-Attorneys representing the six-year-old son of Korryn Gaines, a woman shot and killed by police in Baltimore County, are suing county police—including Royce Ruby Jr., the officer who shot and killed Gaines (and also struck Gaines’ son twice)—and question major details of the day’s events. Namely, they say Gaines was not aiming her gun at police when she was shot—one of the many confusing elements of the events highlighted by activists in the days after the shooting. The civil trial begins on Jan. 30.
-As the Woodlawn-based rap trio Creek Boyz’s maudlin ‘With My Team’ gains more traction, moving from a local staple and a buzzing song among serious rap heads to potentially a national hit, it has also been compromised. A new, more professional video for the song was released last week and with it, an edit to the hook. “Everyday we on our grind/ Baltimore too many niggas dying/ Gotta watch out for me and mine/ Everyday I’m with my team,” goes the original. The line referencing Baltimore’s homicide rate has been changed to, “Can’t nobody stop our shine”—turning the touching track into just another great rap song about success. As Noisey’s Lawrence Burney wrote, “[Creek Boyz’s record label] has deflated a song that was initially made as a coping mechanism to heal a city in pain.”
-Eddie’s Market in Mount Vernon has been approved for demolition so that the space can be used for a new grocery store and a “mixed use” development, which as we all know by now translates to expensive apartments and places to eat. The plan from developer Dennis Richter was voted on by the Commission on Historic Architectural Preservation due to Mount Vernon’s status as a historic district. For those counting: Club Hippo’s now a CVS, Grand Central’s for sale, and Eddie’s is good to go. It seems Mount Vernon has moved one step closer to morphing into Adams Morgan.
-“VIOLENT JUVENILES WREAKING HAVOC ON THE STREETS OF BALTIMORE. SQUARE OFF SPECIAL SUNDAY 11AM ABC 2,” local TV personality Richard Sher tweeted just like that in ALL CAPS to promote the latest episode of his long-running news commentary/debate show. The guests on this episode of “Square Off” were Commissioner Kevin Davis, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Councilman Eric Costello, BPD spokesperson T.J. Smith, and Gavin Patasknick of the city’s Juvenile Division. In other words, all city officials very much of the “we need to lock more kids up” persuasion—and no youth advocates. Skip this scaremongering nonsense and copaganda and watch our friends at The Real News Network talk with Councilman Bill Henry and public defender Jenny Egan in “Questioning the Narrative of Increased Youth Violence.”
-In recent months, authorities with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Information, or ICE, have taken full advantage of support from the Trump administration to lock up immigrants in hospitals, at work, or outside schools while they pick up their kids. It’s created a very real culture of fear here in Baltimore and all over the country. To combat those fears, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore announced Safe City Baltimore last week, a fund that will collect money for immigrants in need. The group hopes to raise $500,000 so they can help with legal claims and provide representation and education. Mayor Pugh has said Baltimore is a welcoming city for immigrants, but can’t officially be termed a sanctuary city. That’s because we don’t have control of our detention facilities and therefore don’t have a say in whether immigrants held here are turned over to federal officials.
-There were four homicides in Baltimore over the past week (Nov. 13-20, the week before the Beat goes to press): Brandon Neville on Nov. 13; Tyrone Rogers and Alexander Wroblewski (a Locust Point bartender whose homicide was highly publicized) on Nov. 14; and on Nov. 16, Baltimore Police Detective Sean Suiter, an 18-year veteran of the police force. As of Nov. 20, Baltimore has had 309 homicides.