It’s been years in coming and tomorrow, Maryland’s gerrymandering case that’s been making its way through the courts, ends up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Congressional lines were re-drawn between 2010 and 2011 by state legislative leaders–all Democrats. Soon after some residents of the state’s Sixth Congressional District filed suit. Opponents claimed that the congressional lines had been gerrymandered by the Democrats, violating their First Amendment rights and reducing the chances for a Republican to be elected from that district.
Buildings demolished to help Baltimore fight crime, rebuild neighborhoods
They’re boarded up and crumbling down. Blocks of abandoned houses in Baltimore are being demolished as part of city and state’s joint Project C.O.R.E.–Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise. Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh says the buildings being targeted often contribute to the sale and use of drugs and other criminal gang activity. She says that bringing those structures down and rebuilding those neighborhoods and communities will help to push the city forward.
Maryland Senate considers bill banning gay conversion therapy
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland – Maryland could become the 10th state in the country to prohibit the controversial practice of “gay conversion therapy” by health professionals on minors. The Maryland state senate on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would classify the practice as unprofessional conduct. If a health professional were found to have violated the prohibition they would be subject to discipline from the state’s licensing board.
Thousands rally in DC for March for Our Lives
Just days after the fatal shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County in Southern Maryland, more than 100 students from the high school joined with hundreds of thousands of others from around the country in taking to the streets of Washington, D.C. last Saturday for the March for Our Lives.
Do Ho Suh’s “Almost Home” premieres at the Smithsonian
WASHINGTON – Do Ho Suh’s new exhibit, “Almost Home,” runs at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from March 16 to August 5. This is Suh’s first major exhibition on the East Coast. The immersive exhibit is comprised of “hubs,” hand-sewn,…
Local farm provides second chance for abused horses
It’s estimated that thousands of horses leave the U.S. every year for slaughterhouses in either Mexico or Canada. Many of those horses have been neglected and forgotten with nowhere else to go. But in Howard County, there’s a 60 acre farm where some extraordinary efforts are giving a second life to horses from around the country that might, otherwise, be on their last leg.
New exhibit offers virtual, alternative cherry blossom experience
With the colder than usual weather having delayed the peak bloom of Washington’s cherry blossoms visitors can take in a virtual, interactive look at the blossoms at ARTECHOUSE, an interactive art space in Southwest Washington only a few blocks from the National Mall.
Thousands of DMV students stage walkout for stricter gun regulation and greater school security
Students from Montgomery County’s Winston Churchill High School joined with thousands of other students from around the area on Wednesday in a walk-out, 17-minute silent protest and open call to the White House and Congress for better protections for students in school and additional gun control legislation.
Women block State House entrance to protest Potomac Pipeline
Five women, saying they were mothers and grandmothers, joined together to block the main entrance to the Maryland State House on Wednesday. All were arrested but released without charges. The five say their protest was an effort to convince the Governor to block the Potomac pipeline project. A decision on the project was expected Thursday.
Child gun deaths marked by display of thousands of empty shoes on the lawn of the Capitol
Tom Mauser lost his 15-year-old son Daniel in the Columbine shooting that changed the nation. Mauser made the trip from his Colorado home to Washington bringing with him a memory: two pairs of Daniel’s shoes, including the ones he wore when he became one of the 13 killed in the massacre at the high school in 1999. On Tuesday, the shoes became part of a display of 7,000 pairs of children’s shoes on display on the southeast lawn of the Capitol. Event organizers say the shoes represented the estimated gun deaths of children since Sandy Hook.