This year, we were invited by the Open Society Foundations to organize a local news experiment called NewsTrust Baltimore. The goal of this six-month pilot was to help Baltimore residents find and share good journalism about their community—and to teach college and high school students how to separate fact from fiction online. From February to […]
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Our Audacious Ideas get even better
Monday, September 26, 2011Today we are launching a brand new version of Audacious Ideas. With its new features, we hope it will become a versatile and easy way for us to interact with each other. As has been the case since 2007, each week you will still receive a new “audacious” idea aimed at changing Baltimore for the […]
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Encouraging better student attendance
Tuesday, August 30, 2011This week, alarm clocks will sound off throughout Baltimore city signaling parents, students and teachers to awaken for the first week of school. Some will bounce right out of bed eager to start the day while others will hit the snooze button hoping for an extra five minutes of sleep. Why should there be a […]
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Baltimore should become a software education leader
Monday, August 22, 2011The U.S. faces a critical shortage of skilled software developers. Employers cannot find enough talented practitioners despite offering high salaries and generous benefits. I believe this is due to the outmoded, off-putting way we expose students to computer programming techniques, and I propose that Baltimore become the world leader for a new educational approach. Baltimore […]
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A democratic vision of educational justice
Monday, August 15, 2011Whether you live in Baltimore or across the country in Seattle, you probably believe that every child deserves a high-quality education. But what does that mean? What does that look like? How do we know whether that is happening? As it turns out, these simple questions are quite difficult to answer. A big part of […]
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Expand learning opportunities for Baltimore’s students
Monday, August 08, 2011I never had illusions of becoming a rocket scientist, but as a child I loved classroom experiments that brought topics in science alive. What happened to two lima beans, planted separately, one placed in a dark closet and one on the windowsill? Or why does mixing baking soda and vinegar form that science fair staple, […]
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Make creditors prove they are entitled to collect a debt
Monday, August 01, 2011Each year, thousands of Maryland consumers are sued for unpaid debts. The vast majority of these cases are brought in small claims court by third party debt buyers. Usually, these debt buyers lack the proper documentation and evidence to show that (1) a debt is actually owed, (2) the amount claimed is accurate, and (3) […]
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Treating addiction as a disease—and not just in medicine
Monday, August 01, 2011In 1982, Betty Ford founded the nation’s first licensed addiction hospital, the Betty Ford Center, saying publicly about her own addiction at the time, “This is not a lack of willpower; this is a disease.” Nearly 30 years later, the medical world finally seems to be putting that revolutionary view into practice. In July, 10 […]
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Creating Maryland’s health insurance exchange
Monday, July 18, 2011Editor’s note: Karen Davenport will be at OSI-Baltimore for a forum, Keeping Up with Changes in Health Reform: Health Insurance Exchanges in Maryland, on Thursday, July 21st. Early last week, the US Department of Health and Human Services issued draft regulations on health insurance exchanges—the new health insurance marketplaces, established under the health care reform […]
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Creating artisanal food districts in Baltimore
Monday, June 27, 2011Take a walk through Highlandtown or Station North and it’s clear that Baltimore has done an exemplary job of creating an environment that is not only welcoming to artists, but encourages their creativity. From housing communities and educational opportunities to tax breaks, Baltimore has rolled out the welcome mat, and like a friendly neighbor brought […]
