Midday

It’s Midday on the Arts.  A little later, Tom speaks with the founding executive director of the Peale Museum, which is re-opening to the public on Saturday after a major renovation. And J Wynn Rousuck will have a theater review.

But we’ll begin today with two local film makers who are the creators of a web series called Turf Valley.  It chronicles the lives of some stay at home dads, in episodes that are each 6 or 7 minutes long. Here’s a sample.

Tom Ventimiglia and Adam Rogers are the creators of Turf Valley. 

They join us on our digital lines.

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

Now, we're happy to welcome back to the show Shelonda Stokes, the president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, to talk about the BOOST Program for African American retailers…

She joins us on Zoom along with two entrepreneurs who are benefiting from the BOOST program:

Bryan Robinson is the arts studio proprietor of The Black Genius Art Show.

LaTonya Turnage is the founding owner of Elite Secrets Bridal Boutique.

They also join us on Zoom.

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

Today on Midday, conversations about promoting African American entrepreneurship and building Black business. A little later in the show, Tom speaks with Shelonda Stokes, the president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore about the BOOST Program, which promotes Black retailers in downtown Baltimore. We'll meet a couple of those business owners, as well.

But Tom's first guest is Dr. Gina Merritt. She is the owner of a real estate development firm called Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures, LLC, and she’s the founder of Project Community Capital, which connects low income residents with jobs from contractors who are hiring for local development projects.

Gina Merritt joins us on Zoom…

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

The WNBA superstar basketball player, Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for the past six months, and last week, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for bringing a cannabis product into the country. Former Marine Paul Whelan has been in prison in Russia for more than three and a half years, accused by Russia of espionage, a charge he vehemently denies.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of stating publicly the US willingness to engage in a prisoner swap to return Griner and Whelan to American soil. But while Griner and Whelan are the two detainees that have drawn the most attention, there are 67 Americans who are known to be wrongfully detained in countries around the world.

Sarah Krivanek, an American school teacher, for example, has also been detained in Russia for the past 9 months. Emad Sharghi, a businessman, has been sentenced on espionage charges to 10 years in an Iranian prison. Alirio Zambrano is being detained in Venezuela. 

Today on Midday, conversations with advocates for those who are being held hostage or being detained by a government.

Tom's first guest is Diane Foley, whose son James Foley was kidnapped, tortured and killed by ISIS while covering the war in Syria ten years ago. Diane Foley started the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation in his memory to advocate for the return of journalists and other hostages.

Diane Foley joins us on Zoom from Foundation headquarters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Then, Tom speaks with Neda Sharghi and Hannah Sharghi, the sister and daughter of Emad Sharghi about their family’s experience trying to bring their loved one home from his wrongful imprisonment in Iran, and their efforts on behalf of others through the Bring Our Families Home campaign.

Neda and Hanna Sharghi join us on Zoom from Washington, DC. 

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

Today, it's Midday on the Law. Tom's guest for the hour is David Jaros, associate professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and Faculty Director of the School's Center for Criminal Justice Reform.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby did not prevail in the primary election held last month, so she will not return to office for a third term in January. She will, however, return to federal court next month to face charges that she committed perjury when she applied to use funds from her retirement account for a down payment on some property in Florida, and that she lied on a mortgage application.

How did the indictment on these charges, which were announced in January, affect her chances in the primary, in which she placed last in a three person race? Would the charges brought against her by federal prosecutors have been brought against someone who was not a public official? Should elected leaders be held to a higher standard than the rest of us?

Mosby’s successor will be Ivan Bates. He will not face opposition in the general election in November, so he will be sworn-in as the next State’s Attorney on January 2nd. One of Marilyn Mosby’s most controversial decisions during her tenure was the decision to pursue a fifth trial in the controversial case of Keith Davis, Jr., who is accused of murdering Kevin Jones in 2015. Mr. Davis is scheduled to be tried again in May, 2023. He remains in jail, despite the fact that Ivan Bates has said he would not pursue a new trial. Will he remain there for the next five months?

And in the case of the murder of Timothy Reynolds, the bat-wielding motorist who confronted some squeegee workers near the Inner Harbor last month: is the charge of first degree murder against the 15-year-old boy who allegedly shot him the appropriate charge for this young defendant?

We discuss these three cases today. Professor David Jaros joins Tom in Studio A.  And we invite listeners to join the conversation as well.

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

It's time for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom each week with her reviews of Maryland's regional stage. Today, she tells us about American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words, the powerful new biographical musical drama now playing at Washington's Arena Stage.

The world premiere production is directed and co-written by Charles Randolph-Wright. His co-writer and the musical's composer and lyricist is Marcus Hummon.

The show is choreographed by Lorna Ventura, with music direction, orchestrations, and additional arrangements by Joseph Joubert.

American Prophet continues at Arena Stage in DC until August 28th. Follow the theater link for more information.

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

Welcome to another edition of Midday at the Movies, our monthly look at films and filmmaking. Today, Tom is joined by Ann Hornaday, a movie critic with the Washington Post, and author of the bestselling filmgoers' guide,Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies.

Today we'll take a closer look at director Jordan Peele's new sci-fi horror flick, Nope, and try to sort through some of the new crop of summer movies, from Ron Howard's new real-life rescue adventure, Thirteen Lives, and Dan Kwan's rollicking Everything Everywhere All at Once, to Lisa Dunham's Sharp Stick, her new movie about, no surprise, female sexual awakening. Ann Hornaday joins us on our digital line from Baltimore.

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

Tom's next guest is Baltimore businessman Lenzie Johnson. He's the Chief Operating Officer at L&J Waste and Recycling, a local company that hires young people from the Roca program.

Roca is a non-profit violence interruption program that's focused on helping young African American men, young mothers, and Central American youth who are fleeing violence, to cope with the trauma of urban violence and get their lives on track.

Lenzie Johnson joins Tom on Zoom from his office in West Baltimore…

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

Welcome to another edition of Midday with the Mayor, host Tom Hall's monthly conversations with Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott about key issues facing the citizens of Baltimore.

Today, Tom asks the mayor about the annual Public Safety Report summarizing progress on the mayor's Multi-Year Violence Prevention Plan; an update on the squeegee workers collaborative; a new city-wide count of the homeless; new allocations for American Rescue Plan funds, including nearly $15 million to the city's Clean Corps initiative to clean up and beautify targeted city neighborhoods; and this week's National Night Out events across the city.  

Mayor Brandon Scott joins us on Zoom from his office in City Hall. 

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

Today on Midday, another edition of our election-year series, Conversations with the Candidates, 2022.

In the race for Governor, Democrats nominated Wes Moore, a popular author and non-profit executive, making his first run for public office. Republicans voted for Dan Cox, an election denier and acolyte of Donald Trump. Mr. Moore is heavily favored to win, but at a unity rally in Silver Spring on Monday, Democrats vowed not to take anything for granted, and to run vigorous campaigns up and down the ballot.

Mr. Moore and Del. Cox will not be the only candidates on the ballot. There are five registered parties in Maryland. In addition to Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians, Green Party and Working Class candidates may appear on general election ballots, along with Independents. This year, the Green Party has nominated Nancy Wallace, a lawyer and environmentalist. The working class candidate is David Harding, who ran unsuccessfully for Baltimore Mayor in 2020. An independent named Kyle Sefcik will be on the ballot as well.

The Libertarian Party of Maryland's candidate is David Lashar, who is Tom's guest today.

David Lashar is an IT executive who served for as the Chief Information Officer at the MD Department of Health, where he later served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff. His running mate is Christiana Logansmith, a Navy veteran and businesswoman. This is Mr. Lashar’s second try at public office. He ran as a Libertarian for Congress against John Sarbanes in 2018.

David Lashar is 59 years old. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College in Russian Studies and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in Annapolis. He and his wife Margaret are the parents of a teenage daughter.

David Lashar joins us today in Studio A. 

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