Latest content by Julie Scharper
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.
Greater Grace leaders name organization to lead sex abuse investigation
Greater Grace officials announced that they had selected an evangelical nonprofit, GRACE, to lead an independent investigation of sexual abuse in the church.
A 13,000-year-old quarry is about to be unearthed in Reisterstown
The rolling green fields surrounding an Episcopal church in Maryland conceal a secret: Native Americans made weapons here 13,000 years ago.
Ex-Greater Grace members describe despair, isolation, then healing
Former members of Greater Grace World Outreach were shunned after leaving the controversial megachurch. For many, it took decades to build a new life outside.
Rachel Morin’s children sue grandmother, aunt over GoFundMe proceeds
Rachel Morin's five children have filed a lawsuit alleging their grandmother and aunt have kept the proceeds from a GoFundMe and four other fundraisers.
Greater Grace church vows to probe its handling of sex abuse allegations, publicize the findings
The East Baltimore-based church expects to select a firm in the next few weeks and anticipates the work could take up to six months. Pastor Robert Colban's empathetic tone Sunday marked a departure from the more defensive sermons delivered by another pastor in response to a Baltimore Banner series of articles.
Dozens protest at Greater Grace church in wake of sex abuse investigation
Many former members of Greater Grace World Outreach flocked to the East Baltimore church Friday evening to protest leaders’ handling of allegations of child sex abuse — the subject of a Baltimore Banner investigation.
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