Ben Conarck
@conarck
covering prisons, jails and police @BaltimoreBanner • tips to bconarck @ thebaltimorebanner dot com • former @MiamiHerald @jaxdotcom 🦉
After Trump cut billions for FEMA disaster prevention, a declining & conservative town on Maryland's Eastern Shore is left to fend off rising waters on its own. “We will not be here if we don’t have a major intervention,” the mayor told me. “That’s it.” thebaltimorebanner.com/community/clim…
Your sign to welcome a little positivity in your timeline. My latest for @BaltimoreBanner thebaltimorebanner.com/baltimore-coun…
The @FLSERT pulled all Alligator Alcatraz contracts off the state's public contracts website after reporters asked probing questions about the payments. The contract cover sheets were reposted Saturday but not the pages containing greater detail.
Florida emergencies mean millions for connected contractors orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/19/flo…
Read the @BaltimoreBanner's deeply reported story on underground fires. Here's a depressing line: "There’s no consensus as to why. And there’s no clear answer as to whose responsibility it is to prevent it from happening again." @HayesGardner @emilyopilo thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power…
"In the county where Michael Phelps grew up, there’s no public pool."
Baltimore County has no public pools, whereas the city has several. Why? Segregation is to blame. thebaltimorebanner.com/community/loca…
Great panel today about the state of Maryland’s prisons at @BaltimoreBanner moderated by @conarck ✊🏽👏🏽 1/2
Notice Blackhawks flying over Baltimore? Us too. Things have been have gotten a lot busier at Scott Plank's heliport in Canton, which he has spent years pitching as a home for the Baltimore police's helicopter fleet. Story w/ @emilyopilo & @justin_fenton below ⬇️
BREAKING: Rep. Jamie Raskin said he will call on Republican leaders on the House Judiciary Committee to call for a hearing into the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein investigation. tinyurl.com/mskcs5jv
It’s great working at @BaltimoreBanner where our journalism is powered by a nonprofit mission to help Marylanders lead better lives. This week, every donation to us is matched up to $10,000. If you care about local news, now is the time to give! bit.ly/4lyp66S
Three years ago:
Today is my first day on the job covering criminal justice with a focus on law enforcement for the @BaltimoreBanner - hit me with your tips/story ideas. DMs are open.
In the span of about 30 minutes, Baltimore Police officers who arrived at the scene of a 70 y/o woman’s behavioral health crisis went from telling a family member they had no ability to enter the home to breaking down the front door with a Taser in hand: thebaltimorebanner.com/community/crim…
‘I’m going hot with a Taser’: Baltimore Police broke down door before shooting 70-year-old buff.ly/SVyzLlY
gotta say it doesn't feel super great posting on this website anymore
idk what the most recent update to the grok chatbot was but it is currently doing a series of “gotta hand it to em” replies about hitler and a bunch of other gnarly antisemitic stuff
Baltimore Police will release the body-cam footage from this shooting at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
New: In last week's fatal police shooting of 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks, BPD officers breached the door of her home, where she was inside and reportedly armed with a knife. De-escalation experts and the department's own crisis response policy call that action into question.