Midday

In today’s Conversations with the Candidate, Delegate Harry Bhandari joins Midday to explain why he thinks he should represent Maryland's 2nd Congressional District. Bhandari has represented District 8, covering Baltimore County, as a Democrat in the state General Assembly since 2019. He was born in Nepal and emigrated to the United States in 2005. After losing a bid for the House of Delegates in 2014, he ran again and won in 2018, becoming the first Nepali American to win election to a state legislature in the country.

The U.S. House seat opened following Representative Dutch Ruppersberger's announcement in January that he would not seek reelection to represent the district. 

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New polling data sheds light on how candidates are performing in primary races across Maryland. We hear the latest on Maryland's election campaigns from Hallie Miller of the Baltimore Banner.

Then we hear from WYPR's News Director Matt Bush and Maryland Matters Founding Editor Josh Kurtz for a lookback at the important points from this year's session.

(Photo by Rachel Baye, WYPR)

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.

Today we review Gem of the Ocean, which continues at Arena Players through April 28, 2024.

The play is by esteemed American playwright August Wilson. Is the Arena Players’ production a good introduction for newcomers of Wilson’s work?

(Photo by David Mitchell)

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

If history is a guide, there will be more than a few people finally getting around to filing their taxes this weekend. The deadline is Monday at midnight, unless you file for an extension.

If you live in one of 12 states in which the IRS has a pilot program, and you meet certain qualifications, you can file for free directly on the IRS website. Maryland is not one of those states. Maryland residents must either consult a tax professional, or use software programs that various companies make available, for a fee.

Tax season is the time of year when a lot of folks think about their financial situation and focus on planning their financial future. Today, we are going to talk about taxes, saving, investing and finances.

We begin with Beverly Winstead, an award-winning tax lawyer. Her firm, Beverly Winstead, LLC, represents individuals and businesses in disputes with federal and state agencies.

We also speak to the financial advisor Nicolas Abrams of Opulentia, a financial services firm in Hunt Valley, and Deborah Owens, a Wealth Coach™ and the founder of WealthyU: A Financial Wellness Company that specializes in helping women navigate investment decisions.

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

Yesterday, in a courtroom in Pontiac, Michigan, Jennifer and James Crumbley were each sentenced to prison for failing to prevent their son from killing four students in a 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School. Legal experts say it is the first time that parents of minors who commit murder have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and it could serve as a model for other cases around the country.

In Maryland on Sunday morning, Howard County Police arrested five teenagers and charged them with armed robbery and carjacking. And last week, in Baltimore, City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates announced the arrests of 20 juveniles he says are responsible for 53 crimes over a period of several months, including armed carjacking, armed robbery, and assault.

Bates stressed that his office will hold parents accountable for the illegal actions of their young children. Bates said, “If you are found to be contributing to the delinquency of a minor child, my office will look to charge you.”

Today, we explore the view of many who work in the field of child welfare. Two leaders of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law join the show.

Aubrey Edwards-Luce is the Center’s Executive Director and Shanta Trivedi is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Center’s Faculty Director.

(Julio Cortez/AP)

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

As warmer weather arrives, you might be repotting or revisiting your collection of houseplants. Propagation is the act of creating new plants from an existing plant, usually by repotting.

Hilton Carter joins the show to discuss his new guidebook to propagating houseplants of all shapes and sizes. Carter is an acclaimed plant stylist, television and podcast host, artist and best-selling author. His recently released book is, The Propagation Handbook: A Guide to Propagating Houseplants.

Carter is set to talk about his fifth book at Charm City Books on April 10, 2024.

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

April McClain Delaney is a Democrat and one of 16 candidates running for Congress in the 6th Congressional District. The incumbent in that seat, Representative David Trone, is running for the Senate against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. Her husband John Delaney held the 6th district seat for 6 years, from 2013-2019.

The 6th District is in the northwest part of our state and includes all of Garrett, Allegany, Frederick, and Washington counties as well as portions of Montgomery County.

Delaney was born in Buhl, Idaho, the daughter of a potato farmer and resides in Potomac. Until she left to pursue the 6th District seat, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the United States Department of Commerce. Prior to that, she was a member of the board and Washington Director of Common Sense Media.

McClain Delaney holds an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law School.

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

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

Discussion centers on The Squirrels at Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick through April 28, 2024.

The production, written by Robert Askins and directed by Julie Herber, follows the complex story of a family of grey squirrels at odds with a nearby family of fox squirrels.

(Photo by Meech Creative, LLC)

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

Political scientist Tom Schaller, who teaches at UMBC, and former Washington Post columnist Paul Waldman have written a book that examines how rural communities wield out-sized political influence. The book is called White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy and the authors assert that, quote, “white rural voters pose a growing threat to the world’s oldest constitutional democracy.

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

Today is Midday at the Movies, our monthly focus on new films and film-industry trends, with our regular movie aficionados, Jed Dietz, founding director of the Maryland Film Festival, and Ann Hornaday, film critic for the Washington Post.

We discuss some of our favorite movies of the past year, and look ahead to a couple upcoming releases. We also look ahead to the 25th Maryland Film Festival in May. Organizers have yet to be announced the lineup of films, officials have teased some of the biggest-draw events.

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