How good a job is Baltimore doing supplying residents with clean, affordable water and making changes that will finally ends its practice of releasing trash and millions of gallons of human waste into local waterways and Chesapeake Bay?

It takes real effort to penetrate the mysteries of Baltimore City government, where millions of dollars in public spending are approved in the blink of an eye and dollars disappear into the maw of departments that haven't been audited for decades. For citizens, there's plenty at stake, and we take you behind the headlines.

Baltimore Brew coverage of the Maryland 2024 primary and general elections

Links to Baltimore Brew's coverage of Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her husband, City Council President Nick Mosby, including the story we broke on July 16, 2020, about Marilyn Mosby's travel and private businesses.

Baltimore Brew coverage of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has claimed more than 14,000 lives worldwide. Staff reports on the impact of the pandemic on Baltimore, as the number of confirmed cases in the city and state increases dramatically.

In August 2020, Baltimore Brew broke the story of trouble at Strong City Baltimore - disclosing that the fiscal sponsorship powerhouse's finances were in deep disarray, with the small grassroots groups whose funds it manages wondering why they were unable to access their money. But even after the serious issues were exposed and Strong City officials said they were making corrections, the groups reported that their finances were still being mishandled. "The mismanagement and lack of transparency impacts tens of thousands of people, including youth, parents, homeless people, survivors of violence and other vulnerable populations," they said in an op-ed. Since then, Strong City ended its fiscal sponsorship initiative. And, as The Brew revealed, Baltimore's Inspector General began a probe, the U.S. Attorney's Office launched an investigation and the FBI was conducting interviews. The organization was also hit by a federal tax lien and a lawsuit by clients. In August 2023, three years after our initial story, former Strong City CEO Reginald Davis was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of wire fraud and money laundering.

Millions are raised through government grants and star-studded galas, yet Baltimore's homeless services have been mired in bureaucracy and increasingly-harsh policy prescriptions, including encampment razing. Meanwhile, curled up in doorways and on friends' couches, thousands in the city still lack a place to call home.

A billionaire entrepreneur ready to invest his fortune for the betterment of Baltimore? As the city prepared in 2020 to hand over the biggest tax subsidy in history to Under Armour’s Kevin Plank for the Port Covington development, The Brew reviewed hundreds of pages of PIA-ed financial reports to reveal the risky underpinnings of the deal. Also documented: the cash contributions strategically shoveled out to city and state politicians.

Baltimore Brew coverage of the Maryland 2022 Gubernatorial primary and general elections

In 2022, Johns Hopkins University's highly regarded summer youth program - whose alums include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and performer Lady Gaga - fell apart at the last minute. What prompted the mass cancellations at the Center for Talented Youth? The Brew found out.

The cracks in the building could be seen for months as they grew in size. A handsome 1860s townhouse in Baltimore's historic Mount Vernon neighborhood was being irreparably damaged by the novice developers working on an eight-story apartment building next door. The developer - who, as it happened, owned the damaged historic structure - said it could not be saved and 4 East Eager was demolished. How, in a city with housing inspectors, a planning staff and a preservation board, did this happen? Critics said it was part of a pattern of city government favoring business interests over historic building preservation. Baltimore Brew took a closer look.

A city-within-the-city on Baltimore's sleepy South Shore? That's what Under Armour's Kevin Plank has in mind for Port Covington. His company, Sagamore, has planned a massive mixed-use development there, centered on a new UA corporate headquarters. And they've asked taxpayers for the biggest financing package in city history - $660 million in bond funding for $535 million in infrastructure improvements. Why, many residents are asking, should a brand new mini-city get such massive aid when the old one has such urgent needs?

As first reported by Baltimore Brew, discharges from a vinegar factory into Baltimore's Jones Falls led to a major pollution event - with hundreds of fish and eel found dead on the stream bank. But the story didn't end after the Fleischmann's Vinegar Company was cited by the Maryland Department of the Environment. Our follow-up showed that, three months later, the pollution was continuing and the company had not been fined.

BIG DOLLARS, LITTLE OVERSIGHT Police officers making more than $200,000 a year, over half of it in overtime. Patrol officers who make few arrests pulling down more than the mayor. Lieutenants and sergeants making $100/hour via overtime work directing traffic at parades. Some of our findings after a comprehensive look at Baltimore's steadily rising spending for police overtime.

At the ideal tavern, there's a jolly barkeep, convivial regulars and everybody knows your name. At the nuisance establishment? They sell cheap little bottles from 6 am to 2 am, attract loitering and drug-dealing, and thwart community leaders' efforts to lift up their neighborhoods. Critics say the Baltimore Liquor Board fails to protect communities from troublesome licensees. Reform efforts are underway. But so are powerful forces dedicated to keeping the status quo.

Baltimore Brew coverage of Maryland's 2020 primary, originally scheduled for April 28 but pushed back now to June 2 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. State election officials are recommending no in-person voting - advising citizens to mail-in or drop-off their ballots. However it's conducted, The Brew will be there to cover it.

Maryland’s system of letting party operatives fill legislative vacancies has led to some recent embarrassments, such as the House Majority Whip’s daughter getting a seat in Annapolis after breaking a 2-2 tie – by voting for herself. (A party leader tried to bar a Brew reporter from that meeting.) It's also led to some big, systemic problems - nearly a quarter of the legislature was not elected by voters, but rather appointed by small committees. Critics say when state politics is dominated by insiders - offspring, spouses, cronies - it's no surprise Maryland has been beset with corruption scandals.

Brew reporting has closely chronicled the pitched battle between developers and residents of the city's historic Clipper Mill neighborhood. In 2019, we broke the story of a developer's surprise demolition of two 1840s stone houses. In 2020, as The Brew first reported, he had another nasty surprise for them - a $25 million lawsuit against residents who spoke out against one of his projects at a meeting. One aspect of our close coverage of this saga: holding city agencies accountable for handling a politically-connected businessman's projects without fear or favor.

The Brew documented that Baltimore County Public Schools was warned many times over the years - by tech experts and multiple state audits - that it was vulnerable to an attack by ransomware criminals. Since the November attack, the website explained critical questions that remain about the extent of the damage and the security of the system and disclosed county government's deep distrust of the school system's handling of the crisis.

The Brew disclosed that the city plans to demolish the former home of bandleader Cab Calloway - sparking a drive to preserve the house and debate over whether a park there would better serve a struggling community.