Dan Rodricks

A friend notes that, when she visits Italy, the question Italians ask is, “Why Donald Trump?” They think Americans were foolish for making him president in 2016 and for making him the Republican nominee again this year. They consider Trump an international joke. Of course, Italy had as prime minister through four governments Silvio Berlusconi, … Continue reading America: Exceptional for all the wrong reasons

As mentioned in my column of April 4, starting with the current production of “Gem Of The Ocean” at Arena Players, a collaboration of Baltimore theater companies will stage August Wilson’s 10 plays about 20th century Black life over the next three years. That means a whole new generation of theatergoers will get to see … Continue reading Thank you, Arena Players, for an excellent ‘Gem of the Ocean,’ start of the August Wilson series

The Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects is hosting a public lecture toprovide professional information about MCB Real Estate's Harborplace redevelopment plan, the subject of my weekend column in The Baltimore Sun.It is because of the November voter referendum that AIA Baltimore's Urban Design committee is seeking to increase awareness of the plan … Continue reading Learn more about the Harborplace redevelopment plan on May 8

If you know someone looking for a job, here's some information from the Baltimore Mayor's Office about an upcoming event, a Baltimore City job fair to connect job seekers with a wide range of employment opportunities within local government, particularly historically hard-to-hire positions. This event will take place on Thursday, April 25, 2024 from 10 … Continue reading Baltimore hiring fair coming up

My Sun column today notes the similarities between the New York criminal case against Trump and the many other cases that have come and gone in courts across the land with business owners, managers or employees caught in schemes to defraud. Trump is accused of falsifying -- or causing to be falsified -- the records … Continue reading Common criminality: Take away Trump’s celebrity and the porn star, and the NY case is like many others prosecuted every day

The image with this post probably seems a little surreal or abstract; it’s certainly not an example of high-definition nature photography. But it gives a sense of what you see in April, when herring first arrive in a freshwater creek. You detect movement of some kind, but you’re not sure. Your eye has to adjust … Continue reading Trying to catch herring with your hands

A question about the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge — specifically, where will the steel come from to replace it? — got me to today’s Sun column: The state of Maryland should salvage as much of the FSK steel as possible, send it to modern mills, melt it down, refabricate it and use it to … Continue reading Americans still make lots of steel, mostly from scrap

My latest Sun column is about three of the many ironworkers who built the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the 1970s and who this week mourn its destruction. With this post -- and the photograph above -- we meet a fourth ironworker who worked on the bridge. His name is Jim Bollino. He's 80 years … Continue reading Elegy for a bridge: Ironworkers recall building the Francis Scott Key

When NBC News announced that the network had hired the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee as an on-air political commentator, Twitter filled up immediately with calls for a boycott of NBC and MSNBC. It was a typical reaction to something that hacks people off -- stop buying the product. That works for pillows … Continue reading NBC’s Ronna McDaniel Mistake: A lesson in supporting journalists over ideologues

In this, the Year of Eating Chesapeake Catfish, Chef Nancy Longo of Pierpoint Restaurant in Fells Point will be hosting two Nights of Eating Chesapeake Catfish, specifically the invasive blue catfish that you've been hearing so much about (from me and others). There will be great eats in a multi-course meal and a discussion of … Continue reading Chesapeake Blue Catfish Dinners with Chef Nancy Longo, April 11 & 12

When the day gets too long and thoughts crowd into the room – regrets and feelings of loss, but also questions, the wonder-why and wonder-where of old acquaintances and absent friends – Trexler comes to mind. Yes, Trexler, my old friend. He’s the main character in E.B. White’s short story, “The Second Tree From The … Continue reading My old friend Trexler and the second tree from the corner

At a campaign rally over the weekend, Trump mocked President Biden for being a stutterer: “I’m gonna bring the country tuh-tuh-tuh-together,” he said, as if quoting a line from Biden’s State of the Union speech. It was a continuation of the ridicule Trump had started at a rally in January. “He’s a threat to duh-duh-duh-democracy,” … Continue reading Cruel and indecent, unworthy of a single vote

Among the most stark and depressing realities about America in 2024: We are stuck with a Supreme Court that represents the crowning achievement of an activist conservative plutocracy and serves a regressive agenda that undermines democracy.  Look at what just happened: The Court, with three of the nine justices selected by Trump, pretty much guaranteed … Continue reading The Supreme Court serves Trump and MAGA, and to hell with democracy

The skeleton of this 80-foot pine tree along the banks of the Youghiogheny River in western Maryland arrived at some point during the previous eight weeks. The last time I visited this spot, near the Yock’s confluence with Sang Run, it was not there. It was well upstream, half submerged. I assumed it would be … Continue reading Deadfall, and the power of big water

Winslow I have received almost as many comments about the sets of my two plays, “Baltimore, You Have No Idea,” and “Baltimore Docket,” as I have about the performances, and for good reason: The designer and artist, Christopher Winslow, and the set carpenter, Gary Flowers, went above and beyond my expectations for scenery. Flowers They … Continue reading The Overzealous Artist: Christopher Winslow

I don't use this space for calendar announcements, but one of my favorite troubadours is performing songs of one of my favorite troubadours this week, so here goes . . . ROBIN BULLOCK’S TRIBUTE TO the late GORDON LIGHTFOOT Thursday, February 22Tickets & info: https://uptownconcerts.comMasks Optional @Temple Isaiah, 12200 Scaggsville Rd., Fulton Maryland      One of Canada’s … Continue reading A Gordon Lightfoot tribute by Robin Bullock

We took apart the set of “Baltimore Docket” on Sunday and packed it away with the help of the carpenter who built it (Gary Flowers) and the man who turned it into a work of art (Christopher Winslow). I have a feeling we will revive this play about trials I have covered over the years … Continue reading Closing notes: The Baltimore plays

Baltimore still has more than 13,000 vacant houses; some could be renovated and modernized, some torn down and replaced with new housing. Hope Village in East Baltimore offers a model for smaller, affordable homes that could be built on some of the city's many vacant lots. The mayor's office, the Greater Baltimore Committee and the … Continue reading Homers for Homes: How new Orioles ownership can create more homeownership in Baltimore

I hear it all the time, and more so since the events of the last week, with the special counsel's controversial report on President Biden's handling of classified documents: Joe is old, the Democrats should have nominated someone else to serve the next four-year term as president. Robert Hur, the former U.S. Attorney in Baltimore, … Continue reading Biden is old, Trump is old and dangerous

My column on Friday played off of a politician's public expression of a desire to "move on" from a series of financial difficulties and misleading public statements to continue his career in office. I speak of Nick Mosby, the president of the Baltimore City Council. He's seeking re-election despite personal problems that raise serious questions … Continue reading About a Robert Frost poem, and the darker meaning of ‘moving on’

My Sun column today is about the brief written for the Supreme Court by Mark Graber, the Maryland law professor whose constitutional expertise helped disqualify from office a New Mexico man who joined the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Graber’s conclusion in the brief — that Donald Trump’s words and … Continue reading In brief: Trump is an insurrectionist, and we can’t just “move on,” as Republicans would like

I just need to take a moment to congratulate the Baltimore Stars girls for their Bronze Division championship in the Chesapeake Bay Hockey League, and I do this for a couple of reasons: My daughter and son, Julia and Nick, coached them to this victory, and because we were among a handful of parents who … Continue reading Girls just wanna play hockey: Baltimore Stars

I received a notice the other day from the U.S. District Court in Maryland that I might be called for federal jury duty. It was not a summons, merely a request that I fill out a juror questionnaire. If I do not do as requested, the letter said, "you may be subject to a fine … Continue reading Mosby trial: Taking the laws of the land seriously

Each winter, I open my collection of Robert Frost poems and read them, starting with my favorite, “Birches.” After reading, reciting and studying the poem for nearly 50 years, I have a few things to say about it. When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I … Continue reading On ‘Birches’ by Robert Frost

In my latest Sun column: Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, talks about his bill to prohibit activities of the self-proclaimed militia we saw on display during the Trump years and at the Capitol on Jan. 6 -- the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and other groups of camo-clad white men in protracted adolescence. Raskin often hears … Continue reading No, you don’t get to overthrow the government of the United States

The photo to the right is of the Staples parking lot behind the York Road store in Baltimore, a classic example of a place that needs to be turned back to urban forest -- or developed into a much-needed something else. I can't think of a time when, during fairly frequent trips to this store, … Continue reading Tear up unused parking lots, plant trees

Help me out here. What are the characteristics of people we like the least? Who is the person we are most likely to avoid, much less nominate for a position of honor or power? No one likes a bully, right? No one likes men or women who boast all the time, exaggerate or lie to … Continue reading The kind of person we little care for

Since the pandemic, regional theaters have been struggling, and the news from Center Stage in Baltimore last week was not great: Some layoffs and a cut in pay for the remaining staff. Center Stage underwent a $28 million renovation before reopening in 2017; it also saw a high turnover in board members in recent years. … Continue reading A new model for live theater?

Ron DeSantis, the annoying Florida governor who burned through a grotesque amount of money in a failed bid to wrest the Republican nomination for president from Trump, must, during his morning shave, look in the mirror and tell himself: "It's a cult, and you can't crack a cult." I have no proof of that, of … Continue reading DeSantis lesson: You can’t crack a cult

I bought a quart of milk in a glass bottle, and while I know milk-the-old-way is a thing – a Whole Foods/local dairy thing that has been around for a while – this was my first indulgence in glass in a very long time. The $2.99 purchase caused me to stop and think – because … Continue reading Milk in glass bottles

For more than two decades, Christine Lemarié and her sister, Dominque, sat in Maryland courtrooms for WBAL-TV and WJZ-TV to capture scenes from trials for the evening news. Cameras were not allowed in Maryland courtrooms -- they are still prohibited -- so it was left to the Lemarié sisters, immigrants from France, and their talented colleagues … Continue reading Deadline Art: The courtroom drawings of Christine Lemarié 

Readers might recall Bassam Nasser, head of the Gaza office for Catholic Relief Services and the subject of a recent column. He's the man who, after an interview at CRS headquarters in Baltimore a few years ago, surprised me with a gift of handmade rosary beads. When last we heard, he and his family had … Continue reading With love, from Palestine

Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, bowed out of the Republican presidential campaign tonight, and as I reflected on his effort over the last several months — his loud and consistent takedowns of Trump as a threat to democracy — I thought of another former Republican governor, Maryland’s Larry Hogan.Where is he? What has … Continue reading Chris Christie spoke the truth about Trump loudly and clearly. Larry Hogan? Meh.

Sometimes, as when the fishing's slow or when the whole world seems cloudy and ominous, I like to stand peaceably by a river, throw the dead branch of a tree in the current and watch it go. I did this when I was a kid -- so that my friends downstream would have something to … Continue reading A river ritual to start the year

Just a quick note on this penultimate day of 2023 to remind members of the Trump cult that Couy Griffin, founder of Cowboys for Trump, was banned from holding public office in New Mexico last year because of his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection against Congress. In September 2022, a state judge removed Griffin … Continue reading “If Griffin is disqualified, then it’s a little hard to see why Trump wouldn’t be disqualified.”

In his strong and convincing performance as Linwood Taylor in “Baltimore, You Have No Idea,” Kevin Richardson plays a lifelong mentor to the recovering Harry Calloway. At one point in a monologue about the difficulties of former inmates in recovery, Richardson’s Taylor says, “I figure, if you’re not encouraging someone somewhere at some time, you’re … Continue reading  A gift we have to give with words and deeds

A waitress at a diner saw my bumper sticker and asked what it meant: “Baltimore, You Have No Idea.” I told her it was the title of my play, but that it could mean a lot of things. I’ve heard the expression in so many forms and used in so many contexts that it’s impossible … Continue reading It means what you want it to mean

My weekend column is about Chef Michel Tersiguel's decision, after the pandemic, to turn his menu from a conventional one to a "chef's choice," offering the same six courses for all diners at just two seatings only four nights a week. He charges $99 for this, a fixed price that includes wine, making Tersiguel's French … Continue reading The problem with a ‘chef’s choice’ menu

Dear Mike Bloomberg: The last time I asked you to consider making a $1 billion donation to Baltimore Community Lending for a housing program here, Forbes estimated your net worth at $59 billion. In its most recent estimate, Forbes has you at $96.3 billion. Since you took the pledge to give away most of your … Continue reading Dear Mike Bloomberg: Giving to Johns Hopkins is great, but what about the rest of Baltimore?

Five performances of "Baltimore, You Have No Idea" have sold out. Tickets are $27 and still available for the remaining December performance. Thank you to those who purchased tickets, and we look forward to seeing all of you -- and more of you -- at the Meyerhoff Auditorium of the Baltimore Museum of Art. (BMA … Continue reading Five of six performances sold out: Baltimore, You Have No Idea

As mentioned in my Friday Sun column, my family's recent visit to Paris included a stroll through the city's subterranean history via the Musée des Égouts de Paris, or the sewer museum. The sewers of Paris are considered an engineering and architectural marvel because, prior to its elaborate construction, the city was a noxious mess. … Continue reading Photos: Public works and the common good

I first suggested this three mayors ago: Get NBA star Carmelo Anthony, who played at Towson Catholic and has strong Baltimore ties, to make some powerful, visually arresting public service videos imploring an end to the shooting. You say no one will listen? I say it’s never been tried. Baltimore needs a consistent, high-profile anti-violence … Continue reading Can you change someone’s mind in 60 seconds?

I have a long fascination with World War I only because I find it so hideously absurd, one of human history’s foolish and costly eruptions of large-scale violence. It started in 1914 and ended on this date — at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — in 1918. More than … Continue reading War then, war now: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”

I took part in a panel discussion Friday about current events, and the subjects included the ugly rise of antisemitism around the country and particularly on college campuses. After addressing the current rise within the context of the Israel-Hamas War, one of the panelists noted the surge in hate crimes and white nationalism since Trump … Continue reading Yeah, sorry, Trump fans. Your man owns a big piece of the surge in hate crimes. No other modern president comes close.

Maryland was first declared a “Free State” after the legislature abolished slavery in the 19th Century. In the early 20th Century, it was a Baltimore Sun guy, Evening Sun editor Hamilton Owens, who popularized Maryland  as "The Free State" after Congress passed a law prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Marylanders opposed and … Continue reading A spirited celebration of Maryland history

We chose the Meyerhoff Auditorium -- it really deserves to be called a theater -- for my plays because the stage and house are the right size, the seating is comfortable for patrons, the tech support superb, the piano excellent and because the venue is inside the fabulous Baltimore Museum of Art. Here's a suggestion … Continue reading Visit Baltimore’s great art museum, see my plays

My hometown, East Bridgewater, Mass., celebrates the bicentennial of its incorporation this year, though the old Plymouth County settlement is much older than that. I was asked to write a remembrance of growing up there for a bicentennial book. I was given permission to post it here. The East Bridgewater I knew — population about … Continue reading East Bridgewater, the hometown eternal

When I was new to column writing, a woman contacted me to discuss a legal battle that pretty much consumed her life — the matter of child custody resulting from a bitter divorce. Her ex-husband lived in Florida and wanted full custody of her two children while the woman, of course, had hired a Maryland … Continue reading Child custody: Among the most volatile of court cases

Henry Cawley, the central character of a scene in my play, “Baltimore, You Have No Idea,” is based on a real-life drug dealer named Harry Calloway, a man I first met 18 years ago when I wrote a series of columns in The Sun about the obstacles ex-offenders faced when they tried to find jobs … Continue reading Rewriting the play to reflect real-life: The Harry Calloway Story

I have developed a reaction to news of war — in Ukraine, now in Gaza — or news of violence anywhere, hate crimes, bigotry and ridiculous political developments such as the one playing out among Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. My reaction, before engaging in the usual analysis to which a newspaper columnist … Continue reading Wasting valuable time as the Big Clock ticks against the life of our planet