Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 16h

Deep dive into the surge in US pedestrian deaths:

"It’s not that more pedestrians are getting hit by vehicles; it’s that the ones that are getting hit are more likely to die."

"[That] seems like fairly strong evidence for the theory that the rise in large SUVs is behind the uptick in ped deaths."

Why Are So Many Pedestrians Killed by Cars in the US?

It’s unfortunately not uncommon for pedestrians to be killed by cars in the US.

www.construction-physics.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 1d

There's a university in Baltimore with a huge archive of ghostly things. Who knew! 👻

Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 1d

Take a peek inside UMBC's Garrett collection, one of the world’s largest archives devoted to the study of hauntings, poltergeists, out-of-body experiences and seances. Happy spooooooky season, Maryland:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

School spirit(s): Inside the ghost archives at UMBC

UMBC has one of the world’s largest parapsychology collections, including ghostly items such as seance photos and notes supposedly scrawled by spirits.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 1d

America's unions will see you in court.

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 1d

A Maryland soybean farmer in his 50th harvest season is collateral in the U.S.-China trade war.
By Matti Gellman for @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/culture/food...

Maryland soybean farmers are caught in a U.S.-China trade war

Maryland’s soybean farmers grow one of the state’s top exports. Now tariffs have yet again entangled them in a trade war with China.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 2d

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social · 2d

“Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”

The Republican chair of the National Governors Association breaks with Trump.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...

Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Criticizes National Guard Deployment in Chicago

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 2d

Tersiguel’s restaurant in Ellicott City to bid adieu after 50 years

Tersiguel’s French Country Restaurant is closing its doors after five decades on Ellicott City’s Main Street this December.

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Baltimore Banner Sports @sports.thebaltimorebanner.com · 2d

A timelapse of the Pimlico Race Course demolition, from mid-June to now 🎥

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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 3d

Before mass foreclosures, loan product looked good for Baltimore

Landlords like Dontae Carroll say Wall Street’s freeze on a specific housing loan has put their plans to purchase on hold.

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 3d

For sale: Maryland's own fantasy island, via @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/economy/real...

St. Helena, a fantasy island in the Severn River, heads to auction

The only habitable island in the Severn River has a colorful and even illicit history.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Hayes Gardner @hayesgardner.bsky.social · 4d

The L.A. Rams play in Baltimore against the Ravens on Sunday and then in London, England the following week. Rather than return to the West Coast, they'll remain in Baltimore — practicing at Oriole Park.

www.thebanner.com/sports/raven...

The L.A. Rams will practice at Oriole Park before NFL game in London

Rather than flying back to the West Coast after their game in Baltimore, the Rams will stick around, practicing at Oriole Park, before a trip across the pond.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Hayes Gardner @hayesgardner.bsky.social · 4d

They tried the ritzy out-of-town developers. They tried local ones. They even tried breaking up the quagmire that is the "Superblock" into bite-size parcels.

All failed. Then, it burned.

What's next for the stagnant development?

w/ @emilyopilo.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/economy/supe...

The Superblock blaze followed a generation of development failure. Now what?

An ambitious plan to redevelop what’s called the Superblock, an area of downtown Baltimore, has been stuck in the mud for a quarter century. Much of the area was razed after a fire last month.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · 9d

Remarkable story about a wave of foreclosures in Baltimore triggered by incomprehensible DSCR loan activity from New York investors. This @thebaltimorebanner.com story reads like the sixth season of "The Wire": www.thebanner.com/community/ho...

The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore

The foreclosures could send neighborhoods spiraling and make Baltimore America’s next great housing crisis.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Dylan Segelbaum @dylansegelbaum.bsky.social · 9d

By @halliemiller.bsky.social, Jack Bologna and @sahanajayaraman.bsky.social: The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore

The foreclosures could send neighborhoods spiraling and make Baltimore America’s next great housing crisis.

www.thebanner.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 9d

Please read this wild tale from Baltimore that has some eerie echoes of the subprime mortgage crisis of yore. A monthslong investigation from @thebaltimorebanner.com.
www.thebanner.com/community/ho...

The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore

The foreclosures could send neighborhoods spiraling and make Baltimore America’s next great housing crisis.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Shawn Donnan @sdonnan.bsky.social · 10d

Trump’s tariffs - and companies’ push for relief from them - has set off a lobbying boom with more than $900 million spent in the first half of this year.

The big winners: A small group of lobbying firms with close ties to the Trump administration.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

A Gunmaker’s Lobbying Shows How Trump’s Tariffs Changed the Game

Firms close to the administration have seen a surge in revenue as they advise businesses on how to avoid the import duties and play ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ in Trump's Washington

www.bloomberg.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 11d

What federal workers have to say about the looming shutdown. via @thebaltimorebanner.com

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 11d

‘Federal workers are not political pawns.’ Civil employees brace for shutdown.

Federal workers brace for government shutdown

The Banner interviewed current and former federal workers to hear what they think of the potential government shutdown — and how they’re preparing for it.

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 15d

“Along with fast-tracking the money, Noem flew to Naples on a government plane to tour the pier herself.”

ProPublica @propublica.org · 15d

NEW: After one of Kristi Noem’s major financial supporters contacted her, the DHS chief quickly expedited more than $11 million of federal money to rebuild a historic pier in Naples, Florida, records obtained by ProPublica show.

Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened

The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noe...

www.propublica.org

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 16d

Great @thebaltimorebanner.com story on the business of music festivals

Hayes Gardner @hayesgardner.bsky.social · 16d

NEW | This year alone, 100 music festivals worldwide have folded — even more than 2024, which NPR dubbed "the year the music festival died."

But nobody seems to have told All Things Go, which is rapidly expanding.
www.thebanner.com/economy/all-...

As music festivals worldwide struggle, All Things Go keeps getting bigger

This year, All Things Go, the independent festival named for lyrics to a Sufjan Stevens song, will host acts like Noah Kahan, Lucy Dacus, Doechii and Kesha.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 17d

The A-10 era is over for the Maryland Air National Guard

The Maryland Air National Guard deactivated its last remaining A-10 squadrons Tuesday, leaving Maryland as the only state without planes to deploy in an emergency.

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Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Jake Blumgart @jblumgart.bsky.social · 18d

Between 2019 and 2025, there's been a 28% decline in the real value of Philly's major office buildings. Its not over: some buildings that recently sold for less than half their assessments will win their appeals. This has implications for the tax base and BID budgets www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...

Many of Philadelphia’s office buildings are plummeting in value — and it’s costing the city millions

The falling assessments of city office buildings have implications for finances of local government, the school district, and business improvement organizations like the Center City District.

www.inquirer.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 18d

NEW: The IRS has scrutinized Baltimore nonprofit Second Chance, its appraiser and donors for years. Donors have been writing off their entire homes, rather than just salvaged materials. Tax guys say, uh, no.
Read @lillianreed.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/economy/seco...

Second Chance’s fight with the IRS brought scrutiny to donors

In a new court filing, an appraiser for Second Chance says the IRS is waging a “scorched earth assault” on the Baltimore-based nonprofit that sells secondhand furniture and building supplies.

www.thebanner.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 22d

Notable:

Pamela Wood @pwoodreporter.bsky.social · 22d

In addition to questioning the cost of a rebuilt Francis Scott Key Bridge, Donald Trump’s administration has a new target: Maryland laws requiring minority-owned businesses complete a chunk of the work.

The latest from me and @hayesgardner.bsky.social:

www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Trump administration questions Key Bridge cost, minority contracting

President Donald Trump’s administration is questioning the cost of replacing Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and criticizing Maryland laws that require some of the work be contracted ou...

www.thebanner.com

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Julie Bykowicz @bykowicz.bsky.social · 22d

"He wore a gray Buc-ee’s hoodie and an Orioles cap to represent his hometown."
via @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...

I drove three hours from Baltimore to Buc-ee's. It was so worth it.

People from the Baltimore area are traveling hours just to visit the new Buc-ee's in Virginia. The Texas-born gas station has a cult following, and Baltimoreans can get in on the craze.

www.thebanner.com

Reposted by Julie Bykowicz

Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 22d

Howard County planners reject Sheetz development on historic pet cemetery

Howard County planners reject Sheetz on historic pet cemetery

Howard County’s planning board voted Thursday night to reject gas pumps and a Sheetz convenience store on historic Rosa Bonheur pet cemetery in Elkridge.

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