• BUDL students talk about Baltimore’s abandoned buildings

    Rows of dilapidated houses stretch onward like abandoned monoliths and signs of life are scarce; the only movement is the massive up-drifts of refuse caught in the wind. No, this isn’t a trailer for the latest sci-fi/horror movie; this is a stark description of many areas of Baltimore City where abandoned houses occupy valuable swatches […]

  • Uniting Baltimore through one connected park

    “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized.” Daniel Burnham, 1846-1912, architect and urban visionary Imagine a Baltimore where everyone lived within a few blocks of a park. Where you could walk easily throughout the city in a safe green network that connects school […]

  • Young people need mentors and they will find them, but who will those mentors be?

    Whether we acknowledge it or not, all of us are mentors and models for the young people in our community just by being present in their lives.  But I believe we must fully embrace this responsibility. In my day job, one of the unfortunate but necessary tasks I must perform is criminal sentencing. Even in […]

  • Operation Pawpaw: a (food) security plan for Baltimore

    According to farmers and environmental activists, both the supply and the demand for locally sourced food have increased exponentially each year. The benefits of this movement are many, from the preservation of farmland (and the slowing of sprawl) to the reduced carbon load (grocery store produce travels an average of 1,500 miles to your table).  […]

  • Invite the neighbors to turn the town around

    It is no secret that Baltimore has more than its share of serious social and economic problems—ask anyone who lives here what’s wrong with this city and you’re sure to hear a litany of ills from violence in the streets, rampant drug addiction and HIV infection rates, unacceptably high numbers of children dropping out of […]

  • Putting kids first in child support

    Here’s an audacious idea.  Let’s recreate our child support system to put kids first. We say the State’s program is in the best interests of the child now, but our policies tell a different story.  Let’s restructure our policies to make sure they encourage parents to support their children rather then turn them away. Here […]

  • Treatment or incarceration? The costs of failure for Baltimore and beyond

    Maryland legislators are trying to decide how to close the billion dollar budget gap. The choices so far are–raise taxes or cut spending. Enough said about raising taxes. But a good place to start cutting spending is the $76 million a year Maryland spends imprisoning people convicted of low-level drug offenses. Not only would we […]

  • What if…? Consider the possibilities

    A September 2005 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) “National Summit on Recovery,” held in Washington DC, focused on accomplishing three specific goals: • Developing new ideas to transform policy, services and systems toward a recovery-oriented paradigm. • Articulating guiding principles and measures of recovery that can be used […]

  • More drug treatment for those who need it

    I’m a newcomer here, and certainly not an expert about Baltimore and the incidence of addiction to drugs and alcohol among its residents. I’m working on a national project to make drug treatment available to all who seek help. Baltimore’s drug treatment system actually serves as model for this project based on its progress made […]

  • It’s about opportunity!

    Too many people in Baltimore are systematically denied the basic opportunities for healthy and productive development. Too many babies are born sick and too many children start school unprepared. Too many youngsters attend schools that aren’t academically, culturally or physically enriching and too many have no positive place to go when school is out. Too […]