@rickhutzell.bsky.social
I'm a columnist for The Baltimore Banner. I explore the world from the vantage point of Annapolis, a little city on the Chesapeake Bay.
A good coffee shop is about good coffee and tea, nice noshes to go along with them and something equally essential but a bit harder to define — a functional third space beyond home and office.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
Essential guide to coffee shops in Annapolis, plus other fun things to do
For a small town, Annapolis has a double shot of coffee shops. Here’s a guide to the essential spots, plus a look at more great things to do in the coming week.
www.thebanner.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:32 PM
A good coffee shop is about good coffee and tea, nice noshes to go along with them and something equally essential but a bit harder to define — a functional third space beyond home and office.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
Reposted
A single disconnection among miles of wiring prompted the Dali to lose power and, eventually, knock down the Key Bridge on March 26, 2024.
“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” Chair Jennifer Homendy said of locating that wire.
www.thebanner.com/community/tr...
“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” Chair Jennifer Homendy said of locating that wire.
www.thebanner.com/community/tr...
5 takeaways from NTSB’s Key Bridge hearing
The National Transportation Safety Board met Tuesday to discuss the causes of the Key Bridge disaster. Here are five takeaways from the hearing.
www.thebanner.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:37 PM
A single disconnection among miles of wiring prompted the Dali to lose power and, eventually, knock down the Key Bridge on March 26, 2024.
“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” Chair Jennifer Homendy said of locating that wire.
www.thebanner.com/community/tr...
“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” Chair Jennifer Homendy said of locating that wire.
www.thebanner.com/community/tr...
Reposted
I met Dan Langenkamp just weeks after I moved to MoCo, when his wife Sarah was struck and killed on her bike by a truck driver. Their love story and Dan’s story of advocacy is devastating and inspiring, and I’m grateful for the trust he’s given me these past years. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Cyclists and walkers will go to the National Mall to rally for safer roads
More than 1,100 cyclists and walkers are expected to go from Bethesda to the National Mall on Sunday to honor Sarah Langenkamp — who died in a bike crash three years ago — and to push for legislation ...
www.thebanner.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I met Dan Langenkamp just weeks after I moved to MoCo, when his wife Sarah was struck and killed on her bike by a truck driver. Their love story and Dan’s story of advocacy is devastating and inspiring, and I’m grateful for the trust he’s given me these past years. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Reposted
NEW | The rebuilt Key Bridge is now expected to cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion and open by 2030.
In the weeks after the collapse, the state had pegged the estimate at ~$1.8 billion with a 2028 completion date.
w/ @leeosanderlin.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
In the weeks after the collapse, the state had pegged the estimate at ~$1.8 billion with a 2028 completion date.
w/ @leeosanderlin.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Key Bridge rebuild expected to cost billions more than preliminary estimate
The new bridge is now expected to open by the end of 2030 and cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion — more than twice initial estimates — Bruce Gartner, executive director of the Maryland Transpo...
www.thebanner.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:33 PM
NEW | The rebuilt Key Bridge is now expected to cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion and open by 2030.
In the weeks after the collapse, the state had pegged the estimate at ~$1.8 billion with a 2028 completion date.
w/ @leeosanderlin.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
In the weeks after the collapse, the state had pegged the estimate at ~$1.8 billion with a 2028 completion date.
w/ @leeosanderlin.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
None of the Senate Democrats so committed to the fight, Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks among them, shows signs of launching a revolt.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Chris Van Hollen for Senate majority leader? Don’t bet on it.
As criticism of Chuck Schumer’s leadership rises after Democrats’ collapse on the shutdown, you have to strain to hear anything but loyalty from Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks.
www.thebanner.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
None of the Senate Democrats so committed to the fight, Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks among them, shows signs of launching a revolt.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
Christine Davenport was a civic force in Anne Arundel
Christine Davenport was a civic force in Anne Arundel
Christine Davenport, a career educator and behind-the-scenes civic force in Anne Arundel County, died Monday of a heart attack. She was 75.
buff.ly
November 16, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Christine Davenport was a civic force in Anne Arundel
With the next mayor focused on a customer service ethic at City Hall, the job of visionary could be up for grabs. Rob Savidge is a good bet.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Streetcars in Annapolis? Rob Savidge’s vision could be the future for the state capital
Annapolis Alderman Rob Savidge is working to launch a feasibility study that could solve two of the city’s most nagging problems — too few homes and too many cars.
www.thebanner.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM
With the next mayor focused on a customer service ethic at City Hall, the job of visionary could be up for grabs. Rob Savidge is a good bet.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
If anyone knows what make Jane Austen’s world tick, it’s Emma Whipday. Her adaptation of the 19th-century author’s most famous work debuts Friday for a month long run at Compass Rose Theater in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ on stage, Music of the Spheres
If anyone knows what makes Jane Austen’s world tick, it’s British playwright Emma Whipday. Her adaptation of the 19th-century author’s most famous work debuts Friday.
www.thebanner.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:01 PM
If anyone knows what make Jane Austen’s world tick, it’s Emma Whipday. Her adaptation of the 19th-century author’s most famous work debuts Friday for a month long run at Compass Rose Theater in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
There’s a behind-the-scenes push to open some of that new space to a group not automatically served at Walter Reed. #veterans
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Walter Reed is expanding. More veterans could fill its new beds.
Not everything in Congress is paralyzed. There’s a quiet push to open space at Walter Reed National Medical Center and other DOD hospitals to veterans.
www.thebanner.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
There’s a behind-the-scenes push to open some of that new space to a group not automatically served at Walter Reed. #veterans
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
Six Flags America's closure could just be the first of many.
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
When coaster enthusiasts stream out of Six Flags America on Sunday evening, they won’t be able to go back.
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
Future of Six Flag America site unclear as park closes Sunday
The amusement park, which first opened in the 1970s and has operated as a Six Flags since 1998, shuts down after it closes at 6 p.m. What’s next for the massive tract in Bowie remains unclear.
www.thebanner.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Six Flags America's closure could just be the first of many.
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
Turns out the only thing the party of opposition needed was a tone-deaf president to confirm just about everything they’ve been saying. The man in the White House certainly obliged.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Could last week's elections be (gasp!) the end of the beginning?
Election Day comes along and — bam! — victories in New York City, California, Virginia and New Jersey prove there’s life left in this ol’ political bag of wool called the Democratic Party.
www.thebanner.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Turns out the only thing the party of opposition needed was a tone-deaf president to confirm just about everything they’ve been saying. The man in the White House certainly obliged.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
“Public schools thrive when the community is engaged. But there’s a huge impact on the whole community when schools are not as strong as they could be.”
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The problem with Annapolis schools isn’t what you think. It’s worse.
What to do about schools has long been a question for Annapolis. Keeping them from withering is the city’s next big challenge.
www.thebanner.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:31 PM
“Public schools thrive when the community is engaged. But there’s a huge impact on the whole community when schools are not as strong as they could be.”
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
There’s a lot of Annapolis in Rodney Barnes. And plenty of the California-based comic book author appears in “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller based on the history of the Jim Crow hospital outside the city where he grew up.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: Comic book retells Crownsville tragedy
Writer Rodney Barnes has adapted the tale of the old state mental hospital into “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller. Barnes will sign copies at Third Eye Comics on Saturday, one of seven great thin...
www.thebanner.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:53 AM
There’s a lot of Annapolis in Rodney Barnes. And plenty of the California-based comic book author appears in “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller based on the history of the Jim Crow hospital outside the city where he grew up.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
Nowhere will the pain of ending Obamacare tax credits sting like it will in Andy Harris’ backyard.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Andy Harris’ district will feel the pain if Obamacare tax credits expire
In Maryland's largest counties, 128,000 people take advantage of the tax credits for insurance through the Affordable Care Act. But it's Maryland's smallest, poorest counties where the impact will be ...
www.thebanner.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Nowhere will the pain of ending Obamacare tax credits sting like it will in Andy Harris’ backyard.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The result of a self-assured, 22 month campaign is an election that feels like a foregone conclusion, and has for months. How did Annapolis get here?
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The inevitability of Jared Littmann as Annapolis’ next mayor
Forty-eight hours from Election Day, Democrat Jared Littmann’s campaign for mayor has an air of inevitability about it. How did Annapolis get to the point where the election feels like a foregone conc...
www.thebanner.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:00 PM
The result of a self-assured, 22 month campaign is an election that feels like a foregone conclusion, and has for months. How did Annapolis get here?
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
When coaster enthusiasts stream out of Six Flags America on Sunday evening, they won’t be able to go back.
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
Future of Six Flag America site unclear as park closes Sunday
The amusement park, which first opened in the 1970s and has operated as a Six Flags since 1998, shuts down after it closes at 6 p.m. What’s next for the massive tract in Bowie remains unclear.
www.thebanner.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
When coaster enthusiasts stream out of Six Flags America on Sunday evening, they won’t be able to go back.
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
Journalists at The Banner are as human as you. Little things scare us, odd things. We each have a personal collection of heebie-jeebies.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Bugs, bats and war in the Caribbean. What scares you on Halloween?
Halloween is the day to take out your fears and examine them, to laugh at what gives you the willies. Dress them up in silly costumes, throw candy at them and hope they don’t get angry.
www.thebanner.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Journalists at The Banner are as human as you. Little things scare us, odd things. We each have a personal collection of heebie-jeebies.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
Denying the public’s right to know.😡
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
Federal officials offer no recourse for reporters shut out of immigration court
For two journalists covering the immigration court in Hyattsville, Tuesday started as a typical day. They walked in for Judge Dinesh Verma’s morning hearings, and identified themselves as members of t...
cnsmaryland.org
October 31, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Denying the public’s right to know.😡
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
Reposted
Exclusive from me: @raskin.house.gov has issued a letter signed by more than 60 Congress members demanding Trump provide answers on the legality of the ballroom construction. The demolition is being led by a Silver Spring company: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Jamie Raskin demands answers from Trump on East Wing demolition in letter
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin has sent a letter to Trump Thursday questioning the legality of the demolition of the White House's East Wing. Raskin said the teardown — to make room for a ballroom — violates ...
www.thebanner.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Exclusive from me: @raskin.house.gov has issued a letter signed by more than 60 Congress members demanding Trump provide answers on the legality of the ballroom construction. The demolition is being led by a Silver Spring company: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
You could catch a folk legend or head to the opera. You could listen to the Naval Academy choir or see some transformational art. There's always something fun to do in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: Rams Head launches fall concerts with folk program
British folk great Richard Thompson performs Sunday at St. John’s College in the first of five “Rams Head Presents” shows through December, concerts that take the music out of the West Street club ont...
www.thebanner.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:21 AM
You could catch a folk legend or head to the opera. You could listen to the Naval Academy choir or see some transformational art. There's always something fun to do in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
The Mary Lynn, which hauled political bigwigs and captains of industry around the Port of Baltimore for almost 40 years, is sitting aground in an Eastern Shore boat yard waiting for the outcome of a government surplus auction.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Yacht for sale: Maryland Port auctions off a piece of Chesapeake history
The Maryland Port Administration is auctioning off the Mary Lynn, a 1962 wooden Trumpy yacht it used for tours of the harbor for 40 years. It can be yours, as is, for as little as $50,000.
www.thebanner.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:29 AM
The Mary Lynn, which hauled political bigwigs and captains of industry around the Port of Baltimore for almost 40 years, is sitting aground in an Eastern Shore boat yard waiting for the outcome of a government surplus auction.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Wtf? Why is the ghost of Harlan Sanders at the world series?
October 26, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Wtf? Why is the ghost of Harlan Sanders at the world series?
Noah Hillman faced Thurgood Marshall in a Baltimore courtroom almost 90 years ago, defending one of Maryland's most notorious racists. Now his name will move over to make room for Marshall's client, Walter Mills.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Annapolis renames garage that honored lawyer who defended racism
Annapolis is changing the name on the Noah Hillman Parking Garage, a downtown memorial for a respected alderman. Twenty years before he was elected, Hillman was the lawyer for one of Maryland’s most n...
www.thebanner.com
October 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Noah Hillman faced Thurgood Marshall in a Baltimore courtroom almost 90 years ago, defending one of Maryland's most notorious racists. Now his name will move over to make room for Marshall's client, Walter Mills.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
A big freaking deal, Annapolis!
NEW: UConn and Louisville women's hoops were supposed to open their seasons at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. But thanks to the government shutdown, the defending national champions open their season in ... Annapolis
On the Naval Academy's surprise big game: www.thebanner.com/sports/colle...
On the Naval Academy's surprise big game: www.thebanner.com/sports/colle...
October 23, 2025 at 11:28 PM
A big freaking deal, Annapolis!
If you really want to go to the Army-Navy game this year, or if you want front row seats on the 30-yard line for a game at Navy Marine Crops Memorial Stadium, you can snag them at resale sites. Buyer beware.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: How not to spend $4,500 on an Army-Navy ticket
The better Navy football is, the harder it can be to get good tickets.
www.thebanner.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
If you really want to go to the Army-Navy game this year, or if you want front row seats on the 30-yard line for a game at Navy Marine Crops Memorial Stadium, you can snag them at resale sites. Buyer beware.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...