Midday

Now, it is another edition of the Midday Healthwatch with Dr. Leana Wen, one of the most respected public health experts in the country. She’s a former health commissioner of Baltimore. She’s a columnist on health matters for the Washington Post, a medical expert on CNN, and a scholar at George Washington University and the Brookings Institution.

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The legal landscape changed in Maryland yesterday. A number of new laws took effect. We talked about one of them here on Midday last week: the Child Victims Act, which eliminated the statute of limitations on civil suits for victims of sexual abuse. We thought it would be helpful to ask our Statehouse reporter and News Director, Matt Bush, to give us an overview of a few more of the bills that are now the law of the land.

For more on the laws, you can view more here: Gun limits, end of statute of limitations headline new laws taking effect Oct. 1 in Maryland.

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Today on Midday, we’re going to talk about suicide with mental health professionals and advocates who are educating the public to help save lives.

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 48,000 people died by suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention estimates that around 1.7 million people attempted suicide that year.

Tom turns to three experts to give us a better understanding of suicide and the millions of individuals affected in our state.

Tammi Ginsberg is the former President of the Maryland Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Dr. Ethan Mereish is an Associate Professor and Director of the Lavender Lab at the University of Maryland, College Park which focuses on people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Chauna Brocht is the Director of Crisis Services for Behavioral Health System Baltimore which coordinates the 988-help line in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County and Carroll County.

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Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr joined Midday to discuss the latest updates on the regional water taskforce and youth crime concerns.

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My next guest is the iconic singer, actress and television star Freda Payne. She is appearing this weekend at Keystone Korner, the terrific jazz club in the Harbor East neighborhood of Baltimore.

Freda Payne had her first gold record hit in 1970 with Band of Gold. She has appeared on stage, in films, and as a host on a TV show. And she has worked with a who’s who of performers including Duke Ellington, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Omar Sharif, Quincy Jones, Liza Minnelli, and Sarah Vaughn, to name just a few.

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It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins us each week with her reviews of the Maryland, DC and Virginia regional stage.

“The Wiz” has returned to Baltimore and continues at the Hippodrome through Sunday. We spoke to the director, Schele Williams, and Ron Legler, president of the Hippodrome, about the show last week.

Our theatre critic shares her thoughts on the musical's highly anticipated return to the magical land of Oz.

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Midday takes a few minutes to pay tribute to one of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game, and one of just a handful of players who epitomized the Oriole Way. Brooks Robinson passed away yesterday at the age of 86.
 
Joining Tom to reflect on this legendary player is Jon Meoli, the Orioles Columnist for our news partner, the Baltimore Banner. 

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Today on Midday, a discussion about the the Child Victims Act becomes law in Maryland. The law allows survivors of sexual assault in Maryland the right to sue the Archdiocese of Baltimore and others for civil damages, regardless of when the abuse they suffered took place.

Prior to the law, survivors of sexual assault were ruled out of suing alleged abusers once they were past age 38. What will be the effect of the new law that wipes out the statute of limitations in these cases? The Child Victims Act of 2023 goes into effect on October 1st.

Two survivors of abuse by employees of the Archdiocese of Baltimore join us to discuss the new law and its consequences. Teresa Lancaster was a student at Archbishop Keough High School in the early 1970s. Her story is one of the central elements of the Netflix documentary, The Keepers. We are also joined by Tony Petrowski, who was abused as a middle school student at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic School on Lakewood Avenue in Baltimore.

Jonathan Schochor is the Founding Partner and Chairman with Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, a law firm in Baltimore that represents victims of sexual assault.

RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1 800-656-4673) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available.

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Today on Midday, we talk about families. My guest today is Dr. Ashanti Woods, a pediatrician at Mercy Family Care Physicians in Baltimore. He is here with answers to your questions about your babies, your toddlers, your young kids and your teens.

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It is Midday on the Law and Tom's guest Kim Wehle. A professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, a legal analyst for ABC News, the host of Simple Politics on YouTube, and the author of several books, the latest of which is called How to Think Like a Lawyer, and Why.

Kim will share her thoughts on President Trump's lawsuits and give a preview of the Supreme Court's 2023-2024 term.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.