I'm a child of the eastside of Baltimore County and have lived here most of my life — first in Middle River then in Perry Hall, where I graduated from high school. I now live in Towson.
I'm a county history junkie and have a fondness for all the places that make my "hometown" special. You'll frequently find me hiking around Oregon Ridge with my dog or grabbing a slice at Pizza Johns in Middle River.
Over the years I've worked for a number of area publications including The Times in Perry Hall, The Avenue and The Journal Northeast as well as writing for Reuters news service.
For much of the last decade I was a reporter for Patuxent Publishing Co.'s community papers in Baltimore County as it's senior politics and government reporter.
I've won numerous state, regional and national awards for coverage of stories such as the Joseph Palczynski spree killings and hostage standoff in 2000, coverage of Hurricane Katrina, as well as state and local government coverage.
I've also been honored for my investigative work which includes stories involving the Community College of Baltimore County, the hiring of a health officer who was not licensed to practice medicine in Maryland and an investigation that led to the indictment of a sitting county councilman for theft from his campaign finance account.
While at Patuxent, my political blog was honored as the best in the Maryland-Delaware-DC region. I continue to blog about politics for Patch.
I appear each Thursday morning in the 7 o'clock hour where I talk about local politics on WBAL 1090 AM. I've appeared regularly on a number of that station's programs and have made guest appearances on Midday with Dan Rodricks on WYPR 88.1 FM.
I also co-hosted the "All Politics is Local" radio show on WCBM 680 AM.
You can find me on Facebook and on Twitter.
The County Council signs off on exchange of 10-acre parcels with the school system that could clear the way for the construction of a controversial new elementary school.
Officials from around Maryland head to Annapolis to compete for a share of $336 million in school construction money at the annual gathering known as beg-a-thon.
A new poll by Annapolis-Based Gonzales Research shows support for banning assault weapons while only 25 percent of those polled want to see Gov. Martin O'Malley run for President.
The legislative package also includes bills regarding offshore wind, expansion of early voting and allowing voters to register and vote on the same day.
State Sen. Allan Kittleman wants voting sessions recorded, a Prince George's County senator suffers a basketball injury and two Baltimore County legislators team up to shorten the wait to get a divorce.
The governor touts $325 million in cuts even as proposed spending increases by 4 percent over the current levels.
Group asks council to reject a resolution approving a land swap between the county and the schools system.
Baltimore County Police are investigating a pedestrian involved accident near Rolling Road
The Howard County executive says his top priority in the 2013 General Assembly Session is to avoid additional cuts in state aid.
The Baltimore County executive asks legislators for $128 m in school construction money and presses for his gun control requests.
The Catonsville Democrat said the council will have to deal with another difficult budget but there's "no political will" for a tax increase.
Governor's announcement at Overlea High School includes $325 million for school construction and $25 million for air conditioning in schools.
New plan to sell Towson Fire Station, Woodlawn police substation and North Point Government Center includes new site for replacement fire house.
Catonsville developer called the illegal donations he made "the dumbest thing I've ever done" and paid $58,000 in fines.
Cases in Oella, Towson and Woodlawn were among the 23 homicide cases investigated in Baltimore County last year.
Police report the majority of cases in 2012 involved victims who knew the person accused of killing them.
The fire in the West Inverness community was placed under control quickly and no one was found inside the house during an initial search.
Baltimore County Police say a man found dead of an apparent suicide was a person of interest in a city investigation.
Catonsville Developer Steve Whalen says he will plead guilty to five campaign finance charged filed today and expects to pay $58,000 in fines. "I alone am responsible."
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a county employee seeks more than $2 million for each of four alleged violations.
