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Emily Opilo

Emily

Emily Opilo covers City Hall for The Baltimore Banner. Before joining The Banner, she spent five years on the same beat for The Baltimore Sun and was named Baltimore Magazine’s City Hall reporter of the year for 2024. A Pennsylvania native, Emily previously covered city politics for The Morning Call in Allentown.

The latest from Emily Opilo

ReBUILD Metro has begun renovating abandoned homes on Mura Street in East Baltimore’s Johnston Square neighborhood.
Deputy to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott named city’s ‘permit czar’
A new deputy mayor for economic development was not announced.
Isabel Mercedes Cumming, Baltimore City’s inspector general, earlier this year.
Baltimore’s IG tweeted about a city union election. The results are now being contested.
Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming, a former prosecutor, offered a full-throated defense of her tweets, arguing that she posted each from her personal account.
Donald Trump vs. Wes Moore: Everything the president has said about Baltimore
In an escalating war of words, President Donald Trump threatened to send the National Guard to Baltimore, revoke funding for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge and questioned Gov. Wes Moore's military awards. The Democratic governor wants Trump to come see Baltimore for himself or “keep our names out of your mouth.”
Baltimore city garbage trucks are seen parked in a lot at 1727 S. Clinton Street.
Baltimore reaches ‘groundbreaking’ contract deal with trash workers following workplace deaths
Baltimore’s sanitation workers will be guaranteed wage increases and new safety measures under a contract tentatively agreed to this week,.
Mike McGeady is Baltimore City's first harbormaster in years. The harbormaster is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the harbor.
Baltimore’s waters got ‘a little piratey.’ Now the harbormaster is back on duty.
Baltimore, a city with 61 miles of shoreline, had no one minding the water.
The Northwest Citizens’ Convenience Center on Sisson Street in Baltimore.
Baltimore pushes to sell Sisson Street dump as developer closes in
Legislation authorizing the disposal of the Remington property, technically known as the Northwest Citizens Convenience Center, is due to be introduced to the Baltimore City Council next week.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington.
Trump, again, calls out city. Baltimore says, ‘You’re wrong, hon.’
President Donald Trump included Baltimore on a short list of Democratic-led cities he cast as crime-ridden, on the same day he deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.
Baltimore’s elections office has been without a permanent director since April.
Baltimore Election Board picks fresh face to lead office, ending Jones era
Tatum has worked for election agencies in Texas and Washington, D.C. as well as the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Two-term Mayor Brandon Scott has not said publicly what he’s planning to do next.
Brandon Scott’s fundraiser in Martha’s Vineyard will be for third mayoral run
The two-term mayor has not said publicly what might be next, but he has the option to run for a third term in 2028.
Baltimore City Council listened to residents and developers during a hearing on permit backlogs on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
As Baltimore’s massive permit backlog persists, City Council’s patience runs thin
Weeks after Baltimore leaders sounded the alarm about massive backlogs in the city’s newly instituted permitting system, housing and building permits continue to lag well behind previous years.
The site of the an underground fire on the morning of July 2, 2025. At this point, South Street was still closed and Baltimore Street was restricted to one lane.
Baltimore’s 19th-century underground pipes are literally bursting into flames
The 19th-century pipes underground in Baltimore City are bursting into flames, and the city and BGE are pointing fingers instead of finding a solution.
Comptroller Bill Henry called auto-enrolling employees in health insurance “common sense.” The mayor's allies said no.
Some Baltimore employees didn’t have health insurance. City leaders disagreed on a fix.
The Board of Estimates voted down an amendment intended to address a problem uncovered by Baltimore’s inspector general.
The Penn North neighborhood was full of emergency crews and outreach services on Friday, July 11, 2025 in Baltimore. Just a day following a mass-overdose in the area.
A week after mass overdose, Baltimore groups implore city to fund services in Penn North
Baltimore groups ask for more funding for drug treatment services in the Penn North neighborhood in West Baltimore.
Amber Greene, director of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights, speaks as Baltimore residents crowd the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting on police accountability on Tuesday to condemn police-related deaths.
Baltimore residents condemn police-related deaths at emotional hearing
Baltimore residents crowded the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting on police accountability to condemn police-related deaths.
Helicopters sit at the Pier 7 Heliport at 1800 S Clinton Street on Monday, June 9, 2025.
Scott Plank’s pitch to move Foxtrot’s base seemed like a long shot. Then state money appeared.
Although Baltimore City officials say they never sought the money from the state, they confirm they are exploring a deal with Plank to relocate the aviation unit.
Mayor Brandon Scott at a press conference at Baltimore City Hall last summer laid out his plans for managing the money won from pharmaceutical companies as part of ongoing opioid litigation.
New details revealed about Baltimore’s plan to reduce drug overdose deaths by nearly half
After Baltimore City scored a windfall of new money from settlements with drug companies, leaders unveiled a draft plan of how to tackle substance use.
Baltimore Police officers on scene of a shooting on the 2700 block of Mosher Street on Wednesday. The woman and officers in that shooting were identified.
70-year-old woman, officers identified in fatal West Baltimore police-involved shooting
Maryland authorities on Friday released the name of a 70-year-old woman who was fatally shot by Baltimore Police and the names of the officers involved.
Police Commissioner Richard Worley described the fatal shooting as tragic, but praised responding officers for following their training.
Bodycam footage shows police chase, fatal shooting of arabber in West Baltimore
Police on Monday released video showing the fatal police shooting of Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, a beloved arabber in Baltimore.
During his first budget leading Baltimore's City Council, Council President Zeke Cohen tried to send a message: Council won't be steamrolled.
Baltimore’s budget disagreements were about more than money
The mayor and City Council were both trying to send a message
Balloons tied to the railing outside Upton–Avenue Market Metro station on Thursday to honor Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, who was fatally shot by Baltimore Police this week.
An uneasy calm as West Baltimore organizes to remember well-known arabber killed by police
Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, who was shot and killed by police Tuesday, was a longtime arabber and a fixture in his community.
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