Rona Kobell
Regional Reporter at The Baltimore Banner
Covering Baltimore County for The Baltimore Banner. Filmmaker, professor, longtime Chesapeake Bay chronicler. Mom to two girls and two bunnies. Got a story?
Articles
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1 week ago |
thebaltimorebanner.com | Rona Kobell
For decades, the migration of Baltimore’s ethnic groups from the city followed a distinct pattern. Jewish families moved from the city’s Reservoir Hill and Druid Hill neighborhoods to Woodlawn, Pikesville and then Owings Mills, all in Baltimore County. Black residents leaving the city followed a similar path, expanding into Randallstown, because Jewish homeowners were often the only people who would sell houses to Black Marylanders.
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1 week ago |
thebaltimorebanner.com | Rona Kobell
Baltimore County’s proposed $4.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 includes no tax rate increases, no cuts to beloved programs, and nearly half a billion dollars in a “rainy day” fund for unanticipated expenses. Spending is projected to increase 3 percent — a cause for cheer given the county’s tight finances and some dire predictions entering the budgeting cycle. “I mean, it’s not great news,” county Budget Director Kevin Reed said of the budget.
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2 weeks ago |
thebaltimorebanner.com | Rona Kobell
Two Sparrows Point yacht clubs — one historically Black and one white — that found themselves in the crosshairs of a major dredging project likely will be spared, thanks to budget language added before the Maryland General Assembly adjourned Monday. Until then, both Pleasant Yacht Club and the North Point Yacht Club faced certain closure due to dredging plans by their landlord, Tradepoint Atlantic, the sprawling waterfront logistics center that replaced the old Sparrows Point steel mill.
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2 weeks ago |
thebaltimorebanner.com | Rona Kobell
The Baltimore County Council has advanced a measure that would require a supermajority to build in designated rural areas of the county, capping off nearly a month of debate that was mostly not about preserving land. The 5-2 voteMonday night will put the proposal before voters in 2026, when they will decide whether to adapt it as a change to the county charter. Councilmen Pat Young and Julian Jones, both Democrats,voted against the change.
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2 weeks ago |
thebaltimorebanner.com | Rona Kobell
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not hear Baltimore County’s appeal in a case involving jail inmates who had worked at the county’s recycling center and earned $20 a day instead of the minimum wage. The case hinges on whether the 550 inmates at the Baltimore County Detention Center were contract workers or employees. Michael Scott, who was an inmate at the time, alleged in a suit against the county that the hours they worked and the jobs they did classified them as employees.
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I took a different approach with this story in hopes of showing now policies impact people and neighborhoods and how good intentions can sometimes fall short. https://t.co/6YmB3psuox
This was a huge team effort and I am so proud of all of us. The #keybridge collapsed my second week on the job, so it was an early indication for me of how the newsroom could collaborate and work well together.
Super proud of the @BaltimoreBanner for winning an IRE award for our Key Bridge collapse coverage. Judges called it "a colossal effort." At the time, we didn't even have a live blog, but we did have great journalists who know this community and what the bridge meant to it.
https://t.co/3LKm77NclF