Midday

Baltimore mayoral candidate Joseph T. "Jody" Landers III talks about his plan to reduce the city's highest-in-Maryland property tax rate and his vision for Baltimore.

Jane Wilson McWilliams visits Studio A to talk about her new book Annapolis, City on the Severn: A History- from its settlement in 1650 to its historic preservation campaign of the late twentieth century.

Hoarding is the compulsive, irrational drive to collect items in vast quantities and the inability to throw them out. Our guests are two Baltimore researchers who are at the forefront of an effort to seek the cause of, and treatment for the behavior: Jack Samuels, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and Gregory Chasson, assistant professor at Towson University’s Department of Psychology.

Dan takes your calls and comments about the latest news.

Scheduled for this coming Labor Day weekend, the Baltimore Grand Prix is expected to bring large revenues to downtown businesses and give the city a rare opportunity for national exposure. But many city residents have voiced their disapproval over the amount of time and money being invested in the race. Jay Davidson, president of Baltimore Racing Development and Marc Bunting of Team Baltimore Racing join us to discuss preparation for, what to expect from, and answer your questions about the Baltimore Grand Prix.

Days after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, a terrified nation was shocked again by a handful of anonymous letters laced with deadly anthrax. Five people died. Seventeen were sickened or injured; tens of millions were frightened. In a new book on the anthrax scare, Pulitzer Prize winner David Willman says the trauma boosted passage of the Patriot Act -- and gave the government vast new powers to spy on us. The Bush administration also used it to drum up support for war on Iraq.

Baltimore city’s property tax rate has become a central issue in this year’s mayoral race.  Our guest this hour is lifelong Baltimore resident, and visiting fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, Louis Miserendino, who says that cutting the tax should be top priority, ahead of crime and education. We talk about his plan to cut the property tax significantly, using San Francisco and Boston as models for how it can be done.

On the docket for this edition of Midday on the law, with Jim Astrachan and Julie Rubin: The Supreme Court rules in the Wal-Mart job discrimination case and experts believe the ruling sounds the death knell for other class action suits like it. And while Maryland still debates same-sex Marriage, some county courts have already been considering same-sex divorce. 

The Midday Weekly News Review of the region's most interesting stories with the reporters who covered them.

University of Maryland's Sheri Parks, a keen observer of American culture, talks about unplugging and its effect on personal relationships. Could you take a sabbatical from Facebook and your smart-phone? Also taking part in the discussion is Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication at Northwestern University. She'll talk about her recent study regarding minority youth and the media.