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PHOTOSTORY: AFRAM 2026

Families camped in tents, lawn chairs, and blankets on the hills and in the fields of Druid Hill Park.

by Sydney Allen

Maryland has a new AC law for renters, but many Baltimore tenants are still left out

While the legislation made Maryland one of the first states to set cooling standards for rentals, its limited scope provides little immediate relief for renters facing high heat this summer.

by Jaisal Noor

Dimples Bar & Grill serves up cheesesteaks and charm

After six months of operating their Locust Point location, the couple officially announced Fells Point for their second location at 1718 Thames Street, in the former Riptide location, opening later this fall.

by Ana Bak

OP-ED: In Baltimore, where you go to high school is a life-changing decision

“Where you go to high school here isn’t just a chapter. For better or worse, it’s part of the story you tell about yourself for the rest of your life,” writes Alanah Nichole Davis.

by Alanah Nichole Davis

2025 Impact Report

Here, you’ll find an accounting of the kinds of stories we’re telling, the people who are telling them, and the way they are changing our city for the better.

by Baltimore Beat

Baltimore Beat Summer Jam and Legacy Gala

Baltimore Beat’s Summer Jam event now includes the inaugural Legacy Gala, an awards ceremony honoring W. Paul Coates, Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, and Afro Charities for their work in preserving Black media. Early bird pricing ends July 4.

Welcome to Baltimore Beat’s pay-what-you-can advertising page.

We know that algorithms make the internet a less reliable way of publicizing the great work local businesses do. We also know that people here in Baltimore are looking for ways to keep their money in their communities. We hope this is a way that small businesses can feature themselves in Baltimore Beat, keeping their services at the front of readers’ minds.

For more information, go to baltimorebeat.com/paywhatyoucan.

News

Youth Charging Reform Act ‘ensures that hundreds of Maryland youth are directed toward support and services within the juvenile system’

The new law removes first-degree assault and misdemeanor handgun offenses from among those where 16-17 year-olds are automatically charged as adults.

by Emma Akpan June 16, 2026June 16, 2026

Photostory: Day and night during Baltimore’s Pride weekend

From VERSION to Pride in the Park, Baltimoreans celebrated Pride weekend all around the city.

by Sydney Allen June 16, 2026June 16, 2026

For more than 10 years, Baltimore’s Youth Poet Laureate Competition has empowered young people to speak their truth

Since the first competition in 2015, the Baltimore Youth Poet Laureate program has been a platform to uplift youth voices from the city through poetry, connecting them to city officials and other community leaders as a voice of the city.

by Jeremy Collins June 16, 2026June 16, 2026

Arts & Culture

‘Dr. No’ still holds the nucleus for the next James Bond

There’s something primordial about the first James Bond film that bears revisiting.

by Dominic Griffin June 29, 2026June 29, 2026

Bry Reed: Three recent books by local scholars analyze different aspects of police power

While some stories will recall 2020 as the powder keg that blew the lid off American policing in the public forum, columnist Bry Reed is not interested in the quick and easy version of assessing police and violence in the United States.

by Bry Reed June 16, 2026June 16, 2026

Photostory: AFRAM in its early years

Baltimore photographer Robert Breck Chapman photographed the annual AFRAM Expo from 1976 until 1996, according to information provided by the library. These photos, courtesy of Special Collections at the University of Baltimore’s Langsdale Library, where Chapman’s work now resides, were taken during the first three years of the festival from Charles Center to Rash Field.

by J.M. Giordano and Grace Hebron June 16, 2026June 16, 2026