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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They’re a tiny team. But they’re undaunted by the magnitude of the task at hand. Eric Ford and Tony Clark have been working together for more than twenty years on Baltimore’s graffiti removal unit, remediating the city’s graffiti problem, one service request at a time, free of charge. Aaron Henkin and Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller spend a day on the job with the guys, and they ask: What’s it like to do a job you know is going to get undone, over and over again? In this episode, we meet: Eric Ford, Tony Clark, and Yolanda Cason of Baltimore’s Graffiti Removal Unit Mixed Media Artist Kristin Fuller Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A ton of sugar a week. That's what it takes to fuel this longtime Baltimore family business. Rheb's Candies has been crafting homemade chocolates for four generations. During the holidays, there's a line of customers out the door and down the block. This episode, we get a golden ticket to visit the rowhouse-basement factory where the magic happens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode takes on a question from a far-from-home listener. Robert Cusworth is from Maryland, he’s in the US Coast Guard, and he’s currently stationed in Guam. He noticed that one of the ships in the fleet out there is named USCG Cutter Myrtle Hazard. (Cool name, right?) Well, he heard the ship’s namesake was originally from Baltimore. So, who is Myrtle Hazard? And why is there a Coast Guard ship in Guam named after her? In this episode, we hear from: Robert Cusworth, USCG Petty Officer stationed in Guam US Coast Guard Historian William Thiesen Lieutenant Jalle Merritt, Commanding Officer of the USCG Cutter Myrtle Hazard See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you seen that Rapunzel-looking brick tower next to the Hoes Heights neighborhood in North Baltimore? It just got restored, and everyone agrees it looks beautiful. That’s pretty much where the good feelings end. Now there’s a bitter argument over what’s going to happen to the little plot of land around the tower. Some folks want a park. Others want access roads. Baltimore Banner reporter Jasmine Vaughn-Hall joins the podcast to unpack how a seemingly innocent planning project has reaggravated some long-standing racial wounds in a historically Black neighborhood. In this episode, we hear from: Baltimore Banner reporter Jasmine Vaughn-Hall Baltimore Brew reporter Fern Shen Claire Agre of Unknown Studio Hoes Heights Action Committee members Joanne Kent, Eleanor Matthews, Teri Logan, Hana Morford, and Kitsy Lee Friends of the Roland Water Tower member Michael Falk Baltimore City Council Members Odette Ramos and James Torrence See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a not-so-secret weapon that gives The Ravens their home field advantage: Baltimore’s Marching Ravens are a massive musical hype machine that brings hometown crowds to their feet with the Ravens Fight Song. They’re more than a hundred members strong. Their halftime show is a spectacle of uniform precision. And their musicianship is awe-inspiring. But who are these people? How did this band come to be? And is it true that they helped save football in Baltimore? This episode, we meet: Band President John Ziemann Music Director Dan Fake Band members Nathan Beans, Gigi Kwik Gronvall, Kim Smith, and Brooke Coleman See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They’re wandering through yards, snacking on gardens. They’re hanging out in neighborhood parks. They’re strolling down the middle of the streets. Deer are everywhere. Or at least it feels that way if you live up and down the Baltimore DC corridor. Is this normal? Banner reporters Hallie Miller and Liz Bowie have been reporting on the state’s deer population, and they join us this episode to answer the question: Why are the deer surrounding us, and what we should do about it? In this episode, you’ll hear from: Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller Baltimore Banner reporter Liz Bowie Carrie Engel, Greenhouse Manager at Valley View Farms George Timko, Deer Project Co-Leader at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It just appeared one day, inexplicably. An empty coffin, nestled in the woods on the bank of Stony Run Creek in Wyman Park. An engraved nameplate read, “Mathilda Lorenz, died July 26, 1882, aged 18 years, 2 months, and 1 day.” The neighbors were baffled. And then, a few weeks later, just as strangely, the coffin disappeared. Baltimore Banner reporter Julie Scharper became obsessed with this stubborn local mystery, she followed a winding trail of breadcrumbs, and she joins us this episode to reveal what she’s discovered. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s covered in graffiti, overgrown by the forest, and neglected by the city, but Fort Armistead was once a state-of-the-art coastal defense installation. Why was this place built? Whatever happened to it? What’s going on there now? Is it true that you can find tunnels into it? And what’ll you discover if you venture inside? By the way, check out Baltimore Heritage's Five Minute Histories video about Fort Armistead Park! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our quest takes us to a ring-jousting event hosted by the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association. Then we venture into a forest to find the ruins of a Gothic mansion where the state’s first official joust was held. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s listener grew up in Maryland, and he always just assumed there were roadside pit beef stands across the whole country. Not so! Pit beef is a hyper-regional food tradition rooted in Baltimore’s industrial past, and we head out to explore the origins and permutations of this local delicacy. In this episode, we hear from: Simone Phillips of the food blog, Charm City Table Allison Robicelli, who wrote the Washington Post article, Here are 11 of the best places to enjoy pit beef – Maryland’s answer to barbecue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.