Dropping names

Cloudy and humid, with highs around 80 and rain this afternoon. Cloudy and rainy again tomorrow.

city

Seven women living at Gilmor Homes on Baltimore’s west side are suing the city’s housing commission and commissioner Paul Graziano, alleging a history of maintenance workers demanding sexual favors in exchange for repairs. The suit seeks over $10 million in damages for each woman. In affidavits, several of the women claim they were sexually assaulted by maintenance workers. The women also allege that deplorable living conditions (mold, roaches, lack of heat) were overlooked by workers, and that repeated complaints of abuse to housing officials were ignored.

freddie

Judge Barry Williams will hold a scheduling hearing today for the pending trials of the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Defense attorneys for the officers are requesting a postponement, citing recent new evidence provided by prosecutors. The first trial was slated to begin October 13th.

murder

After a weekend without a homicide in the city, a 26-year-old was shot and killed yesterday morning in the Harlem Park neighborhood of west Baltimore. 24 people have been killed in Baltimore in September.

police

A Baltimore Police officer shot an unarmed man in the leg last night in the Morrell Park neighborhood of southwest Baltimore. It’s still unclear why the officer stopped the man (identified as 40-year-old John Joseph Rau), or what led to the shooting.

community

Baltimore County is changing the name of Robert E. Lee Park to Lake Roland. County officials announced the new name during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new nature center. Already, all signs and references to the old name have been changed (a new website, too). The city-owned park sits just over the county line and is maintained by the county – technically, Baltimore’s city council will have to officially approve the change. Following the racially-motivated massacre of nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina in June, activists have called for Confederacy-inspired monuments to be removed, and public spaces to be renamed.

maryland

Gov. Larry Hogan is playing up $200 million in tax refunds Maryland must provide after a Supreme Court ruling, launching an informational website.

Hogan: “For years, I have repeatedly said that Maryland taxpayers were being overtaxed and overcharged. Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed with me.”

In May, the high court ruled that the state had double-taxed some residents for out-of-state income for years.

business

Sisu Global Health won a $100,000 investment from Steve Case at Case’s Rise of The Rest pitch competition. The startup produces medical tech for the developing world, starting with a innovative blood transfusion device.Eight local startups competed for the investment.