Midday

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

We discuss “Lyra and the Ferocious Beast,” produced by Truepenny Projects. The production continues at The Voxel through August 27.

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

Irena Stein joins Midday to introduce her beautiful new book devoted to the Venezuelan arepa, and talks about how she uses food to bridge cultural divides and build community.

Stein is a restauranteur, activist, artist and author. She is the founder and curator of Alma Cocina Latina, a terrific Venezuelan restaurant in Station North here in Baltimore. Her new book, Arepa, celebrates one of the great staples of Venezuelan cuisine.

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

Today is another edition of Midday with the Mayor. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joins Tom today on Zoom from Ocean City, where he is attending the Maryland Association of Counties Conference, MACo.  

We discuss the city’s agenda is at the annual conference. Plus, we hear the Mayor’s take on how the community is responding to Richard Worley, his nominee to be the next Police Chief.

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

In 2012, the Maryland legislature established the Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling to address the issue of problem gambling. The center's budget averages nearly $5 million per year, and funds treatment services and a 24-hour hotline. They also conduct studies to determine how many Maryland residents are struggling with gambling addiction.

Last month, in its most recent report, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability found that, while the national average of problem gamblers is about 5% of people who wager regularly, that number is closer to 9% in Maryland.

A little later, we’ll hear from a reporter who questions the data in the report, but the question remains: is the state failing the people who are having a tough time handling their gambling? Are there enough providers available to enough people?

Our guests include State Sen. Clarence Lam, a physician and the Senate Chair of the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee in the state legislature.

Steve Freiss also joins us. He is a senior staff writer with PlayUSA, where he writes about the casino and gambling industry, and a column called “State of Play.”

And later in the show, Dr. Lia Nower of the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey joins Midday.

If you or someone you know might be struggling with gambling addiction, you can find resources on the Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling's website. Help is also available via text or phone call through 1-800-GAMBLER, a free and confidential hotline staffed by trained counselors.

(Photo: Masood Aslami, via Pexels)

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

On Monday morning, former President Donald Trump faced 78 counts in three indictments. But by the end of the day, Fani Willis, the District Attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, added 13 more counts to the list of charges facing the 2024 presidential hopeful. 18 other former lawyers and aides are included as coconspirators in the indictment.

Our guest is legal scholar Jose Anderson, who is on the faculty of the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he is the Dean Joseph Curtis Professor of Law.

We are also joined by Isaac Arnsdorf, national political reporter for the Washington Post.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia, license CC BY-SA 3.0)

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

Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater joins Midday to discuss her growing constituency. She was elected last November in a tight race with State Sen. Michael Hough.

Frederick faces challenges different than in Baltimore City. While the Baltimore’s population is shrinking, Frederick is booming.

According to analysis of census data by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the city of Frederick added nearly 13,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, a population increase that is second only to Alexandria, VA during that period.

And with all those new people, come new issues, including a school system that is scrambling to keep up with expanding enrollment.

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

Why are so few new houses being built in the Baltimore metropolitan region, and what does the slow-down in permitting and construction mean for housing prices and availability?

Lori Graf is the CEO of the Maryland Building Industry Association. We discuss housing prices, housing inventory, and housing issues.

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

Today, on Midday: what to do about the nation's student debt crisis.

Forty-five million Americans are carrying debts from their or their children's education, totaling more than $1.7 trillion. Women borrow more than men. (They also complete their degrees more often.) African Americans borrow the most, and most frequently.

In 2022, then-WYPR education reporter Zshekinah Collier reported that the average student loan debt for a Maryland resident was $42,861, the second-highest average in the country, just behind Washington D.C.

The Biden Administration’s first plan to forgive some student loans for some students was struck down earlier this summer in a 6-3 ruling by the US Supreme Court. The White House immediately announced a new plan that pegs loan repayments to income levels. A beta version of the application website launched last week. The permanent site will be up later this month. A COVID-related payment hiatus period ends next month.

Let’s begin by understanding what’s in the new Biden plan, known as the SAVE Plan, for Saving on a Valuable Education. Tom's first guest is Katherine Knott, a journalist who covers federal policy for the online education news journal, Inside Higher Ed.  Katherine Knott joins us on Zoom from Washington, DC…

The three-year hiatus from loan repayments that began during the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end in October. Resuming those payments will be a certain hardship for tens of millions of borrowers already struggling with their monthly expenses.

Joining Tom now in Studio A is Dr. Tisa Silver Canady. Dr. Canady is a financial wellness advocate for scholars and the founder of the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness.

One of the programs that many families rely on to fund education is called a 529 Plan. Over the last few years, the MD 529 Plan encountered major problems stemming from mistakes in calculating the amount of interest the accounts were to have been credited with. The mess led to the resignation of the twelve-member board that overseeing the program. Last spring, the Maryland legislature transferred authority for the fund to State Treasurer Derek Davis. But now Davis, too, has come under criticism for problems with the fund.

A co-sponsor of that legislation was Maryland Delegate Catherine Forbes, a Democrat who represents District 43B (Baltimore County).

Del. Forbes joins us on Zoom from Towson, Maryland.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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

School starts for kids in Baltimore and beyond in just a couple of weeks, and when it does, more than 500 school food service workers will tend to the nutritional needs of those kids. School food encompasses much, much more than just lunch. Many kids rely on schools not just for lunch, but for breakfast, supper, and snacks as well. The National School Lunch Program, begun in the 1940s, is the largest food assistance program in the U.S. after SNAP.

We begin today on Midday with a celebration of the people who do the important work of feeding our children so they are able to learn and grow. The two school nutrition workers who join Tom in Studio A are also featured in an exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Industry called Food for Thought. Gail Pendelton has been a Food Service Manager with Baltimore City Public Schools for 35 years…Jami Washington is a Traveling Food Services Manager in NE Baltimore, with 24 years of experience.

Also joining us is Michael J. Wilson, the director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, a not-for-profit advocacy organization working to end hunger for low-income families in Maryland.

(Photo courtesy Baltimore Museum of Industry)

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

Joining Tom now is the Baltimore-based hip hop virtuoso, recording artist and activist Anthony Parker, better known as Wordsmith, the founder of the youth advocacy organization, Rise with a Purpose…

Also with us in studio are Tajae Holloway and Dayana Punnett, two of the performers in The Purple Tape, a new musical written and produced by Wordsmith in collaboration with the Baltimore Rock Opera Society, that celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip hop.

Set in Baltimore in the 90s, The Purple Tape's storyline incorporates classic period rap hits from Wu-Tang, The Notorious B.I.G., 2PAC and LL Cool J. The students of New Song Academy (where Wordsmith teaches) rap their way through a summer day as they embark on a hunt for a rare copy of the famous Raekwon album.

Only 10,000 cassettes of that album were printed, guaranteeing it would be intensely coveted by devoted Raekwon/Wu-Tang fans. The search for "The Purple Tape" ends up being a lesson in hip hop history, as the students come to realize the culture of hip hop is a way of living. The Purple Tape is an exuberant, educational and family-friendly musical experience.

(photo courtesy Wordsmith)

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