Kristen Griffith

Anne Arundel County got caught off guard by ‘devastating’ development moratorium Elected officials, economic leaders and other analysts were all caught off guard by a potential five-year development moratorium in the part of Anne Arundel County surrounding BWI, Arundel Mills and j...

There's a stretch of Maryland that's next to BWI and just north of Fort Meade. It holds housing, the Arundel Mills mall and has been targeted for growth and development.

And it's under a complete development moratorium that seems to have come without warning. Read more in @thebaltimorebanner.com —

Baltimore’s top educator wants to end the iPad kid epidemic Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises announced strict screen time limits for kindergarten through second grade students.

Kids in the "iPad generation" have grown more reliant on screens at home and in school since the pandemic.

The head of Baltimore's public schools has had enough. She introduced screen time and digital device limits, though she doesn't think they go far enough.

www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

For the first time, we now know how many Black-owned bookstores exist in the U.S. The National Association of Black Bookstores has released the “first comprehensive national report” on the state of America’s Black-owned bookstores.

There has never been an official, comprehensive record of Black-owned bookstores across the United States — until now

MoCo bill would prohibit ICE building permits The Montgomery County Council announced its latest step Monday to counter the federal campaign to deport immigrants, which has disrupted the lives of hundreds of county residents.

Montgomery County wants to ban permits for ICE facilities after seeing warehouses turned into detention centers in other parts of the state. My latest: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Hundreds of Panamanian golden frogs are breeding in a closed-to-the-public section of the @marylandzoo.bsky.social in an effort to save them from extinction. Soon, zoo workers plan to bring some back to Panama…

Elaine Johnson Coates blazed a path for Black women at UMD Elaine Johnson Coates, the first Black woman to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, died Feb. 14. She was 88.

In 1959, she became the first African American woman to earn an undergraduate degree from the university.
By Cayla Harris
www.thebanner.com/obituaries/e...

When immigrants can’t leave their homes, this reading expert comes to the door Amid a federal immigration crackdown, scared families are avoiding public spaces and staying home. Norma Montesino is one of the few people they’ll let in.

A little bit of happy for your Wed. morning: We've been reporting for months that the federal immigration crackdown is keeping some scared immigrant families from venturing outside their homes. Norma Montesino is the bilingual Santa Claus bringing reading to them. www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Adding to records spat, Montgomery County IG denied request Megan Limarzi, the inspector general for Montgomery County, said her office was denied a record by the county attorney’s office under the Maryland Public Information Act.

As Baltimore officials are embroiled in a legal fight over inspector general access to municipal records for investigations, Montgomery County's inspector general says a routine request for a record was denied. She told me this has never happened to her before.

www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Sacked by Trump, Peggy Carr is now on Maryland’s school board Gov. Wes Moore appointed the prominent education leader, who will represent Montgomery County.

Trump fired Peggy Carr so abruptly from her national education job that she had very little time to collect her belongings.
Now, Gov. Wes Moore is giving Carr a spot on the Maryland State school board representing Montgomery County. By @lizbowie.bsky.social
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

A stunning 1942 photo of a couple inspired a search for a Baltimore love story How a photo sent a reporter on a quest to find a complicated love story in Baltimore.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

For nearly two years, this photo has lived rent free in my mind.

I finally got to find out what happened to Ellin and Franklin, the former Frederick Douglass High School students whose spark electrified this photo from 1942.

www.thebanner.com/community/fa...

As deportation raids escalate across the country, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed legislation Tuesday to limit how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates within the county’s borders.

It just got easier for Baltimore County students to apply for college Not only has applying to community college become a lot smoother for Baltimore County Public Schools students, but it also guarantees they are accepted.

It just got easier for Baltimore County students to apply for college

How a trip to New Orleans unseated one of Maryland’s longest-running school leaders The calls for Sean Bulson’s ouster started long before questions about that night in New Orleans.

ICYMI: Harford County's school board voted to fire its superintendent on Monday. His ousting had been years in the making.
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Charges dropped against gym teacher accused of sexually abusing 2 students Roger Myers, 61, of Towson, had been charged in Baltimore County Circuit Court with sexual abuse of a minor, third- and fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault.

Prosecutors drop all charges against Baltimore County gym teacher accused of sexually abusing 2 students. (w/ @kris10griffith.bsky.social) (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Iced sidewalks, no buses: How Maryland School for the Blind finally reopened Reopening was complex for the Maryland School for the Blind in Northeast Baltimore, where over 200 students with visual disabilities, some of whom use wheelchairs or canes to get around, go to school.

Thought it was hard for your school to reopen after the storm? The state's only school serving blind students had to de-ice thousands of feet of sidewalk while stuck beholden to surrounding districts' closure decisions. Plus, they're not allowed to go virtual. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

We are so incredibly thrilled to receive this honor.

Working on this project was one of the highlights of my career and I could not be more grateful to @ire.org and my entire team.

Thank you to all my colleagues at @thebaltimorebanner.com and all of our readers and supporters.

School background checks are law but educators slip through the cracks Three Maryland school districts admitted they don’t regularly screen applicants.

Three Maryland school systems do not regularly screen their job applicants, despite a state law requiring them to do so.
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Random junk marks the spot in Baltimore’s snow parking wars To chair, or not to chair? Baltimore residents turn to children's kitchenettes, tiki torches and good, old lawn chairs to preserve hard-won parking spots as the dig-out from Storm Fern continues.

Household items are making their way outdoors in Baltimore. Do you save your parking spot after a snowstorm?

www.thebanner.com/community/tr...

Boxing champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis arrested after 2-week search The Miami Gardens Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force on Wednesday arrested Davis on charges including battery, false imprisonment and attempted kidnapping.

Baltimore boxing champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis arrested after 2-week search. (w/ @darreonna.bsky.social) (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

As MICA hits 200, the art school looks to a new kind of student After years of bleeding cash and students, the Bolton Hill-based college, MICA, announces a new strategy.

🎨After years of bleeding cash and students, the Maryland Institute College of Art announced new strategic investments to turn things around. My story about changes coming to Baltimore's art school and its 200th anniversary celebration, here:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Montgomery County leaders try to strengthen their hand against ICE Montgomery County Council members introduced two bills Tuesday to curb how ICE conducts detentions and deportations within the county’s borders.

A Montgomery County councilmember watched a teenage boy detained by ICE. Wearing pajamas in the cold, the boy showed ICE agents proof of his citizenship, to no avail, she said. County officials want to prevent this, so they're proposing more restrictions on ICE: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

UMD, BCCC violated law in union negotiations, labor board finds The University of Maryland in College Park and Baltimore City Community College violated state labor laws while bargaining with their unions, according to the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board.

New: The Maryland Public Employee Relations Board ruled that the University of Maryland, College Park and Baltimore City Community College both violated state labor laws while bargaining with their respective unions. The decision is unusual, experts say:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

After years of struggles, Baltimore’s only all-boys public school to close The Baltimore City school board voted Wednesday to close its only all-boys public school, Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, while putting off decisions on two other proposed school closures.

After a contentious renewal process, Baltimore is shutting down its only all-boys charter school. Two small traditional schools were also up for closure, but the board chose to kick the can down the road - to when they'll have a new CEO in charge of recommendations. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

3 Maryland members of Congress back Noem impeachment effort House lawmakers have filed impeachment articles alleging Noem obstructed Congress by preventing it from conducting detention center oversight visits and violated the public trust by using excessive force...

3 Maryland members of Congress back Noem impeachment effort

How a law firm's Facebook post rocked Harford County schools Lawyer Adele Brockmeyer, a partner at Turnbull Brockmeyer Law Group, released a 911 call purportedly from Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson.

By @kris10griffith.bsky.social and @sararuberg.bsky.social: How a law firm’s Facebook post rocked Harford County schools. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Venezuela’s Oil Is a Focus of Trump’s Campaign Against Maduro

Since ousting Maduro, Trump has focused on getting "total access" to Venezuela's oil. That has been key to his thinking on Venezuela all along. Here's a gift link to the @nytimes.com story that @julianbarnes.bsky.social and I did last month on how it drove him: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/u...

Homeschooling has exploded in Maryland A by-the-numbers look at the increase in Maryland homeschooling since COVID-19 that seems here to stay.

For my first story of 2026, I dug into the numbers defining a trend that has exploded in Maryland since the pandemic: homeschooling. There's been a 50% uptick since the 2019-20 school year, holding steady as public school enrollment declines www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Baltimore teacher by day, lawyer by night — and a lifeline for his students When Nick McDaniels isn’t in the classroom at Mervo High School in Baltimore, he’s running a law firm.

By @kris10griffith.bsky.social: Baltimore teacher by day, lawyer by night — and a lifeline for his students. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

More Maryland foster kids are staying with family Research shows that foster kids adjust better and are more likely to be reunited with the parents when they stay under the care of loved ones.

Maryland is boosting the share of foster kids living with family&loved ones, progress experts lauded, but the state still lags behind the national average. Have a story to share in Maryland foster or kinship care? I'd love to talk with you: maya.lora@thebanner.com www.thebanner.com/community/fa...

What We Know About Rob Reiner and His Death The director’s family said that he and his wife, Michele, had died on Sunday. The police said they had found two bodies at the Reiner home in Los Angeles.

Rob Reiner, the award-winning Hollywood actor and director, and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their home on Sunday in Los Angeles. Officials said they were investigating the deaths as homicides.

Here's what we know.