For years, the naysayers have counted Baltimore out. But the numbers across the board are telling a different story. At our peak, Baltimore had 16,000 vacant properties citywide. Through hard work and the right investments, we’ve brought that number down to fewer than 12,000. Eliminating 1 in 4 vacant properties across our city. And we’ve reduced homicides and nonfatal shootings to the lowest levels our city has seen in 50 years. The progress our city is seeing is real. And is proof of what happens when we commit to doing things differently, despite what others may say. While we still have work to do, I am proud of how far our city has come.

The Baltimore ‘Sun’s letters-to-the-editor column last week featured a vigorous defense of the newspaper’s monthslong investigation of Maryland governor Wes Moore’s military service. The letter blasted a critic, saying he “offered indignation and diversion while totally avoiding the evidence at the center of the investigation,” and noted that the ‘Sun’ failed to tell its readers that he has a role in Moore’s administration. The author of the August 6 “reader commentary,” however, wasn’t just another steamed ‘Sun’ subscriber: It was Drew Sullins, who happens to be the lead analyst and principal writer of the Moore stories. In effect, the ‘Sun’ permitted Sullins to act as judge, jury, and executioner of his own work. Sullins’s letter was unusual, if not unprecedented. To Moore’s camp, the letter illustrated the lengths the venerable newspaper and an allied consortium of media partners has gone to smear the Democratic governor, who is expected to handily win reelection in November and seen as a serious 2028 presidential contender. The intent, they suggest, is to take down Moore before he even decides upon seeking higher office. Moore — and some former ‘Sun’ journalists — say the animus toward the governor is driven by the paper’s principal owner, David D. Smith, a wealthy conservative who bought a majority stake in the newspaper in 2024. Moore has accused the ‘Sun’ of “slander and misinformation” and has suggested that Smith is directly shaping the coverage. Moore even suggested in a June MS NOW interview that Smith had ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, a claim that prompted Smith to sue Moore for defamation last month. In the same interview, Moore asserted that Smith said that “the job of the Sun is to do Donald Trump’s work,” which Smith denies. Read more from Paul Farhi on the ongoing battle between Moore and Smith: nymag.visitlink.me/ImdSoo

Said it before. Worth repeating. One of the dumbest trends of my lifetime: Holding up an entire parking lot to do a reverse 5-point turn all just to back into your spot like you're unloading uranium cores down at the shipyard. Dude, you're in a Chevy Colorado at the Publix.

Governor Wes Moore dodges when asked about his tax and military records. MOORE: We have been very transparent REPORTER: You have not released the records STAFF: Let him answer MOORE: I want the Epstein files released REPORTER: So you're not going to release your records...

New: In a letter shared with @semafor, the owner of the Baltimore Sun threatened to sue Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for defamation over claims linking him to Jeffrey Epstein. Usually it's the politician threatening to sue the media outlet for defamation, not the other way around...

HOW HAS MICHAEL ZHENG PULLED THAT OFF ON SET POINT 🤯🤯🤯