Mark Reutter
Verified
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Mark Reutter
Media Bits and Bytes - September 15, 2026
Media Bits and Bytes — September 15, 2026 Published September 15, 2026 Bernie and Bannon on the Same Page Will Political Cartooning Survive?
Baltimore inspector general responds to criticism and taunts by mayor’s office | Baltimore Brew
9 hours ago Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and all the rest for a one-time payment. TL;DR: A Microsoft Office lifetime license comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Access, and you can get one now for $49.97 (reg. $249.99). People have been (justifiably) complaining about monthly software …
“Isabel reads all my s____ . . . I’m not scared of her ass. AT ALL” | Baltimore Brew
1 day ago Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and all the rest for a one-time payment. TL;DR: A Microsoft Office lifetime license comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Access, and you can get one now for $49.97 (reg. $249.99). People have been (justifiably) complaining about monthly software …
City Council oks, then stalls parking bill for Westside grocery store | Baltimore Brew
0:49 2 hours ago Off-duty officer intervened for woman's safety before shots fired WBAL • 2h Baltimore police announced the arrest of a man in connection with Saturday's shooting on Sinclair Lane. According to charging documents obtained by WBAL-TV 11 News, a group gathered in Clifton Park for a party on Saturday night. A woman from the party went to cross the street when a man pulled his car near her.
City will Pay at Least $63 Million in Rent – on Top of $16 Million Upfront – to Occupy Bramble Office Building | citybiz
day’s scheduled approval of $16 million in public funds to underwrite construction of an office building on West North Avenue proposed by P. David Bramble is just the start of what Mayor Brandon Scott has promised the developer of Harborplace. The complex deal involves more than 150 pages of lease agreements, ground rent contracts and rent schedules pertaining to Reservoir Square, Bramble’s townhouse and apartment project between the Bolton Hill and Reservoir Hill neighborhoods.
Under Fire Over Tirabassi Deal, Olszewski’s Relationship to the Firefighter Remains in the Spotlight
In the wake of The Brew’s reporting – including the secret $83,675 payment to firefighter Philip Tirabassi engineered by top staffers for Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski – connections between the two are under scrutiny, including old posts on social media.
Scott Wants City to Contribute $16 Million for an Office Building Planned by One of his Top Donors
Mayor Brandon Scott has struck a deal with P. David Bramble, owner of Harborplace and a heavy contributor to his re-election campaign, to advance $16 million in city funds to help him erect an office building in West Baltimore. The building would house the headquarters of a small city agency, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), and help jump-start Bramble’s Reservoir Square project on West North Avenue.
In Surprise Visit Today, Baltimore Inspector General Finds Sanitation Workers Exposed to Extreme Heat, No A/C
Conducting a surprise visit to the Cherry Hill Solid Waste Yard this morning, Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming found employees exposed to hazardous working conditions, including no functioning air conditioning, broken thermostats, inoperable water fountains and no ice. Cumming said about eight crews had already left the facility without access to cold water, ice or Gatorade to start their shift when she arrived.
Cost of Decade-Old Roland Avenue Repave Drops from 172% to 163% of its Budget
Cost overruns are a frequent subject of Brew reporting, the latest being the ballooning price of waterproofing City Hall’s leaky walls and roof. But today we offer good news: the city is clawing back almost $350,000 from a contractor who repaved Roland Avenue some 10 years ago. The mile-long rebuild, from Cold Spring Lane to Northern Parkway, was originally awarded to M. Luis Construction for $3.9 million in 2012.
Discovery of More Water Leaks will Swell the Price of Mending City Hall’s White Walls
Two weeks after the mayor and city comptroller lauded the Department of General Services for keeping City Hall’s stone wall repairs “below budget,” the same agency is reporting a new set of problems that’s likely to bring prices right back up again. The historic seat of Baltimore government, housed inside white marble walls and ornate Serlian windows, continues to leak despite 31 Extras Work Orders (EWOs) and $12.4 million in authorized repairs since 2020.
Olszewski Administration Seeks $200,000 More in Battle Over Public Information Records
The Baltimore County Council is set tonight to authorize $200,000 more in legal fees – on top of $350,000 already allocated – to handle a Public Information Act lawsuit seeking information about a secret payment made by the Johnny Olszewski administration to a retired firefighter. The payments going to the Baker Donelson law firm are listed on page 50 of the council’s agenda as an amendment to “complex and time-intensive litigation” with little additional explanation.
Cost of Restoring City Hall’s White Walls Exceeds $16 Million, with Other Expenses to Come
The Board of Estimates today approved the 31st EWO, or extra work order, to buff up and repair the white marble walls that enclose Baltimore’s seat of government, while allocating $3.4 million more to replace a roof that is “corroding to the point of section loss.” While the cost of restoring the exterior of the ornate 19th century landmark has passed the $16 million mark – making it 152% more expensive than the last full restoration in 1975-77 – the Scott administration made it a point to...
Pension Boost for Baltimore County Council Members Proposed by Wade Kach is Approved by his Colleagues
The Baltimore County Council voted last night to enrich its members by tying their pensions to increases in future council salaries rather than a cost-of-living adjustment offered to other county retirees. Led by Republican Wade Kach and chairman Izzy Patoka, a Democrat, the panel changed the way pension benefits are calculated for retired members. Outside of a rambling story by Councilman Julian E.
After 19 Years of Minimal Progress, Poppleton Developer’s Agreement is Terminated by the City
Baltimore’s housing department today announced the termination of its contract with La Cité Development after the New York developer failed to met the latest deadline for financing its long-stalled reconstruction of Poppleton. Citing “delays and shortcomings that we can no longer endure,” Housing Commissioner Alice Kennedy said ending the agreement signed with the company in 2005 by the Martin O’Malley administration – or five mayors ago – is in the best interests of the city and community.
County Councilman Wade Kach is Angling to Give Himself and His Colleagues a 13% Raise When They Retire
By law, retired Baltimore County employees can’t get a COLA (cost of living adjustment) during their first five years of retirement. Councilman Wade Kach, a 76-year-old, three-term Republican, wants to change that so he and his colleagues won’t have to wait to feather their retirement nest eggs. The current council cannot approve their own salaries during their term, but they can set council salaries for the next term. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
In Big Primary Upset, 11th District’s Costello Concedes to Newcomer Zac Blanchard
After a decade on the Baltimore City Council, where he galvanized power under a succession of mayors and held sway with the downtown business community, Councilman Eric T. Costello conceded today that he lost his 11th District re-election bid to political novice Zac Blanchard. Following ballot counting that has had the city on tenterhooks since last week’s primary, Blanchard came away with a 43 vote lead.
Cost of Protecting the Mayor and Two Other City Executives Rises Sharply, Baltimore Inspector General Finds
Baltimore spent between $3.4 and $3.6 million last year to protect Mayor Brandon Scott, State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and Police Commissioner Richard Worley, Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming found in a report released today. The price of police protection, offered exclusively to these officials, was considerably more than the equivalent services in other cities of similar size, such as Milwaukee, Portland, Detroit and Memphis, according to the report.
Challengers are Running Strong Against Costello and Stokes in 11th and 12th Council Districts
Union organizer Jermaine Jones has pulled ahead of incumbent City Councilman Robert Stokes in the 12th District, while political newcomer Zac Blanchard is staging a robust challenge to Eric T. Costello, darling of developers and downtown businessmen. With all 23 precincts reporting in the 12th District, which was expanded this year to include Harbor East and environs, Jones is leading Stokes 52% to 48%.
Over $25,000 in Previously Undisclosed Contributions were Made to Nick Mosby’s Campaign
A drug treatment center executive, whose company is suing the city for denying it permission to build a residential clinic on Harford Road, has emerged as the leading financial supporter of City Council President Nick Mosby. Kevin K. Pfeffer is one of 11 individuals, companies and a charitable foundation whose donations to Mosby were unreported in two previous financial reports filed by the Council president, who is seeking re-election in the May 14 Democratic Party primary.
Now-Empty Lake Ashburton will be Refilled, Baltimore Officials Vow. But When, No One Will Say
Last night residents from Hanlon Park got an answer from city officials regarding the fate of their beloved Lake Ashburton. The now-empty and bedraggled reservoir will be refilled with water, they were told. But pinning down a timeline of when that might occur was another matter. “I can’t speak to that right now,” Charles Oliver, project manager for the Baltimore Department of Public Works, said in a Zoom call with a dozen property owners and community leaders. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Multiple PAC Contributions Listed in Nick Mosby’s Finance Reports Don’t Hold Up to Scrutiny
Baltimore Gas & Electric says it never electronically transferred $9,281.94 to City Council President Nick Mosby on February 23, as was reported by his campaign finance committee. Rather, the utility says its political arm wrote a much smaller ($450) check to Mosby on April 27. This discrepancy is not the only oddity that The Brew found in Mosby’s campaign filings, which are now under scrutiny by the Maryland Board of Elections. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Elections Board Orders Nick Mosby to Return “Excessive Contributions” from BGE and Correct Other Errors
The Maryland Board of Elections has ordered City Council President Nick Mosby to return potential “excessive contributions” from Baltimore Gas & Electric and correct the street addresses of more than two dozen contributors, some of them prominent names in Baltimore’s donor world. The rebuke by the elections board is the latest setback for Mosby, who is running for a second term in the May 14 Democratic primary.
Nick Mosby Lists Nearly $10,000 from Baltimore Gas & Electric, the Company he Denounced During Last Year’s Conduit Debate
A year ago, City Council President Nick Mosby injected himself passionately into the underground conduit controversy, denouncing the deal struck between Baltimore Gas & Electric and Mayor Brandon Scott as “nothing more than a power grab” by a private company and boycotting the Board of Estimates meeting where Scott muscled through the measure.
Dana Moore to Head Baltimore’s Key Bridge Response and Recovery Efforts
The Brew has learned that Mayor Brandon Scott will tap a cabinet officer and veteran attorney to head the city’s response to the collapse and reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Dana P.
D’Andrea Walker Assumes Job as Baltimore County’s Top Administrative Officer
Following a standing ovation by the seven members of the Baltimore County Council, D’Andrea Walker took her seat tonight in the chambers as the next chief administrative officer, the top non-elected position in county government. She replaces Stacy Rodgers, who is leaving as CAO after five years, nominated by County Executive Johnny Olszewski, who is running for the 2nd District Congressional seat in next month’s Democratic Party primary.
Putting Criticism Aside, Baltimore County Council Hails D’Andrea Walker as Incoming County Administrator
Thee Republican members of the Baltimore County Council joined forces with the body’s four Democrats in praising a department head who ordered a police investigation of a “whistleblower” who offered evidence about an alleged influence-peddling scheme involving County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. The show of bipartisan support came at yesterday’s Council work session where D’Andrea Walker, director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT), was up for promotion as county...
Baltimore’s Second Highest Elected Official isn’t Paying his Water Bills - Again
Two years ago, The Brew reported that Baltimore’s then-power couple, Nick and Marilyn Mosby, had failed to pay monthly water bills on their Reservoir Hill house for almost a year. A day after the story was posted, the Mosbys paid the $907.63 they owed to the city. A lot has happened to the couple since then – Marilyn Mosby, for example, lost her bid for re-election, divorced her husband and was convicted of three felony counts by a jury at two federal trials.
A Whistleblower’s Story: Baltimore County Retiree Became the Subject of a Police Investigation After He Provided Information to The Brew
“I never dreamed that I would be investigated by the police department for doing my job according to Baltimore County Policy and Procedure.” So wrote Michael R. Beichler to the Baltimore County Council last week, stepping forward to publicly identify himself as the “whistleblower” who helped expose the 2022 Eagle Transfer Station controversy that involved campaign contributions and alleged influence peddling at the highest levels of Baltimore County government.
$1.2 Billion Contract to Handle Commercial Waste is Approved by Baltimore County Council
The Baltimore County Council last night approved an eye-popping contract with BFI Waste Services. “$1.2 billion. . . billion?” Chairman Izzy Patoka exclaimed when the contract for hauling commercial garbage to a Virginia landfill was presented by Public Works Director D’Andrea Walker last week at a work session. “I think this is the biggest contract we’ve seen, at least during the time I’ve been here,” marveled the two-term Democrat. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
City Seeks to Terminate Contract with The Pride Center of Baltimore
The Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs has taken the unusual step of calling for the termination of an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant to The Pride Center of Maryland. Best known for sponsoring the annual Baltimore Pride celebration that attracts thousands of participants, as well as leading city and state politicians, PCOM failed to document how it spent a $500,000 grant for violence prevention education and outreach.
Mayor Scott’s Fixed Vacant House Pricing Plan is Approved, But is Not Without its Critics
While Mayor Brandon Scott’s State of the City address tonight will laud his $3 billion “vision” to rehab 37,000 vacant and abandoned properties in Baltimore, one of the few concrete measures arising from the plan has come under fire.
Security Questions Raised by Baltimore County Employee Who Killed Himself Inside a County Building
The death of a Baltimore County employee, who last month smuggled a handgun into a county building and killed himself, has put some employees on edge, raising questions about how the gun passed through security and metal detectors. The death by suicide of Gary Lionel Williams, 61, was confirmed to The Brew by Baltimore County Police.
Century-Old Pipe, Which Carries the Sewage of More Than a Million Area Residents, Needs More Repairs
In December 2021, Baltimore ratepayers were told that emergency repairs were needed or else “catastrophic failure” could befall an underground pipeline that carries the sewage of 1.3 million city and county residents to the Back River Waste Water Treatment Plant. Some $11 million was set aside for a project scheduled to take 11 months.
Judge Rules that City can Withhold Names of Donors to Nick and Marilyn Mosby’s Legal Defense Fund
The same judge who ruled that City Council President Nick Mosby violated Baltimore’s ethics law by not disclosing the donors to a legal defense fund set up for himself and his former wife has ruled that the names of those donors need not be revealed. Circuit Court Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill overturned a decision last September by the Maryland Public Information Act Compliance Board, which ordered the city Ethics Board to disclose the names.
Scott Reaches Back, Grasping an Old Hand to Lead Baltimore’s DPW
Khalil A. Zaied, a jack of many trades, was today named Baltimore’s director of Public Works, an agency with many problems. Last seen as a deputy mayor under Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Zaied will return to city government after a brief stint as public works director for Champaign, Illinois, a city one-sixth of Baltimore’s size. Prior to that, he was a vice president of KCI Technologies, helping supervise Baltimore’s big conduit dig under Greenmount Avenue, and as a manager for El Paso, Texas.
Despite an Earlier Staff Exodus, D’Andrea Walker is Named Baltimore County’s Next Chief Administrator
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski has promoted a controversial figure as manager of the county’s day-to-day operations. D’Andrea L. Walker, director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation, was named county administrative officer today by Olszewski, replacing Stacy Rodgers, who plans to retire next month.
Catching Flak from a Determined Council Member, Scott Defers Action on his Vacant House Pricing Plan
At 9:07 this morning, as the Board of Estimates meeting was getting underway, a letter was emailed by Mayor Brandon Scott to Odette Ramos and other members of the City Council. “After careful consideration, I have decided to proceed with the fixed pricing policy being heard at the BOE today and plan to implement it as I continue to work with urgency to address Baltimore’s vacant housing crisis.” Forty-five minutes later, however, Scott was singing a different tune. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
After 8 Years of Construction and 31% Over Budget, the Central Avenue Streetscape is Almost Done
When we last looked at Baltimore’s Central Avenue Streetscape project in 2021, it was 488 days late and $5 million over budget. Since then, the seemingly endless digging by heavy machinery along this half-mile stretch of roadway bordering Harbor East has resulted in $9 million of new EWOs (extra work orders), the biggest of which will be quietly doled out today by the Board of Estimates.
Ramos Calls on Mayor Scott to Delay Plan to Sell Vacant Houses for as Little as $1
The City Council’s top housing advocate, Odette Ramos, is calling on Mayor Brandon Scott to delay a vote on a plan to sell vacant houses for as low as $1. The proposal, disclosed last week by The Brew, would streamline the sale of city-owned vacants by setting fixed prices for sale, ranging from $3,000 for developers and $1,000 for nonprofits to $1 for individuals and community land trusts.
Baltimore HCD Proposes to Sell Vacant Properties for $1 Under Certain Conditions
In an effort to end protracted negotiations over often minuscule price differences, the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development wants to fix the sales price for city-owned vacant properties. For a developer, a vacant house would go for a standard $3,000. For a nonprofit, the price would be $1,000. But for an individual or community land trust, the price would drop to $1. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Scott Administration Entered into Secret Contracts to Operate the Back River Sewer Plant with Private Consultants
During the last two years, the Scott administration paid – without public notice or Board of Estimates approval – roughly $13 million to private consultants to run the new Headworks facility at the Back River sewage plant in Dundalk. Then last September, a second private company was hired to run the plant’s biosolids equipment for $50 million, with “costs not to exceed $100 million” over eight years.
City to Enter Into $50 Million Contract for Private Management of Back River Biosolids
On the eve of the second anniversary of the state’s temporary takeover of the Back River sewage plant in 2022, Baltimore City is calling on a private company to manage its key facilities. The so-far-unannounced, no-bid contract with Operations Management International (OMI) will start at $50 million and could increase to $100 million over an eight-year period.
Mayor Scott’s Baby Registry Collected Over $12,000 in Gifts and Cash, Including from Donors with No Last Names
Some 125 individuals and groups contributed more than $12,000 worth of baby merchandise, gift cards and cash to an online baby registry set up by Mayor Brandon Scott and his fiancée Hana Pugh for their newborn son. Among the contributors to the Charm Jamie Scott Registry – the baby was born on December 26 – were two dozen members of the mayor’s senior staff, who collectively contributed $2,000 in goods and gift cards.
At Marilyn Mosby’s Trial, Prosecutor Delves into Nick Mosby’s Consulting Business, which Spent Big on Clothing
Throughout Marilyn Mosby’s second trial, on two counts of mortgage fraud, her lawyers have saddled her star witness, ex-husband and City Council President Nick Mosby, with a tricky task: He must convince the jury he lied to her for years about mounting debt and a concealed IRS lien – thereby establishing his wife’s “innocent spouse” defense for signing false mortgage applications – but he also must persuade jurors that he’s now telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Deputy Mayor Dzirasa Amends her Ethics Statement to Include her Husband’s Contract
Baltimore Deputy Mayor Letitia Dzirasa today changed her ethics statement to acknowledge that her husband’s company has a large contract with the city, hours after The Brew disclosed that Mayor Brandon Scott and other members of the Board of Estimates were about to approve a $250,000 cost overrun.
Board of Estimates is Set to Spend More on Software Company Owned by Husband of Deputy Mayor
On this morning’s Board of Estimates agenda is a plan to allocate more money to Fearless Solutions LLC, a software company owned and operated by Delali Dzirasa, husband of Baltimore’s deputy mayor and former health commissioner, Letitia Dzirasa. What started out as a $1 million services contract with Fearless to redesign the city’s website, baltimorecity.gov, has ballooned to $2.2 million at the same time the go-live launch date has been pushed back to March or April of 2024.
Baltimore Police Failed to Monitor Excessive Overtime or Institute Promised Reforms, State Auditor Finds
Police overtime in Baltimore has been reduced in recent years, but it remains largely unsupervised and conducted in violation of the department’s own policies, auditors conclude in a wide-ranging report released today. The 15 major findings by the State Office of Legislative Audits were not contested in a January 10 response to the audit by Commissioner Richard J. Worley Jr., who promised a new “completion date” for reforming overtime practices – May 31, 2024.
Baltimore Sun’s New Owner David Smith Gave $100,000 to a PAC Supporting Sheila Dixon
David D. Smith, chairman of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, who personally purchased the Baltimore Sun this week, funneled $100,000 to a political action committee set up to support the mayoral bid of Sheila Dixon. His contribution to the Better Baltimore PAC was publicly revealed shortly before the 11:59 p.m. deadline for filing 2023 campaign finance reports.
City-paid Trip to an Arizona Resort Illustrates a Broader Pattern of Unaccountability
It may be a drop in the bucket financially, but the $9,892 being spent this week by the trustees of the city’s Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) at a resort in Arizona underscores the laxness and latitude given to those in higher positions in Baltimore government. Not to speak of how travel rules Mayor Brandon Scott instituted three years ago are being disregarded by the Board of Estimates that approved them.
City to Settle Two Cases of Negligence and Neglect by Baltimore DPW
Water and sewage going where it shouldn’t will cost Baltimore taxpayers nearly $300,000 as the city settles two commercial claims before they go to trial. The break of an underground pipe at Mulberry and Howard streets, which flooded CSX’s Howard Street Tunnel on December 27, 2020, will be resolved with a $185,000 payout to the Florida-based company, to be formally approved by the Board of Estimates next week.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Mark
Contact Mark, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack