Violence in Baltimore appears to have taken a dip, with September recording 13 homicides and the total number of people killed in 2022 is slightly lower than at the same time in 2021. However, while some leaders inside City Hall are pointing out the positives, others say now is not the time to take a victory lap. Monday morning, Baltimore Police reported no overnight shootings or homicides. To date, 565 people have been shot and another 254 have been killed. While talking about community violence intervention programs who received federal grant money, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Anthony Barksdale said “we are trending in the right direction” when it comes to homicide numbers. “Imagine if I was saying we are plus 22,” Barksdale said. “Of course, there&rsqu...
Governor Larry Hogan announced a third application round of Opportunity Zone Microgrant Funding will open on Tuesday, October 4. The grants will allow eligible small businesses seeking to expand within designated Opportunity Zones to apply for micro grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. For more details on Opportunity Zones in Maryland, visit here. Potential applicants can check if their business is in an eligible location with the Maryland Opportunity Zone Information Exchange here. “Throughout my administration, we have used every tool at our disposal to support and grow small businesses in our state, including promoting the tax incentives and redevelopment potential provided by Maryland’s designated Opportunity Zones,” said Governor Hogan. “Init...
U.S. Senators and Congressmen announced over $4 million in federal assistance to help low-income residents across Maryland afford housing. The assistance is administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's New Incremental Housing Choice Vouchers Program. “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. But we know housing costs are eating up too large a share of lower-income residents’ budgets, often leaving them with impossible choices between paying for rent or meeting their daily needs. This federal relief will help those facing hardship find suitable housing for their families as we continue working to increase access to affordable housing in our communities,” said the lawmakers. The federal grants will be distributed all across Ma...
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 3, 2022 - Whether you are the driver or an active participant, doing donuts and/or street racing is now subject to a $1,000 fine + up to 12 months in jail. Baltimore City is now leading the charge to end this dangerous and disruptive behavior. Thank you Mayor Scott for signing the bill today and to Council President Mosby and all of my council colleagues for your support.
If Teshuva preceded the world, and our Torah is the blueprint for the universe, and all the actions of our Avos are a portent for their descendants — it would seem reasonable to assume that the instructions for this marvelous gift of repentance be apparent in the life and times of the Avos. The Midrash asserts that Reuven the firstborn son of Yaakov Avinu introduced this notion of Teshuvah to the world. He is the sole individual who identified as a בעל תשובה — ‘master of Repentance’. The ‘sin’ that Reuven repented for, that earned him this honorary title was his ‘tampering with his father’s bed’. After the death of Rachel, Yaakov established his primary residence in the tent of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant. Reuven consid...
Gerald Groff was a Pennsylvania mailman. When Amazon contracted with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver packages on Sundays, Mr. Groff, who observes Sunday as the Sabbath, was faced with a religious dilemma. Mr. Groff attempted to make arrangements with the USPS to avoid working Sundays by offering to work multiple make-up shifts and even by switching postal offices, but the Postal Service deemed this insufficient and multiple disciplinary actions were taken against him. Facing termination Mr. Groff chose, instead, to resign from the USPS.   Following his resignation, Mr. Groff sued the USPS for failing to accommodate his sincerely held religious beliefs. However, he was unsuccessful as both the trial court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him...
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday accused Israel and the United States of orchestrating the disturbances taking place throughout the country in recent weeks. The Iranian leader strongly backed the regime’s security forces, which are repressing the protests, and claimed that the unrest, sparked by the death on Sept. 16 of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, was not being caused by “ordinary Iranians,” Reuters reported. Amini died in custody after being arrested by Iranian morality police in Tehran for failing to wear her veil correctly. Khamenei said her death “deeply broke my heart,” calling it a “bitter incident,” according to the report. Yet, he added, “some people had caused insecurity in the streets,” accusi...
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case about whether the Justice Department (DOJ) can use “filter teams,” such as the one enlisted by the DOJ to begin a review of evidence collected at former President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago to determine whether they are privileged. The Justices denied a writ of certiorari in Korf v. United States, which questioned the legality of “filter team” protocols that allow teams of federal prosecutors and agents not assigned to a given case to review seized documents claimed to be privileged before the privilege question has been resolved. The DOJ used a filter team to begin a review of the evidence collected during the execution of a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence before Trump succes...
In light of continued pressure from GOP investigators looking to uncover whether President Joe Biden had any knowledge of his son Hunter's foreign business dealings, White House aides have reportedly begun suggesting Biden may opt not to run for reelection if running again meant Hunter would face congressional subpoenas and investigations. "If a GOP-led House turns up the heat on Hunter Biden, it could weigh heavily in the president’s decision to run for a second term," wrote Politico Playbook's Eugene Daniels on Monday. "White House officials said Biden is preparing to seek reelection, but a final decision likely won’t be made for several months, with the first lady having an outsized influence. Some aides believe that Biden could forgo another campaign if...
Kosher Concepts; a poignant and timely message by Rabbi Paysach Krohn. Raising the awareness to kashrus in our homes and preventing timtum halev. Watch, and be inspired.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to the federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.  On its first day back in session, the Supreme Court declined to hear an argument from Missouri as well as nine other states -- Nebraska, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming -- opposing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate implemented by President Biden’s administration for workers in all healthcare facilities that receive federal funding, Reuters reported.  Biden implemented the rule in November 2021. In January, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision to allow Biden’s vaccine mandate to continue as arguments played out in lower courts. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice B...
The Baltimore City Council plans to vote on a bill to fund a study for a new bike path from the Inner Harbor into Pennsylvania. The study would look at possible trails for the bike path that would connect the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail, also known as the NCR Trail in Baltimore County to the Jones Falls Trail in Baltimore City. The $120,000 requested would go towards the study. Sixteen miles separate the two trails by car. If connected, The Heritage Rail Trail in Pennsylvania would pick up from there as cyclists cross the Mason-Dixon Line.
As we approach the General Election, we're taking a closer look at the five constitutional amendment questions all Marylanders will see on their ballot this fall. Question 1 proposes renaming the top two levels of Maryland's court system. What's now considered the Maryland Court of Appeals would become the Supreme Court of Maryland, and the Court of Special Appeals would become the Appellate Court of Maryland, if the majority of voters vote in favor of this amendment. Question 2 asks voters to adds a place of abode requirement for State Senators and Delegates. If passed by the voters, it would require a candidate for senator or delegate to the General Assembly "to have maintained a primary place of abode in the district that the person has been chosen to repres...
A federal judge sided with the state of Georgia in a lawsuit filed by a group associated with Democrat Stacey Abrams challenging the constitutionality of its election practices.  "Although Georgia’s election system is not perfect, the challenged practices violate neither the constitution nor the VRA," U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, an Obama appointee, wrote, referring to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He detailed his reasoning in a 288-page order siding against Abrams’ Fair Fight Georgia group in a lawsuit filed four years ago alleging voter suppression and racial discrimination after she narrowly lost to the state’s current Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Kemp, who was Georgia Secretary of State when the lawsuit was filed, applauded the ruling as a vi...
 The Supreme Court is beginning its new term, welcoming the public back to the courtroom and hearing arguments for the first time since issuing a landmark ruling stripping away women's constitutional protections for abortion. Monday's session also is the first time new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court's first Black female justice, will participate in arguments. And the public is back for the first time since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The court's overturning of the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade abortion decision is still reverberating in legal fights over state abortion bans and other restrictions. But a new stack of high-profile cases awaits the justices. Also hanging over the justices is some unf...
The UK and continental Europe have been hit by an “unprecedented” number of cases of avian flu this summer, with 47.7m birds having been culled since last autumn, according to new figures. Poultry producers from as far north as Norway’s Svalbard islands to southern Portugal have together reported almost 2,500 outbreaks of the disease since last year. There have also been thousands of outbreaks recorded in wild birds, according to the latest update from the EU’s European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, European Food Safety Authority and the EU reference laboratory. The virus reached breeding colonies of sea birds on the north Atlantic coast, killing huge numbers. In past years, outbreaks of avian flu declined with warmer weather and ...
Baltimore, MD – Oct.  2022 - Every Shabbos table offers every Jewish family an incredible opportunity by which they can share their joy for Shabbos, for Yiddishkeit and for HaShem with their children. Unfortunately, our schedules are hectic and many people don’t have the time to prepare themselves to utilize the Shabbos table to its fullest. Therefore, we at ACHIM created TableTalk as a pre-packaged talking points pamphlet which is attractive, fun and has something for everyone. Limited copies are distributed to many shuls on a weekly basis but they are snatched up very quickly. Get yours ASAP or click on the graphic below and print your own.What’s in it and what’s all the excitement about?TableTalk features:•    Weekly halachic dilemma crea...
Days after landfall, dangers persist, even worsening in some places The confirmed death toll from Hurricane Ian, which slammed the southeast United States last week, rose to at least 81 in Florida alone, officials said on Monday. There were several fatalities in Cuba and North Carolina as well, though no official toll was available. Ian, one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States, flattened entire neighborhoods and knocked out power lines and bridges as it made landfall on Florida's southwestern coast last Wednesday. Days after it carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dangers persisted, and even worsened in some places. It was clear, as President Joe Biden pointed out earlier, that the road to recovery from this monster storm wil...
United Airlines is temporarily halting service at New York’s JFK Airport, saying its schedule there is too small to remain competitive. In a note shared with CNN Business, the airline said the start of the winter season, when more airlines resume flying to and from JFK, contributed to its “difficult decision.” “The significance of JFK to our operation hasn’t changed — we think New York customers deserve more choices, and robust United service to JFK is good for our customers, our employees and our airline,” United said in the letter. “As a result, we will continue our pursuit of a bigger and more desirable schedule for our customers and be ready to seize those opportunities if and when they surface.” United has been negotiating with ...
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