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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker
@barkman42.bsky.social
400 followers 430 following 82 posts
Washington-based Baltimore Sun reporter & co-director of http://chinabaseballfilm.com I write news, sports and hybrids of the 2. Rote is the enemy.
chinabaseballfilm.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Feb 14
Exclusive: “Warning signs are flashing” about college-age men awash in sports betting debt. But records show
the state is resisting reforms— such as banning credit card use on the sites — that would reduce revenue it gets from taxing gambling profits.

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/02/14/p...
‘Warning signs are flashing’: As problem gambling rises, revenue-focused regulators resist Maryland reforms
Records show a state Lottery and Gaming Control Agency so intent on maximizing state revenue that it has closely aligned itself with the sportsbooks and casinos it regulates, and it is resisting pr…
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · 3d
The world of a federal shutdown is a bleak place characterized by hellish hold times, dead-end calls and emails, and partisan messaging. Here’s what some people are encountering:

bit.ly/48mTlde
Government shutdown: hellish hold times and dead-end emails
The shutdown enters its second week Wednesday. It began after Congress failed to approve measures — one proposed by Republicans, the other by Democrats — to keep the government funded.
bit.ly
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · 3d
Rebecca Ferguson lost her job as a federal worker. She’s trying to get her termination papers to confirm her status & benefits, but her emails bounce back during the shutdown. She says the government can’t even fire her correctly.

bit.ly/48mTlde
Government shutdown: hellish hold times and dead-end emails
The shutdown enters its second week Wednesday. It began after Congress failed to approve measures — one proposed by Republicans, the other by Democrats — to keep the government funded.
bit.ly
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · 8d
'We are alive:' federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
‘We are alive:’ federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
WASHINGTON — The poem about vulnerability and persistence was hitting its mark. It could hardly have found a more appropriate audience. “We are alive and we are trying,”  Drew Tye Ruby-Howe recited…
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · 17d
Trump's political enemies post could put Maryland’s US attorney on the spot
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/24/t...
Trump’s political enemies post could put Maryland’s US attorney on the spot
Maryland U.S. attorney Kelly O. Hayes may help determine the outcome of President Donald Trump’s pursuit of criminal cases against his political enemies.
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · 22d
Advocates for retaining a paper Social Security checks option are worried about vulnerable people living on the less-populated side of the digital divide — those lacking smartphones or bank accounts, and using paper currency largely shunned by others.

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/19/p...
Paper Social Security checks to end in Maryland, spurs fear for digitally disconnected
The Social Security Administration will stop issuing paper checks to beneficiaries on Sept. 30 , which concerns former Social Security Administration commissioner Martin O’Malley.
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Sep 4
The young male gamblers spoke of sleepless nights, guilt about the shame of keeping it all secret, and yet still clinging to the hope they could outsmart sports-betting apps built to ensure they never do. Their moms believed they could fix it.
By Jeff Barker

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/04/h...
He lost $149K in a day; panicked Maryland moms see gambling hook young men
As online sportsbooks line up promotions for a new NFL season, Maryland experts and moms are sounding alarms about young men getting hooked on gambling.
www.baltimoresun.com
Reposted by Jeff Barker
tiamitchell.com
Tia Mitchell, AJC Washington Bureau Chief @tiamitchell.com · Aug 29
U.S. Rep. David Scott -- an 80-year-old, 12-term congressman -- is battling concerns among Democrats that his age and health are obstacles to reelection.
www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Rep. David Scott battles age and health concerns as he seeks a 13th term
Despite the concerns about his health and age as well as facing another tough primary contest, U.S. Rep. David Scott said he will seek another term in the House.
www.ajc.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Aug 28
Gov. Wes Moore: The president is 'losing sleep over me,' but here's what he should lose sleep over

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/28/g...
Gov. Wes Moore: The president is ‘losing sleep over me,’ but here’s what he should lose sleep over
“I heard the president was tweeting about me at 2 o’clock in the morning.”
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Aug 28
Trump says Gov. Wes Moore told him he’s the
“the greatest president of my lifetime.” Moore says it didn’t happen.
This sounded familiar.
In 2017, Trump said the late Rep. Elijah Cummings proclaimed Trump “would be one of the greatest presidents.”
Cummimgs said that’s not what he said.
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Reposted by Jeff Barker
matthewhaybrown.bsky.social
Matthew Hay Brown @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · Aug 25
Hey the current Tesla Model Y service manual, updated Jan. 30, has instructions for removing the T logo

service.tesla.com/docs/ModelY/...
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Aug 21
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/21/m...
Maryland clashes with Trump on homelessness, could see influx from DC that would strain shelters
Many homeless people in Washington, D.C., could end up in Maryland, advocates say, straining county budgets and shelters already at capacity.
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Aug 5
Rep. Jamie Raskin:
“People say, ‘Why don’t you guys have bipartisan friendships? I tell people who my bipartisan friends are and then they express horror. I mean, who do you want me to be friends with? Abraham Lincoln is no longer in the House.”

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/05/j...
Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed unlikely friendship
Their relationship may surprise an untold number of Americans who consider rival party members abhorrent, but political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have formed an unlikely friendship.
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Aug 5
Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed perhaps Washington’s most unlikely friendship built on the shared belief that people aren’t wholly defined by their politics, even in this extremely polarized era.
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/05/j...
Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed unlikely friendship
Their relationship may surprise an untold number of Americans who consider rival party members abhorrent, but political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have formed an unlikely friendship.
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Jul 31
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/31/m...
Orioles-owned MASN begins talks with Nationals over future TV partnership
Orioles president of business operations Catie Griggs says MASN is hoping to preserve the partnership with the Nationals.
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Jul 19
In their choice of Paul Clement,the judges picked an accomplished lawyer who might cool the partisan temperature in Trump’s effort to rein in federal judges who have turned aside executive branch actions they see as without legal merit. By Jeff Barker
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/19/m...
Maryland judges tap ‘Mr. Republican establishment’ to defend in Trump lawsuit
Maryland’s federal judges, sued by the Trump administration in a politically supercharged case, faced a difficult legal decision: Who would represent them?
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Jul 17
The People’s Republic of Takoma Park. Granola Park. Berkeley of the East.
How and what is Takoma Park in Montgomery County doing in the era of ICE and Trump?
I visited the city that memorialized Roscoe, a rooster honored for bringing “joy to our urban lives.”

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/17/q...
Quirky Takoma Park, Montgomery County’s activist enclave, stands its ground vs. Trump
Takoma Park, a Montgomery County city known for old bungalows, mature trees and its liberal politics, is seven miles from the White House. It seems to stand for everything Republican President Dona…
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Jun 13
Maryland's Cardin, ex-Foreign Relations chief, says U.S. must stand by Israel following diplomatic 'failure'
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/06/13/m...
Maryland’s Cardin, ex-Foreign Relations chief, says U.S. must stand by Israel following diplomatic ‘failure’
Former Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a vocal ally of Israel and former U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said Friday that “we’ve got to stand by Israel in its defense” following its sig…
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Jun 11
Rep. Andy Harris and D.C. have a long, personal war over marijuana and he’s not budging

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/06/11/r...
Rep. Andy Harris and D.C. have a long, personal war over marijuana and he’s not budging
WASHINGTON – Eleanor Holmes Norton’s language was pointed. Rep. Andy Harris is “trying to overrule the will of my constituents,” said Norton, Washington D.C.’s delegate to the U.S. House. The…
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Jun 3
U.S. is seeking release of man wrongly sent to El Salvador, but it's not Abrego Garcia, court records show
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/06/03/r...
U.S. is seeking release of man wrongly sent to El Salvador, but it’s not Abrego Garcia, court records show
Court records show that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is personally intervening with El Salvador to facilitate the return of a Venezuelan man with the pseudonym “Cristian.”
www.baltimoresun.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · May 29
Trump is freezing flood prevention funds in Maryland's most at-risk areas, like Ellicott City, documents show

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/05/29/t...
Trump is freezing flood prevention funds in Maryland’s most at-risk areas, like Ellicott City, documents show
FEMA is canceling funding designed to reduce flood damage in some of Maryland’s most at-risk areas, according to documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun.
www.baltimoresun.com
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Reposted by Jeff Barker
talkopan.bsky.social
Tal Kopan @talkopan.bsky.social · May 22
My colleague Julian Sorapuru was reading about the Pope Leo's Creole roots when a picture of Leo's family gravestone appeared -- and it bore Julian's family name. He wondered, were they related?
What came next was a winding tale mixed up in the muddiness of race.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/22/n...
My cousin*, the pope - The Boston Globe
I share an ancestral connection with Pope Leo XIV. What does that story say about race, religion, and ancestry in America?
www.bostonglobe.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · May 14
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/05/14/b...
Baltimore fights for ‘home-court advantage’ in suit against DraftKings and FanDuel
Baltimore is seeking to regain “home-court advantage” by returning its consumer protection lawsuit against sports betting sites DraftKings and FanDuel to the court where it started.
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · May 10
“I personally don’t think there should be a public subsidy,” DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told me. “But I don’t think that position could get through the council.”
Here’s what other council members and the city administrator said:
—
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/05/10/c...
Commanders’ stadium deal to move from Maryland to D.C. faces headwinds
D.C. Council is trying to balance the excitement of securing a team while ensuring the public isn’t stuck with a stadium bill it can’t afford.
www.baltimoresun.com
Reposted by Jeff Barker
talkopan.bsky.social
Tal Kopan @talkopan.bsky.social · May 9
The community in North Central West Virginia is an illustration of how each DOGE cut has a ripple effect, and in this small but bustling area, locals fear the compounding effects from the cuts could threaten their very town.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...
‘It’s all connected’: In Appalachia, a bustling community struggles under the weight of mounting DOGE cuts - The Boston Globe
The omnipresence of concern illustrated how President Trump’s dramatic efforts to downsize the federal government through DOGE are reverberating around the country.
www.bostonglobe.com
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barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · May 3
MASN hopes to keep Nationals as TV partner, ramp up Orioles’ on-field rivalry. By Jeff Barker.

The Battle of the Beltways hasn’t developed into a rivalry to match those among teams who more frequently meet because they play in the same division.
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/05/03/m...
MASN hopes to keep Nationals as TV partner, ramp up Orioles’ on-field rivalry
The Orioles’ television network is hoping to keep the Washington Nationals as a broadcast partner while animating the on-field rivalry between the neighboring teams.
www.baltimoresun.com
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