The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

What exactly are community schools? How are they funded? How are they different? And how well do they work? Maryland is spending almost 4 billion dollars a year to convert public schools to the community school model, and Baltimore Banner reporters Hallie Miller and Kristen Griffith join Aaron to visit some community schools and see how it’s going for students and their families.

In this episode, you’ll hear from:

Cheryl Brooks, Principal at Berkshire Elementary School

Malik Sollas, Community School Liaison at Berkshire Elementary School

Heather Chapman, Vice President of Neighborhood Zones, United Way of Central Maryland

Kelly Oglesbee, Community Schools Program Manager, United Way of Central Maryland

Michelle Gross, Family Center Director at Benjamin Franklin High School

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Theo Hill hosted a series of intimate and honest conversations with people battling addiction on his WYPR podcast, One Day at a Time. His producer, Aaron Henkin, takes some time this week to remember Theo, who died recently due to complications from a stroke. Mr. Hill was 22 years substance-free at the time of his death.

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It’s down in a gully near Bunker Hill Road in Hereford. Peer through the trees and you’ll see it, a vintage Baltimore streetcar, forgotten and rusting away in the forest. Hiker (and WYPR host) Ashley Sterner discovered the derelict streetcar a few years ago and has been obsessed with the mystery ever since: How did it end up there? And why? This episode, we pay a visit to The Baltimore Streetcar Museum and find answers.

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Ask MTA administrators and transit activists, and you’ll get the same answer: No idea. It’s just been that way forever. This episode, we find a fifty-year-old archival newspaper article that reveals some clues, and we hear from present-day student commuters about how well the system is working out for them today.

This episode, we hear from:

MDOT MTA Administrator Holly Arnold

Student bus commuters Isabelle, Imani, and Na’im

Ruth Farfel and Kwane Wyatt of The Fund for Educational Excellence

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When Charlie moved to Baltimore, her goal was to commute to work on a bus. It seemed like a reasonable plan. But it’s turned into a logistical nightmare. For Charlie, the bus system has proven to be unreliable, convoluted, and bewildering. Other cities can run a dependable bus service, so why can’t Baltimore? WYPR’s Aaron Henkin and Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller ride along with Charlie this episode and try to figure out what’s gone wrong, and why.

In this episode, we hear from:

Bus rider Charlie Amiot

Brian O’Malley and Danielle Sweeney of Central Maryland Transportation Alliance

Jed Weeks of Bikemore

Bakari Height, Transit Equity Organizer with The Labor Network for Sustainability

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Six months ago, Baltimore installed speed cameras on The Jones Falls Expressway, on a stretch of the highway where unsafe driving and traffic accidents have been a problem for years.  So, are the cameras having their intended effect? Aaron and Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller get some answers from the Baltimore City DOT.

In this episode, we hear from:

Corren Johnson, Interim Director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation

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It’s a civic duty. It’s a triumph of democracy. And if you live in Baltimore, it can feel like a hassle. Locals say they get summons letters from the city courthouse almost every year. Is that normal? Is it like that everywhere, or just in Baltimore? Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller teams up with Aaron to figure out how jury service works (and how it doesn’t).

Who you'll hear from this episode:

Brian Bornstein, research psychologist at Duke University Law School and co-author of the book The Jury Under Fire: Myth, Controversy, and Reform

Nancy Marder, professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and author of the book, The Power of the Jury: Transforming Citizens into Jurors

Baltimore jurors Uhmar Alston, Diana Farmer, Tamar Sarnoff, Ramsey Mihavitz, and Babloo Pilli

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The paint is worn thin, but the message is still there, a puzzling declaration from a foggy past. At some point in history, someone decided to emblazon the city’s public benches with the hyperbolically proud slogan:  Baltimore – The Greatest City in America. Where’d this over-the-top motto come from? And how’d it end up on all those benches? Baltimore Banner reporter Clara Longo de Freitas teams up with Aaron Henkin to find the answers.

In this episode, we hear from:

Martin O’Malley, Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007

Steve Kearney, Director of Policy and Communications during O’Malley’s Mayoral Administration

Kurt Schmoke, Mayor of Baltimore from to 1987 to 1999

Sandy Hillman, Former Head of Mayor William Donald Schaefer’s Office of Promotion and Tourism

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In the world of competitive lacrosse, Maryland is a powerhouse. It’s home to NCAA championship teams, national tournaments, the USA Lacrosse headquarters, and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum. But why? How did the sport originate, and what made it such a phenomenon in Maryland?

This episode, we meet:

Emma, Maya, and Carla Stromberg, Coppermine Lacrosse Club players

Matt Stromberg, Coppermine Lacrosse Club coach

Joe Finn, Archivist at USA Lacrosse

John and James Simermeyer, Native American Lacrosse Club coaches

Carol Samuels, former US Women’s Lacrosse Team player and retired coach

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The neighborhood post reads like the opening lines of a short story. “Although I love music, I don’t play, and my Steinway is silent. If by chance anyone knows of a good pianist who would like to come over to practice or play, or even do a nice soiree with guests, please let me know. I am only interested in classical music. No jazz, no pop, no ragtime, God forbid.” Dr. Robert Fiscella owns an antique Steinway that belonged to a renowned European pianist, his late friend, Agi Jambor.  This episode, we find an answer to Dr. Fiscella’s question, and we learn the story of Agi Jambor, with the help of Baltimore Banner reporter Tim Prudente.

In this episode we hear from:

Dr. Robert Fiscella

Baltimore Banner reporter Tim Prudente

Agi Jambor's nephew in Budapest, Robert Schiller

Agi Jambor's great niece in London, Frances Pinter, who published Jambor's memoir, Escaping Extermination

Concert pianist Sarah Cahill

Concert pianist and composer Wendel Patrick

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