

I'm so excited to share my new freelancing website, madeleineoneill.com! If you're looking for a Baltimore-based writer for courts/criminal justice/legal coverage, features, editing, or help locating public records, I'm your girl.

📸 by the incredible @jessicagallagher.bsky.social!

Madeleine O’Neill

Freelance criminal justice reporter in Baltimore

madeleineoneill.com

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Reposted by Maya Lora

Kyle Goon @kylegoon.bsky.social · 29d

My dad, who had a heart transplant this summer, is on United Healthcare. I recently found my neighbor weeping in her car because she wasn't sure how she would pay for cancer treatments at Hopkins.

This is absolutely terrible, and it punishes patients most of all: www.thebanner.com/community/pu...

Johns Hopkins says it won't be returning to UnitedHealthcare’s network

Johns Hopkins Medicine officials say they have ended negotiations with the insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, leaving its doctors and hospitals out of network for some 60,000 patients.

www.thebanner.com

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Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 28d

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...

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.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Maya Lora

Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Sep 13

More than two dozen Maryland professors were placed on Charlie Kirk’s professor watchlist. Some now worry about their own safety now that Kirk is dead. Others are grappling with how to mourn someone that caused trauma in their own lives. Read:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Maryland professors were targeted by Charlie Kirk. Now what?

After Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday, some of his professor targets in Maryland worry for their own safety and feel anxious about the climate of distrust he sowed among young people.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Maya Lora

Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Sep 12

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...

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.”

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Maya Lora

Greg Morton @invisibae.bsky.social · Sep 11

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: