Temperatures should hit the mid 60s by early afternoon, before a front moves through. It’ll be cooler tomorrow, and it may snow on Thursday (nothing that should stick).
Gregory Fleischman, charged with with punching another man at a 2013 Orioles game, will only serve 10 days in jail. Fleischman and another man, Michael Bell, were taunting Matthew Fortese during the game. When Fortese went to confront the men, Fleischman punched him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the concrete. Fortese spent the next few months in a coma and suffered permanent brain damage.
Fleischman took an Alford plea, which allows him to accept the charge without admitting guilt. He won’t have to serve his 10 days until after he’s finished his college degree in May. (Michael Bell only served 5 days.)
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will hold a public forum with community leaders next week to address ways to reduce black-on-black crime, largely through mentorship and community outreach. Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, who will host the forum, praised the mayor for “Star Trek leadership: Going where no other city has ever gone in addressing head-on the issue of black-on-black homicide.” Bryant could use some Vulcan logic – SRB’s taking a lot of criticism for rehasing old reasoning that blames black men for their misfortune. Mentorship won’t fix institutional issues like the unemployment gap between the city’s white and black residents, nonetheless the gap in outcomes in front of the justice system (ask Gregory Fleischman).
A group of angel investors and startup founders spoke to a Maryland House committee, advocating for a tax credit for investors in early-stage companies.
UMBC has suspended five women’s lacrosse players for posts in a group chat called “Sophomores Rule.” The students’ posts threatened to injure or kill their new freshman teammates.
Maryland’s women’s basketball team earned a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament. The team hasn’t lost since a Dec. 3rd defeat from fellow 1-seed Notre Dame.