Midday

First District Baltimore Councilman Zeke Cohen dominated the primary and general election to become the next President of the Baltimore City Council, succeeding Nick Mosby. Cohen is a Democrat who has been on the council since 2016.

Cohen joins Midday to talk about his priorities as he assumes one of only three city-wide offices.

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

It is the Midday Newswrap on today's show.

Baltimore’s go-it-alone approach to holding companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic continues to pay off. This week, the city won yet another huge judgment. WYPR’s Health Reporter Scott Maucione has the latest.

Plus, Aman Azhar of Inside Climate News reports on efforts to end Maryland’s use of energy generated by trash incineration. Advocates have long railed against waste-to-energy plants, but now lawmakers are signaling their appetite for change.

 And, we remember a titan of Baltimore politics. Mary Pat Clarke passed away this week. Former Baltimore City Councilman Anthony Ambridge reflects on her life of service.

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

Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Midday to share another weekly review of a local theatrical production.

This week, we discuss Into the Woods, at the Vagabond Players through Sunday, Nov. 17.

Then we briefly take a look at another Broadway musical in town, MJ, at the Hippodrome through Sunday.

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

Today, a conversation about how immigration policy will change when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. He says his intention is to hire or nominate immigration officials who have long taken hardline positions.

Tom speaks with Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the President and CEO of Global Refuge, which provides asylum services and assists refugees with resettlement.

He also talks with Mark Parker, who has just been elected to serve on the Baltimore City Council to represent District 1, which includes a large Hispanic population. Community organizer Susana Barrios also joins us. She is the Vice President of the Latino Racial Justice Circle.

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

More than one in five people in Baltimore live in a food desert, which the city calls “Healthy Food Priority Areas.” More than 30% of people who live a quarter-mile from an affordable grocery store in the city are African American.

A quick trip to a full-service grocery store, or a trip for a week's worth of food, is made harder when supermarkets are farther away. Convenience stores and small corner markets fill in the gap, but they rarely offer produce or affordable prices.

The residents in neighborhoods near the B&O Railroad Museum were part of that grim statistic until recently. A new store in the Mount Clare Junction shopping plaza, JumboFresh Supermarket, features a wide variety of foods and products catering to the culturally-diverse clientele of nearby neighborhoods.

Improving food access is crucial for the health and wellbeing of city residents. Today, a discussion about how this new store came to open in Southwest Baltimore, its unique business model and what it means to the residents of the surrounding areas. Are there lessons other neighborhoods can replicate?

We begin with Bif Browning, the President of the Union Square Association, and Jonathan Tejada, a JumboFresh staff member.

Later in the program, we talk to Baltimore City 10th District Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, and Carrie Baniszewski, the Executive Director of the neighborhood development nonprofit Pigtown Main Street.

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

WYPR Reporter John Lee joins Midday to discuss an eventful time in Baltimore County politics.

The Baltimore County Council is set to expand in 2026 after voters approved a measure to add two members to the 7-member body. And with Johnny Olszewski heading to Washington, D.C., the county also needs to find a new county executive.

Plus, the Baltimore County Council decided to keep a district map it drew for nine council seats, but the issues is not resolved. Councilman Julian Jones, a Democrat, said is it likely the County Council will be sued over the nine-district map.

Lee catches us up on the latest.

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

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joins Midday to discuss his priorities as he enters a second term. What are the prospects for projects planned with federal assistance? While President Joe Biden made promises to Baltimore, the administration of President-elect Donald Trump may not offer continued support.

We also discuss Baltimore Safe Streets, a prominent part of the city's violence reduction strategy, the passing of the influential Mary Pat Clarke and the status of repairs following underground fires in the city near the electrical infrastructure.

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

2024 has been a transformative year for women’s sports with the prominence of Baltimore's own Angel Reese, along with Caitlin Clark, in the WNBA. Plus, the summer Olympics in Paris saw the women's soccer team and gymnastics team earning gold.

Two sports journalists join Midday to discuss the breakout year in women's sports in advance of a symposium being held Tuesday at The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland. 

Guests for this conversation are USA Today Sports columnist Christine Brennan and Ringer staff writer Mirin Fader.

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

On today's Midday Healthwatch, our monthly conversations about public health with Dr. Leana Wen, we discuss the future of public health policy as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term.

Given his administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during his first term, what can we expect in the case of a future health crisis? And what will the fate of agencies like the FDA or CDC be?

Wen will answer your questions about your health concerns, including bird flu, COVID-19 and more.

Wen was the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City from 2014 to 2018. In addition to being a columnist on health matters for the Washington Post, she also writes on medical topics for CNN, and she serves as a scholar at George Washington University and the Brookings Institution.

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

Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Midday to share another weekly review of a local theatrical production.

This week Rousuck reviews the Maryland premiere of The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, at Notre Dame of Maryland University through November 10th.

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