Dan Rodricks - baltimoresun.com

One man's mob is another's crowd: Colliding realities of downtown Baltimore

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:43:00 GMT

Our views of the city reflect something we all have — our prejudices

Whether they live in Baltimore or its suburbs, whether they're here every day, once in a blue moon or never at all, everyone has an opinion, everyone has prejudices, everyone constructs their own reality about the city.

What downtown needs: More cops, fewer knuckleheads

Dan Rodricks — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:49:00 GMT

After fighting bad guys with guns and stemming homicides, Baltimore police need to make the city center safe

During a stroll Thursday night from Little Italy to Harborplace, I bought jelly beans in The Best of Luck candy store, listened to a sidewalk trumpeter play the blues, noted several dead lights that left unappealing darkness along Pratt Street, and watched a Baltimore police officer train his flashlight into cars approaching the stop at Pratt and South, apparently looking for anyone not wearing a seat belt.

Water bills and government's fragile reputation

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:43:00 GMT

Baltimore's Great Water Bill Commiseration goes on midst a national debate about the scope and efficiency of government

I want to thank Ms. Nina Platt of Homeland for providing me with a copy of her outrageous water bill — and her neighbor's — because, until this happened, I was feeling left out of the Great Baltimore Water Bill Commiseration. It seems like everybody in the city but me has a goofy and outrageous water bill to brag and gripe about. My bill looks normal, boring and puny compared to what I see here: $813.75 due by May 29 for Ms. Platt, who lives alone, and $1,219.06 for the family of four next door.

Of Mitt Romney's high school hijinks and the effects of cruelty

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:32:00 GMT

Mitt Romney misses an opportunity to acknowledge bullying and why it must stop

Stories about Mitt Romney's bullying behavior during his prep school days in Michigan made me think of a message that popped up on my Facebook page last year: A woman from my hometown wanted to know why, 40 years ago, I had laughed at the news that her brother had been killed in a car accident.

Mother's Day could be any day

Dan Rodricks — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

However crazy-busy life gets, a mother's presence is often evident, and when you least expect it

We get busy. We have work to do. We have long days crowded with chores and commitments, and we get caught up in things that seem in the moment so important — a project, a decision, a purchase, a deadline. And this is your life, and it moves faster than you expected it would. Before you know it, you're not a kid anymore; your parents are gone and you're the only adult in the room.

On slots: A deal's a deal, baby

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:13:00 GMT

National Harbor would be a great location for a casino, but that's not the deal Maryland voters OK'd

The approach to National Harbor, where three highways meet on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, is pretty much a wow, with the arched 18-story atrium of a massive convention hotel its centerpiece. National Harbor is a still-new resort town on a slope overlooking the big river, with six hotels, upscale shops, restaurants, condominiums, marinas and a busy schedule of events that attract healthy crowds on weekends. David Cordish must look at Nat Harbor and wish he'd thought of it.

Baltimore Orioles: In twilight, duende touches the DH

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:11:00 GMT

Savoring that certain something in the Orioles-Red Sox epic game in Fenway

Before we move on to other business, we need to savor that baseball epic on Sunday, when the duende visited the Orioles in Fenway Park. The duende is from the realm of the metaphysical, a certain something that rises from dark corners to imbue flamenco dancers, singers and athletes with perfect skill and grace under pressure. I think I know it when I see it, and I saw it with the Orioles in Boston.

DNA: Why wait for an arrest?

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:27:00 GMT

Why shouldn't all citizens just open up for a mouth swab?

Swabbing the ol' buccal mucosa for the unique genetic code of someone merely arrested for a crime violates that someone's Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. That's the opinion of the Maryland Court of Appeals, and this ruling has greatly upset police, prosecutors, editorialists and other citizens who see no sense to it. If the cops can take your fingerprints, why shouldn't they be allowed to collect your DNA?

Pit bulls: Own them at your own risk

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:02:00 GMT

The Maryland Court of Appeals declares what should have been obvious to all by now – these dogs are inherently dangerous

The first entry in Sunday's costume contest at the 17th annual March for the Animals was a pit bull dressed as Batman. I was on a wooden stage with the other contest judges, about four feet off the ground at Druid Hill Park. That distance from the dog suited me. When I see pit bulls, even those in charming costume, I stay clear. They have a reputation for vicious mauling, and I'd rather avoid one.

A gun makes all the difference

Dan Rodricks — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Comparisons between Trayvon Martin shooting and Werdesheim assault case stop at the gun

Media references to the Baltimore trial of Avi and Eliyahu Werdesheim now come with a made-for-Google-Trends phrase: "A case with similarities to the Trayvon Martin shooting." Here are some of them:

The O's early season tease, overpriced popcorn, fine-print pricing and other annoyances

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Some columnist kvecthing about Mike Miller, gambling, Orioles' start, olive pits and that Barry Glazer guy

I'll tell you what annoys me: the buy-one-get-one-free deal on strawberries at the supermarket. First of all, you must have the store's bonus card to get the deal. Plus, they really don't want you to know the price of the first item, so they print it so small on a card so far across the produce bin that you need a drone with advanced optics to fly over and read it.

'I look forward to ... growing up'

Dan Rodricks — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

A letter from inmate Mark Farley Grant, who went to prison at 14, as he prepares to be released

For the first time since taking office five years ago, Gov. Martin O'Malleycommuted the sentence of a Maryland inmate serving life for murder — that of Mark Farley Grant, a Baltimore native who has been incarcerated for 29 years. In commuting Mr. Grant's sentence last month, the governor made no comment about the 44-year-old inmate's credible claim of innocence. A report that made the case for Mr. Grant's wrongful conviction in a 1983 street shooting went from the University of Maryland School of Law to the governor's office four years ago. It was either ignored or discounted.

Crack epidemic's legacy in Baltimore

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:03:11 GMT

Many still trying to recover while a new generation rejects the pipe

A fellow named Joseph contacted me the other day. He's one of Baltimore's many drug addicts, still alive at 33, clean for once, and looking for a job. "I started smoking crack at the age of 14, shooting heroin at the age of 16," he says. "I am on parole and probation, and I can't find a job anywhere ... It seems like every time I get an interview, everything is great until they do a background check. I'm going to [violate my parole] soon due to non-payment of the [parole] supervision fees."

Mike Miller: When a politician gets jaded in the jowls

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:07:00 GMT

Budget mess in Annapolis 'a minor bump in the road' to long-serving Senate president

As they get older and feel the press of time, some men need to condense into a short span all that they feel they've missed before it's too late; they worry about their legacy and what the eulogist might say of them. Others are more relaxed about the whole thing; they fear neither time nor public opinion. They realize they can't change the world and look around with wonderment at those who do.

An education in U.S. immigration policy

Dan Rodricks — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Dream Act would serve thousands of children following in Onan Marroquin's footsteps

Most Marylanders who oppose the Dream Act, which grants undocumented immigrants the resident tuition discount on a state college education, probably never met the likes of Onan Marroquin. If they did, they might have a change of heart and mind about the Dream Act. They might come to see it as the fair and smart way for the state to support the bright and highly motivated young people who come through our schools and who, with more education, might join the ranks of the state's innovative and future-thinking professional class.

Tire wars: Local Joe wins rubber match

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:20:00 GMT

A Baltimore tire merchant scores victory in trademark case against Goodyear

Nothing leaves a person jaded like a good Goliath-beats-David story. Such was the case in Baltimore in the mid-1980s when electronics giantSony Corp.famously succeeded in running a Filipino restaurant out of business because the owner had the nerve to attach her name to it. Her name was Sony Florendo.

Thinking bigger about the snakehead

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:53:00 GMT

Creating opportunity from a problem – commercializing an invasive species

If we're serious about getting the invasive snakeheads under control before they eat all the other fish in the Chesapeake watershed, then let me suggest that we get serious about the bounty. Those $200 gift certificates from a major outdoors retailer are nice, but there are only three of them, and those who catch a snakehead have to enter a drawing to win them, and the drawing isn't until November. That's not much of an incentive.

Here yesterday, gone tomorrow

Dan Rodricks — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:08:00 GMT

As time marches on, through a tough economy, it becomes harder to preserve the past

So one morning you're sitting at a traffic light on Harford Avenue in East Baltimore, three blocks south of North Avenue, and you notice something you missed on previous trips through the area: Torino's Subs & Pizza. It's a five-sided, brick, stand-alone carry-out shop on a triangular corner. It looks as though it landed on this concrete peninsula in 1946 and took root. If not always an eatery, it could have been a police station or post office. Because of its peculiar shape and location, the building certainly makes an impression. You find it kind of cool.

Was key to Arundel mess 'in the bag'?

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:10:00 GMT

County Executive Leopold's disgusting order may have pushed the loyalty of his police detail too far

The modern age of Maryland political corruption ranges from the early 1970s and the epic and repugnant crimes of Spiro T. Agnew in Baltimore County to the creepy and nutty (and pending) misconduct charges against John Leopold in Anne Arundel County.

Razing the JFX, lowering O's expectations

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:53:00 GMT

On health care, Supreme Court, urban renewal, baseball and broccoli rabe

The Orioles have new orange and black banners along Russell Street and Pratt Street, and aren't they pretty, and aren't they grand, and shouldn't we be grateful? The banners proclaim "20 Years," and we're all supposed to understand and appreciate what that means — two decades since the fabulous, taxpayer-funded Oriole Park opened at Camden Yards. But, who cares? It's been nearly 30 years since the Orioles were in a World Series, 14-soon-15 since they had a winning season. In the Angelos era of Baltimore baseball, pessimism springs eternal in the human breast.

Obamacare at the Supreme Court: What's broccoli got to do with it?

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:21:00 GMT

The Supreme Court strives for legitimacy even as justices betray their prejudices on health care law

I interviewed Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer last year, and — let me put it this way — I can't think of anyone less qualified to replace Rush Limbaugh as a radio talk show host. Thoughtful, wise, a little dry and measured in his words, Justice Breyer seemed to be everything Americans should want in a judge. He betrayed no particular ideology during an hourlong conversation about the Supreme Court's role in our democracy. He politely refused to answer a question related to a case before the court. And he didn't once mention broccoli.

Mark Farley Grant: freedom but not exoneration

Dan Rodricks — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:28:19 GMT

Commuting Grant's sentence, O'Malley renders no judgment on inmate's credible claim of innocence

When Renee Hutchins, the University of Maryland law professor, got her client on the phone Thursday afternoon and told him the news — that the governor was going to commute his life sentence — Mark Farley Grant was "largely speechless and completely stunned."

Tax 'facts' that wouldn't fool a fifth-grader

Dan Rodricks — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:50:00 GMT

Setting the record straight on income, taxes, rich and poor

The shad, America's founding fish, has started its annual run up the Chesapeake Bay and into the Susquehanna River, and here in Maryland, Land of Pleasant Living, there's been a run of foolish facts, too. My email box has been full of them lately, a sudden spring run stirred to life by recent columns on Maryland's many millionaires and the wild idea that they should pay income taxes at a higher rate than the rest of us.

Sanctuary Baltimore, no questions asked

Dan Rodricks — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:24:00 GMT

The mayor makes a savvy bid to welcome immigrants to the city

Common sense about the nation's immigration policy vanishes from the room whenever someone asks, "What part of illegal don't you understand?" It's a real conversation killer, that line. People who use it aren't interested in a discussion. They think law enforcement agencies should round up the estimated 11.5 million men, women and children who aren't authorized to live in the U.S. and deport them.

Land of pleasant living — thanks to your taxes, folks

Dan Rodricks — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Maryland's wealthiest ought to be proud of the state they've help build

I heard from a self-described Maryland millionaire. His name was Les. He was kind of cranky. He put the hate on me for Tuesday's column about state Sen. Bobby Zirkin (Democrat and defender of millionaires), and Les condemned the Maryland Senate for raising the tax rate on households, like his, with annual incomes of $500,000 or more. "If it's wrong to balance the budget on the backs of the poor," Les said, "then it's wrong to balance the budget on the backs of the rich."