Sapna Bansil

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Sapna Bansil |Brenda Wintrode

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen announced his plans to travel to El Salvador on Wednesday as the Trump administration continues to delay the return of a Maryland father who was wrongly deported and being held in prison. Van Hollen said in a statement Tuesday he hopes to meet with 29-year-old Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to check on his wellbeing and plans to meet with government officials to discuss his release.

3 weeks ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Ellie Wolfe |Sapna Bansil

The U.S. Naval Academy will no longer consider race, ethnicity or sex as a factor in its admissions process, according to new court filings. The move to end affirmative action at the Naval Academy comes despite a federal judge ruling last year that the practice was constitutional. Directives from the administration of President Donald Trump prompted the academy to reverse course, according to a court motion filed on Friday.

1 month ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Sapna Bansil |Adam Willis

Mike Protas thought he and the federal government had a deal. Feb 23, 2025Feb 22, 2025Feb 22, 2025He took out a $100,000 loan for solar panels that he felt would benefit the environment and reduce energy costs at his western Montgomery County farm. A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was supposed to cover half the cost. The panels were installed on the roof of his barn in December.

2 months ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Hallie Miller |Sapna Bansil

The owner of the commercial shopping center next to the Lutherville light rail stop in Baltimore County is pledging to continue to work to add housing there, digging in his heels despite intense community opposition and resistance from the County Council. Mark Renbaum, principal at the Pikesville-based MLR Partners, first began working to acquire and revitalize the aging Lutherville Station shopping center around seven years ago.

2 months ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Rona Kobell |Sapna Bansil

While Baltimore County has been losing population over the past four years, its rats have become a growing problem, spreading themselves far and wide. The pesky rodents have migrated from the 25 neighborhoods where they’ve been a known problem — among them Dundalk, Essex and Middle River — to residential nooks, commercial corridors and multi-family dwellings throughout the nearly 600 square-mile county.