Cohen led a public hearing Wednesday to find out why the Patterson Park Pool and the Cherry Hill Pool are still closed and why the pool at Lake Clifton didn't open until the end of July.

"This hearing is about accountability," Cohen said. "I believe system failures in procurement and communication need to be accounted for and fixed."

Field Trip Fridays offers a prototype for collaboration in our city,” stated Cohen. “This serves as an incredible example of city government, nonprofit partners and our city’s anchor institutions working together to solve problems. I called, they answered, and every single one opened their doors and put out the welcome mat for our kids.”

"Do we want to be a place where we allow shame and stigma to keep people hidden in the shadows while they are literally dying from a disease or do we have the courage to say enough is enough," Cohen said

After Mosby said that facts matter, Cohen points to prior Council votes – including by Mosby himself – to reduce pension benefits to city workers

In a letter to Mosby on Monday morning, Cohen urged delay. He said that while he believes in having a strong pension system and recognizes the need for changes in light of Question K’s passage, the move sends “the wrong message” to residents and unelected city workers and “disregards the advice of experts.”

“We know that trust in government is strained. Any perception of self dealing is toxic,” Cohen wrote. “Now more than ever our decisions must prioritize the people we serve over ourselves.”

During his remarks Tuesday evening, Cohen called the effort to expand restorative practices “an unprecedented show of unity.”

A Baltimore social justice organization has committed $250,000 to protect access to abortion and ensure bodily autonomy in Maryland. This was followed by a Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, an almost 50-year-old precedent on the federal level that allowed women to have abortions without facing legal repercussions.

By Rachael Cardin

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore City Council pledged on Tuesday to protect the women residing in the city and across the country.

Reproductive rights were protected in Baltimore and will not change due to the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade.

While Maryland and Baltimore are areas where abortion is still legal, many states have now made abortion illegal due to the recent court ruling. Baltimore is aware that other state residents may come to the city seeking medical care.

“Pound for pound, we are one of the most scrappiest and compassionate places in America,” City Councilman Zeke Cohen said. “We will be a safe haven and we will not allow the Supreme Court to have the last word.”

By Cristina Mendez

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The University of Maryland School of Medicine is hosting a two-day summit to focus on trauma and its effects on the brain.

“It is critically important that we rebuild trust, and we rebuild it on the foundation of listening and serving those who have been most deeply impacted by trauma,” said Councilman Zeke Cohen.

On Wednesday, the first leg of the Baltimore Trauma Summit brought together scientists, community leaders and activists to talk about the long-lasting impacts on our community, including poor health outcomes and ways to reverse detrimental effects.

By Blair Young

On Saturday, Healing City Baltimore ended its annual week-long summit. The 2022 Healing City Summit was focused on building community, increasing trust and increasing healing, both individually and collectively.

Community members and organizations gathered at Coppin State University to highlight different types of wellness, including nutrition, dance, healers, barbers and beauticians.

At a Wednesday news conference organized by Councilmembers Zeke Cohen, Odette Ramos, Ryan Dorsey, Kris Burnett and Sharon Green Middleton, a coalition including Students Organizing for a Multicultural and Open Society (SOMOS), No Boundaries Youth Organizers, Baltimore Connect, CASA De Maryland, Healing City, Organizing Black and community organizations from across the city demanded the district distribute high-filtration masks such as N95s to staff and students.

Larry Simmons, president of the Parent Community Advisory Board, said COVID testing should be required for all students unless a parent takes action to opt their child out.

“We have testing consent rates well below 50% in some schools. The opt in consent form serves as a barrier that compromises the safety of all families,” he said.

WYPR - 88.1 FM Baltimore | By Emily Sullivan

Baltimore City leaders announced Friday they will pour more than $1.4 million into programs to implement trauma-informed care — that is, a healthcare methodology that attempts to heal trauma and provide culturally-competent service.

The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement will put $900,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money toward the Healing City Act. Another $510,000 will be used to help the task force created by the act develop basic community training.

By JESSICA ANDERSON

BALTIMORE SUN |

NOV 22, 2021 AT 6:56 PM

When a man on a killing spree walked into an East Baltimore barber shop earlier this month and shot a barber to death, only to be killed by an off-duty police officer getting a haircut, the story went national and sparked outrage at the city’s latest run of violence.

But even before that happened, word already was spreading among Baltimore barbers that Saturday, Nov. 13. That’s because another of Carlos Ortega’s rampage also was a barber, friends and colleagues of the victims said Monday at an East Baltimore vigil marking their deaths.

By J. Brian Charles - The Trace

One day in June, the employees of the Enoch Pratt Free Library gathered online to learn something new: how to de-escalate conflict, mediate grief, and help people feel better about themselves.

They got instruction from Lawrence Brown, a professor at Morgan State University who trains organizations on racial equity, then broke out into smaller private sessions where they had tough, but open, conversations about healing their own and their city’s trauma.

By Fern Shen - Baltimore Brew

Taking aim at the perennial Baltimore problem of unsightly trash and illegal dumping, a group of Council members is calling for stiffer penalties, pointing out that the city lags far behind other jurisdictions when it comes to punishing violators.

A bill he and other Council members will introduce tonight would double the penalty for illegal dumping in the city, fining first-time offenders a maximum $1,000.

By Emily Opilo - Baltimore Sun

Local officials from across the country, including seven members of Baltimore City Council, have joined forces to lobby the Federal Communications Commission to improve access to internet service for communities of color and low-income areas.

In a letter written this week by Democratic City Council members Zeke Cohen, Kristerfer Burnett and Ryan Dorsey, the coalition of which they are members asked the FCC to create a commission dedicated to addressing what’s called digital redlining. That’s when areas that are home to Black and brown families are excluded or priced out of quality internet service.