@rickhutzell.bsky.social
I'm a columnist for The Baltimore Banner. I explore the world from the vantage point of Annapolis, a little city on the Chesapeake Bay.
Changes like this are big news on a personal level. Bars, restaurants and coffee shops are woven into the fabric of Annapolis. Yet people forget, it's happened before. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Annapolis restaurants keep changing, breaking local hearts
COLUMN | Places like 49 West in Annapolis are shared living spaces where ordinary people spend significant hours away from home and work. When they change, even if the new owners say they’ll keep it t...
thebanner.com
If the state loses its appeal of rulings knocking down the proposed referendum on a redistricting amendment to the state constitution, you can almost hear the explanation now — it was that “Hogan Court.” www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: ‘The Hogan Court’ is Maryland’s last hope in redistricting fight
COLUMN | If Maryland loses its redistricting lawsuit appeal this week, you can almost hear the explanation already — it was “The Hogan Court’s” fault. That would be wrong.
thebanner.com
Here, at the end of summer, is part of my Maryland essentials list — 50 things to do, eat, see and enjoy if you plan on spending any time here at all. How many can you check off? www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Just how Maryland are you? Here are 50 of our state’s essentials.
COLUMN | Maryland is filled with people, places and foods unique to this quirky little state. It takes years to add them to your essential checklist, but the process is what makes life here special.
thebanner.com
Motivated by a blissfully almost-outage-free summer at my house in Annapolis, I wanted to know who had the worst summer in 2026. So I went hunting for an answer. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Hunting for Maryland’s worst summer power outages of 2026
COLUMN | Maryland power outages spike every summer, and utilities know which parts of their systems are most vulnerable. Finding the worst-hit areas is harder.
thebanner.com
Sometimes I wonder if Wes Moore reads Dr. Seuss’ classic, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” for inspiration. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Wes Moore’s governing travel schedule, oh, the places he’ll go
COLUMN | As Dr. Seuss and the governor’s office constantly remind me, Wes Moore has places to go.
thebanner.com
Homeowner inadvertently caused Cape St. Claire explosion that killed wife, officials say
Homeowner inadvertently caused Cape St. Claire explosion that killed wife, officials say
A cut propane line led to an explosion in the Anne Arundel County neighborhood.
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The outcome of the lawsuit isn’t just whether the General Assembly correctly changed the rules for drawing congressional boundaries and sent them to voters for approval. The Annapolis courthouse is a testing ground for an assault on blue state elections. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Oversight Project is the real story in the Maryland redistricting lawsuit
COLUMN | The Oversight Project brings its “maximum warfare” on election laws to Annapolis, where attorney Samuel Dewey will fight to block a Maryland redistricting referendum.
thebanner.com
Anne Arundel Fire Department calls Cape St. Claire home explosion ‘accidental’
Anne Arundel Fire Department says home explosion was ‘accidental’
The Anne Arundel Fire Department called Wednesday’s explosion accidental and cleared a propane gas company of causing the blast.
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This had to happen eventually. Food trucks are now going where few have dared before — out on the Chesapeake Bay. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Maryland food trucks head out onto the Chesapeake Bay
COLUMN | Food trucks are going where few have dared before — out on the Chesapeake Bay. In boat-loving Maryland, this had to happen eventually.
thebanner.com
In the 3.5 years that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been in office, he has spent about 1 of every 5 days in other states, as his national profile grows. (This doesn’t count trips to DC or overseas.) The full story from me and @leeosanderlin.bsky.social: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has spent 1 in 5 days of his term in other states
Gov. Wes Moore has spent at least a portion of one in every five days out of state since he took office in 2023 — and that pace of travel has accelerated as his national profile has grown, according t...
thebanner.com
The first incident was No. 2. It’s where Baltimore's mystery pooper started, just two weeks after pools opened for the summer. Combined with the infamous public pee at M&T Bank Stadium, it has been a summer of bodily fluids. Maybe it’s something in the water. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Baltimore has a poop-in-the-pool problem. And pee in the stadium, too
COLUMN | I promise, I won’t be juvenile about this. Baltimore has a serial pooper on the loose. It’s a serious serial problem, and it’s a journalist’s duty to expose the truth. Ha ha. Duty.
thebanner.com
Towson University hires former St. John’s College president to lead new civics center
Towson University hires former St. John’s College president to lead new civics center
Nora Demleitner, who led Annapolis-based St. John’s College for three years, will become executive director of the Ben and Myrna Cardin Center for Civic Engagement and Discourse at Towson University.
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Larry Hogan and this Maryland college want to bridge the partisan divide
Larry Hogan and Washington College want to bridge the partisan divide
Maryland’s former governor and Washington College will open a civics center with help from political allies and alumni.
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Everyone in Maryland knows the right way to pick a crab, right? There is a method to it, one passed to young children and shared with first-time friends, cousins from Kentucky and inland in-laws. Well, what if we’ve been doing it wrong all along? www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: How not to pick a Maryland blue crab, my search for the right way
COLUMN | Everyone in Maryland knows how to pick a Chesapeake Bay crab, right? There is a method to it, a shared technique. Well, what if we’ve been doing it wrong all along?
thebanner.com
Annapolis author Tom Guay is working this summer to finish what he kicked off with 'Chesapeake Bound.' While we wait, I'll talk with him about character, research and Easter eggs hidden his historical fiction at the next Banner Book Club. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Banner Book Club explores Revolutionary mystery in ‘Chesapeake Bound’
COLUMN | Annapolis author Tom Guay will discuss "Chesapeake Bound" at The Banner Book Club, exploring research, characters and the Easter eggs hidden in his historical fiction novel.
thebanner.com
Inside the hunt for the biting beaver that wasn’t there
Inside the hunt for the biting beaver that wasn’t there
Maryland state wildlife workers are on a Bigfoot-style pursuit following two bizarre beaver attacks.
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We've heard the song of a Maryland breakup before. This time, it comes at a dangerous moment, one filled with a dread that MAGA faithful and the rest of us can no longer share the same national space. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Eastern Shore secession? Go on now, go, walk out the door.
COLUMN | The prospect of Mardelva is the latest in a line of oft-repeated threats to secede from Maryland. They grow loudest when the Eastern Shore fails to get its way in Annapolis.
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Rep. Andy Harris and his fate loomed over Annapolis during two days of debate in the General Assembly’s just-concluded special session. He's the indispensable man, at least, in the words of his State House fan club. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Andy Harris and the Maryland redistricting vote loom over Annapolis
COLUMN | Oh, Andy. What is Maryland to do with you? To hear Republicans in Annapolis tell it, you’re the damsel in distress, a starlet in the clutches of a King Kong gerrymander unleashed by Democrats...
thebanner.com
From breakfast to late-night eats, try these 7 Ocean City restaurants
From breakfast to late-night eats, try these 7 Ocean City restaurants
Here are seven independent, locally owned Ocean City eateries that are proven winners for both your belly and your wallet.
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There’s growing acknowledgment that change is coming to this pile of Maryland casino money. Next year, when recipients gather for big checks again, how the money gets distributed could be vastly different. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Live! Maryland annual grants face growing calls for change
COLUMN | There’s growing acknowledgment that change is coming for the millions of dollars handed out in grants funded by Live! Casino taxes every year. After 14 years, there’s interest in sharing the ...
thebanner.com
Eighty teenagers from Rockville, White Marsh and even Pennsylvania and New York were about to descend on Idlewild Park, a quiet triangle of grass and shade trees on the south side of this Eastern Shore town. They were coming to make a difference. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: In Jamie Raskin’s Democracy Summer, busloads of teens aim to flip Congress
COLUMN | A sea of gray-haired picketers angry about the state of the nation has been asking: Where are all the young people? I found 80 of them recently in Easton, Maryland — high schoolers lining up ...
thebanner.com
Amazon. Coca-Cola. IKEA. Unilever. Maryland's new plan to fight plastic pollution goes after the source — not just recruiting volunteer cleanup crews. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Plastic pollution chokes the Chesapeake Bay. Now there’s hope.
COLUMN | Where there are people, there is plastic. People are crap. You can hold cleanup days from now until forever, and it won’t stop plastic from flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. To do that, you ha...
thebanner.com
ICE releases Johns Hopkins researcher detained while boarding flight
Johns Hopkins researcher Fatima Ameaka released from ICE custody
A public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University who was arrested by immigration officials while boarding a domestic flight has been released after spending multiple days in federal custody across...
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What if the lawsuit against Anne Arundel schools isn't over pronouns? What if it isn't about trans kids in bathrooms or on sports teams. Parents should ask whether this is really about seizing control of schools from their communities. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: Stephen Miller’s trans persecution is here. Parents face hard questions.
COLUMN | What if this isn’t about parents’ rights and school bureaucrats? What if the lawsuit and threats to cut off school funding over pronouns and names are about seizing control of schools from lo...
thebanner.com
Annapolis considers annexing 5.4-acre site where developer plans townhomes
Annapolis considers annexing 5.4-acre site where developer plans townhomes
Annapolis has received a petition to annex about 5.4 acres of land along Bay Ridge Road — property that would potentially be developed into about 40 townhomes.
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Jen Pauliukonis is collecting data on gun violence in Maryland like no one before. If anyone can find a solution to inexplicable gun crimes like this one, it's her and the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention she leads . www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: This information could keep more Maryland teenagers from killing each other
COLUMN | Jen Pauliukonis is collecting data on gun violence in the state as no one has before.
thebanner.com
Into the valley of woke I went, crossing Constitution Avenue to the National Museum of American History doors. What I saw should make you wonder if we're all seeing the same exhibits. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Hutzell: I went to the Smithsonian for ‘woke’ history. The outrage was free.
COLUMN | The White House warned that I should be on the lookout for “anti-white,” “illegal alien” and “transgender” activism while walking through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History...
thebanner.com
The state legislature had 120 days to fix Pennsylvania's unconstitutional felony murder sentencing scheme. So far, they haven't done it. Each side holds up the worst, or best, case scenario as a reason not to compromise. I talked to the victims of those cases. Turns out, they largely agree.
PA lawmakers remain deadlocked on murder sentencing
Attorneys and victims’ families prefer a legislative solution over the potential chaos of judges deciding individual cases over years
spotlightpa.org
Come Monday, the county will lower the speed limit on Forest Drive from 40 to 35 mph, the first big step in a $10 million plan to make this dysfunctional back door to Maryland’s state capital safer. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The speed limit is dropping on Annapolis’ Forest Drive. Get your tickets now.
COLUMN | Anne Arundel County is lowering the speed limit on Forest Drive in Annapolis from 40 to 35 mph on Monday, the first big step in a $10 million plan to make this dysfunctional back door to Mary...
thebanner.com
Monday’s audit is the latest in a series of poor reports for the human services department. Follow @leeosanderlin.bsky.social for more.
Baltimore Banner@thebaltimorebanner.com · 2mo agoMaryland wrongly paid SNAP benefits to $2M lottery winner, incarcerated people