Latest content by Julie Scharper
Bringing joy to the lonely Santa of Marley Station Mall
Santa Wayne has held court at Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie for 35 years — nearly as long as the mall has been open. But, with much of the mall vacant, Santa Wayne has seen hardly any children this year.
Fire destroys ‘iconic’ red shed in Station North, unsettling a community of unhoused people
Red Shed Village’s eponymous structure burned down on Thanksgiving. The community of unhoused people who live around it, and the unusual church that supports them, is working to build back.
The theme of their holiday photos? Awkward. Very awkward.
Aesthetically pleasing photo shoots are out and awkward is in.
Isolated and disengaged: Piecing together Luigi Mangione’s lost year
Earlier this year, Luigi Mangione disengaged. His mother filed a missing person report and friends pleaded with him to return their messages.
Chunk of crumbling railroad bridge injures driver in East Baltimore
Photos of the scene show a mangled dark Ford SUV with a shattered windshield.
Saying goodbye to a Catholic church — and a link to my family’s past
There are places that become part of us, and places where part of us of remains. Corpus Christi, one of dozens of Baltimore-area Catholic parishes set to close at the end of the month, is that kind of place for my family.
10 Maryland-made gifts that put Amazon to shame
Jeff Bezos doesn't need your money, but local artists, artisans and shopkeepers do.
One of the country’s few gender-affirming thrift stores is in Baltimore
Trans and nonbinary people can struggle to find clothes that fit their bodies, their gender expression and their budget, but the Skylight Boutique is a thrift store stocked with items that are often difficult and expensive to obtain.
Way down in the hole: Exploring Hampden’s creepy solitary-confinement cells
The basement in The Castle in Hampden is a grim remnant of another era: a duo of dark, dank solitary confinement cells.
Is your kid coughing? Walking pneumonia surging in Maryland
The bacteria infecting children right now, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, typically triggers a spike in pneumonia cases in children every 3-7 years. However, like so many other things, the COVID pandemic disrupted the cycle.
These Maryland women were accused of witchcraft. Their crime? Having power.
Women who possessed special knowledge, such as midwives or herbalists, were more likely to be accused of witchcraft, as were women in need, including widows and beggars.
The racist roots of Maryland’s mythical Snallygaster monster
The Snallygaster appears to have been invented by the staff of a small newspaper to terrorize and control Black people in the early 1900s.
‘Not an easy time.’ Archdiocese begins process of closing dozens of Catholic churches by Dec. 1
Archdiocese of Baltimore has made official the closure of more than half the Catholic churches in city, nearby suburbs.
100s of black cats roamed a Chesapeake Bay island. Then they disappeared.
Charles Carroll III gathered hundreds of black cats on a Chesapeake Bay island to create a fur farm in the 1840s. Where did they all go?
Underground fire chars Baltimore bookstore, disrupts internet and power
An underground fire shut down streets in downtown Baltimore and caused power and internet outages Sunday.
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