Policy

Every two years, Baltimore’s Homeless Services Program leads a count of the city’s homeless population as part of requirements for federal funding.

Web Extra: Gabby Knighton with details of the city's homeless census that begins January 28th

Web Extra: Olivia Farrow on whether homeless services are getting the money they need to address the problem

Wednesday is the deadline for Governor Martin O’Malley to give the legislature his proposal for how much money the state should spend in the coming year, and how to pay for it. 

Another in our series of discussions about the Newtown massacre, the focus this time on the massive number of firearms in the United States -- and how we reconcile the Second Amendment right to bear arms with the right to be safe from gun violence. A conversation with former New York Times correspondent and editor Craig E. Whitney, author of "Living With Guns: A Liberal's Case for the Second Amendment."

The 433rd Maryland General Assembly gets underway today. Last year, lawmakers wrestled with some hot-button issues: same-sex marriage, gambling expansion; lawmakers had to come back for two special sessions to settle everything. Will this year prove calmer than the last?

Web Extra: John Wagner on whether there's the will to make it more difficult to bring issues to referendum

Web Extra: Wood and Wagner on how much influence O'Malley will have on this legislative session

The 2013 Maryland General Assembly convenes Wednesday with the president of the Maryland Association of Counties calling for legislators to give local jurisdictions a break from spending mandates and to provide more funding for roads. On the day before the legislative session begins, we speak with three executives about the financial burdens their counties face as the O'Malley administration tries to balance the state budget. Our guests: Ken Ulman of Howard County, David Craig of Harford County, and Kevin Kamenetz of Baltimore County.

This hour, we continue our coverage of gun control and mental health policy following the December gun massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

This segment was originally broadcast on September 28, 2012.

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, which left 27 people dead, Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson talks guns and public safety.

In the aftermath of the deadliest elementary-school shooting in the nation's history, what saddened and outraged Americans can do to keep more gun massacres from occurring. Guests: Colin Goddard, a survivor of the Virgina Tech massacre and now with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; and Brad Sachs, Columbia-based family psychologist and author of books on adolescents and young adults.

Last Thursday, the hopes of those who thought the Sparrows Point steel mill might one day produce steel again were dashed. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced that the owners' plan to level the buildings on Sparrows Point in the next few years, and sell off all the equipment.

Web Extra: Community College of Baltimore County President Sandra Kurtinitis