Midday

Baltimore City Hall is excited to receive new artwork for its walls this year. Five portraits of the most recent mayors will be painted by local artists. The last mayor to have a portrait painted for display in City Hall is Martin O’Malley, who was in office from 1999 to 2007. The city of Baltimore revealed the names of the five artists chosen to paint the portraits exclusively on Midday. The winn...

The 149th running of the Preakness Stakes is tomorrow at Pimlico Race Course, the historic, but dilapidated, track that is now owned by the state of Maryland. Del. Sandy Rosenberg joins me to talk about the future of horse racing, and what we can expect over the next few years at Pimlico and the surrounding Park Heights neighborhood. (Photo by Miki Hellerbach) Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us...

Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Midday to share another weekly review of a local theatrical production. We discuss The Importance of Being Earnest at Baltimore Center Stage until May 26 . The production is a reimagination of Oscar Wilde’s witty and humorous classic. (Photo by Michael Henniger) Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Three City Council races are still too close to call in Districts 8, 11 and 12. Hallie Miller, a reporter for our news partner, The Baltimore Banner is covering the primary elections for these competitive seats. She joins Midday to discuss the latest on the vote counts and shares predictions for when election watchers will know the final results. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Email us at midday@wypr.o...

Last year, the American Library Association reported a 20% increase from the previous year in efforts to ban books in the US in both school and public libraries. As WYPR education reporter Bri Hatch reported , 148 titles were challenged in Maryland last year, which made our state one of more than a dozen states to exceed one hundred banned books. Maryland is one of the states with laws that requir...

Navasha Daya is a Baltimore-based performing artist, songwriter and activist who has earned international acclaim. She has performed internationally, sharing stages with the likes of Erykah Badu, Joan Baez and Common. She is also an activist and organizer. She cofounded the Healing & Performing Arts of the Youth Resiliency Institute, and she is also the co-director of the Cherry Hill Arts &amp...

Democrats and Republicans in Maryland now know the nominees for their respective parties in some of November's important elections. Votes cast in last night's primary election are being counted, but the results so far pointed to several clear cut victories. Mayor Brandon Scott  trounced challenged Sheila Dixon in Baltimore city's mayor race , while Howard County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is  set...

Voters across Maryland are heading to the polls today to pick their party's nominee in a slate of important local and statewide races . WYPR Reporter John Lee shares updates on the opening of polling locations in Baltimore City this morning. Then, Brenda Wintrode , a reporter for WYPR news partner the Baltimore Banner , joins us to discuss the latest from voting locations in Annapolis. We are also...

A section of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge was demolished Sunday, as engineers work to clear wreckage . Engineers say they successful used controlled explosives to remove remnants of the bridge from the deck of the cargo ship Dali. Following the ship's collision with the bridge March 26, remnants of the roadway had been strewn across the vessel. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joins Midday to dis...

Tom speaks with Darnyle Wharton, Co-Organizer of the Baltimore Peace Movement, about their annual Mother's Day Weekend anti-violence initiative. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

The big primary election of 2024 is tomorrow. Republicans and Democrats will cast ballots for President in their respective parties. Voters across the state will also weigh-in on races to choose nominees for the US Senate and the House of Representatives, and here in Baltimore, voters will decide nominees in two of the three city-wide offices: Mayor and President of the City Council, as well as ci...

Midday Theater Critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom for a weekly theater review. Today she discusses Miss Holmes , which envisions Miss Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Dorothy Watson as investigators working to close a mysterious case.  The production continues until May 19 at the Fells Point Corner Theater. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

On this week's edition of the Midday News Wrap, Tom begins with a conversation on the most competitive City Council races with Baltimore Banner Reporter Hallie Miller. We also get the latest on the City Council President candidates with WYPR Reporter Wambui Kamau and explore the pro-Palestinian protests on John Hopkins' campus with WYPR Reporter Bri Hatch. Photo Credit: Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR Emai...

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore issued its State of Downtown report last month. Baltimore's urban core is one of the few places in the city that experienced a population increase in recent years. With museums, sports venues, libraries, and restaurants, downtown remains a popular destination for many locals and visitors. As a hybrid model of work persists, office space is in less demand. How...

Today we speak to one of America’s most acclaimed classical composers. Nico Muhly has worked big-time organizations like the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Tomorrow night, some his music, juxtaposed with music that has been formative to Nico, will be performed at a local church that has one of the area’s finest music programs. Email us at midday@wypr.org, twee...

When former Gov. Larry Hogan made a last-minute entry into the Republican primary for Maryland's open U.S. Senate seat, the 2024 Democratic primary gained new national significance. With a thin majority in the Senate, the eventual Democratic nominee will likely face a capable challenger in Hogan. The two leading candidates in the Democratic primary are Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsob...

As the primary in Maryland enters into its final days, the race for the Democratic nomination for Maryland's U.S. Senate seat grows contentious. Washington Post reporter Erin Cox has been following the U.S. Senate race and joins us to discuss the latest. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Judith Krummeck 's The Deceived Ones reinterprets the classic Twelfth Night in a contemporary Baltimore setting. Her new novel chronicles the journey of twins, Vira and Sevastyan, a brother and sister from Ukraine who escape their war-torn homeland and come to Charm City. Vira is a talented musician, who becomes begins working on a new opera at the Peabody Institute in the Mount Vernon neighborhoo...

Slow Time is Antje Rauwerda 's debut novel. The Goucher College professor set her story in Govans, the northeast Baltimore neighborhood she calls come. The setting comes alive in Rauwerda's story, and is as vibrantly described as the characters who call Govans home. At the outset of the story, the book’s protagonists, Danny and Em, know each other only in passing. As their connection deepens, we l...

Dr. Leana Wen joins Tom for Midday Healthwatch for their monthly discussion about the public health of Charm City residents. Today, Wen will answer your questions about the recent outbreak of bird flu among animal populations, including dairy cows. While documented cases are clustered in just a handful of states, the Maryland Department of Agriculture is taking steps to protect the state’s food su...

Leading Baltimore mayoral candidate Thiru Vignarajah dropped out of the race for the city's top leadership position and endorsed his opponent, Sheila Dixon, ahead of this month’s Democratic primary. The endorsement came during a surprise announcement Wednesday in Fells Point. Dixon and Vignarajah would not confirm whether a role in Dixon’s administration would be down the road. Emily Sullivan , Ci...

Today is Midday at the Movies,  our monthly focus on new films and film-industry trends, with our regular movie aficionado,   founding director of the Maryland Film Festival Jed Dietz . The Maryland Film Festival is this weekend, and promises a slate of films and videos reflecting Charm City's unique culture. Local, national and international screenings covering a broad range of genres are on the...

In Reading Genesis , author Marilynne Robinson revisits the Scripture and explores the rich themes of the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Robinson argues both academic and fundamentalist interpretations of the Book of Genesis lead to a lack of appreciation for the grand example of literature found within this foundational tome. Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us:...

Over 30 years ago, The Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies was created in Baltimore, tasked with building bridges between the world's Abrahamic religions. The organization's founding Executive Director Christopher Leighton released a new book that tries to equip readers to breakdown the anger, fear and mistrust harbored between followers of the different faiths. In A Sacred Argume...

Commissioner of the Baltimore City Police Department Richard Worley joins Midday to discuss challenges facing his department, which he has lead for less than a year. Worley, a native of Pigtown in southeast Baltimore, is a longtime member of the department and was named acting commissioner in June 2023. His nomination was approved by Baltimore city council last October . Homicides and non-fatal sh...