A new Baltimore health commissioner will take over an office that has been known for doing big things. Lately, there hasn't been a leader there to oversee even the little things.
Baltimore is sending at least eight officials to the annual International Council of Shopping Centers convention at a cost of more than $27,000, according to publicly available travel requests.
City officials know of at least 12,000 federal employees who work in Baltimore, but there are untold more who commute to other locations or work from home in the city.
A Baltimore Banner analysis of city records and social media posts found that Bates spent at least 44 days outside the city since he took office, excluding personal travel which does not need to be approved by the city spending board.
Out of 1,086 votes cast, 86% were in support of keeping the special taxing district that pays for trash pickup, economic development and other initiatives.