Omar's dead. In real life too now sadly.

for real. this has major "the shop manager just stepped out of his new car to tell everyone the company's making record profits this year! not for you guys on the floor though, you know how bad the economy is, we just can't find the money to give any raises."

I was wondering about this. A while back, I developed a perfectly healthy obsession with sewer systems and blueprints. I couldn't find a well- mapped out reference for the city's water systems. The only available maps were in the county and stopped at city borders.

Of course, just because they weren't publicly available it doesn't mean they don't exist. But it systems aren't known for being up-to-date.

A poorly mapped out system could lead to Jackson-like problems

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it's extremely possible to do this in a system where there's never been a larger disparity between the income of hourly workers and the income of owners/managers. they'll cry poverty if they can't buy a third vacation home while skilled workers are struggling to find a job that won't break their bodies and will still let them pay rent. add that into the refusal to invest in training or entry-level jobs for newer/younger workers and you've got a labor force that's retiring/dying out and no new takers because people have bills to pay and don't want to be treated like they're disposable. i'm a skilled tradesman and i deal with this as my day to day reality. places are desperate for skilled workers but won't pay us enough to live on, they'll brag about record profits but deny us raises because of "the economy", they overwork what small labor force they do have so we're all even more overextended and prone to injury while they refuse to hire or train up new people, and that penny wise dollar foolish attitude is gonna end up hurting them even more than it hurts us when that unsustainable cycle finally catches up to them.

I'd start here: "https://homeless.baltimorecity.gov/get-help-now". There's also Catholic Charities of Maryland (yeah, yeah, I know): "https://cc-md.org/". When I went to the BCPS, there was at least one student counselor per school. A few decades have gone by, and I am somewhat concerned that your post here would seemingly imply that the ratio of counselors has gotten worse over the years. If your site or region has a counselor, talk to that person.

CPS has a 24-hour line: "https://dhs.maryland.gov/child-protective-services/" There's a local office link on the left side of the web page that you can use for each jurisdiction in the state.

There wouldn't be a shortage of construction workers if they wanted to hire unionized employees, or there weren't a crackdown on immigration, or there hadn't been a collapse in the construction industry between 2008 and oh, about 2021.

Where the hell are you getting beavers for only $1?! Have I been getting ripped off paying $12 per beaver this while time?

> Baltimore's poverty issues do not come from a lack of "jobs"

This is such a colossal straw man given that the situation in the labor market described in this article is at most two years old.

> They come from a basic skills gap.

To the extent this is true, it's best exemplified by this article quoting McKinsey about vaporware labor needs beyond the near future.

Our old community association had an agreement with the Motel 6 near me for cheaper rooms. We had a special code word to get rooms for $55 for emergency shelter for the night. If you know the community group near you they may have something similar for local hotels. The city doesn’t do a good job taking care of teens and young adults, I wish there were more options. 15 is too old for the children and women’s shelter and too young for the men’s shelter. It’s the right age to get into trouble on the streets, Im glad the boy has you to help him.

What do you mean by this? We have a much better wastewater system than WASA in DC or PWD in Philly.

Call 211

Not sure if they can do anything on such short notice but it's worth a shot.

50 million toward statewide wet infrastructure will obviously have a local impact. Particularly considering how many engineering and construction companies for the state are based in Baltimore.

This is the option we are going with in the end. I was hoping to do one that didn't cost so much money but I'm also more than willing to spend the money so that he's out of the rain tonight. I appreciate you sharing your experience and I extra appreciate that you two have looked out for kids in this way ♥️

Patapsco state park. Lots of trails to ride on.

You can place him in a hotel near you, make sure he has a working cell phone and charger with him. Then you can pick him up in the morning to work with CPS. That’s what I do. I’m a single woman, not comfortable with someone I don’t know in my home overnight. The hotel option has worked for young men that age in my area.

You and your boyfriend will need to give your ID for the hotel room. You need to impress upon the boy that you will hold him accountable for any damage to the room.

Have you tried 2-1-1? I’m not an expert, but seems like the “right” (but maybe not effective) place to start.

https://211md.org/about/

Do you, genuinely not trying to make you feel bad about it, but honestly I hate when I see laptops in bars. I’m trying to relax and be as far from work as possible and now I’m next to some guy plugging away at an excel doc. I’d go get drunk in a wework if I wanted that.

That said, R House is a good bet, that place is already just an airport food court, a laptop certainly isn’t out of place.

100% on the structural engineer. Especially if there are any concerns about the foundation.

I just can’t understand the idea to coddle these criminals

I agree with everything here but also want to emphasize talking to other residents on the block, and observing the block at different times of the day (if you can). Our block is great and we have a nicely knit community- except for the house directly next to mine. Had I spent time checking out the neighborhood I might have seen the residents nodding out on their porch, dumping huge amounts of trash out of their cars into the street, having stoop parties and doing drugs openly. These neighbors had a busted pipe in their home that flooded my basement for a week until the city finally intervened. I get roaches, from these neighbors. They are the bane of my existence.

Also, make sure to check around the transome. Ours wasn’t sealed correctly and now the entire door frame needs to be replaced because of water damage.

Good luck!!

To answer your question: Druid Hill Park is hilly but it's only 1.5-2 miles of moderately steep rollers, my recommendation for in the city limits is Lake Ave, Bellemore Rd and Poplar Hill road which are 3 the northern most roads that run between Falls rd and Roland Ave. They're all right next to each other and the whole stretch between Falls and Roland is winding hills.

My true recommendation is don't ride in the city. Baltimore has some of the worst drivers in the country IMO (note the number of white bicycles ling the city streets). Right outside of the city you have tons of great riding options.

Feel free to DM for info on cycling groups and routes in the area.

The key to cycling in Baltimore is getting to Hillside rd

Mt Washington has fantastic climbs (for the area). Just start riding around and hit every road. Crossing Falls Road to Lake and Bellemore is good too.

Why are you challenging me on this!? I don't think my comment implied that I wouldn't say the same things about those places (Well, maybe not the cemeteries...c'mon, man).

I CANNOT WAIT for the Maryland Stadium Authority to release the agreement/plan with the Orioles & Ravens on what they are going to do to develop all those empty lots! I would love for some of the golf courses to be repurposed into more housing! You picked the wrong target if you think that I am picking and choosing which underutilized land in the city to highlight. Good grief.

If the kids are younger port discovery is super fun