“Baltimore is going through a reconstruction, or a revival,” Taho said. “There’s nothing like going down to Fed Hill, grabbing a beer with your buddies and being able to catch an Orioles game in the same day. I think that weekend getaway is perfect for any new grad, and they would love to work there for that reason.”

Baltimore has made a name for itself as a city for young graduates to become financially stable, enjoy a lively social scene and find housing within their budget, while holding a position in their field of study, whether it be tech, health care or cybersecurity.

Recent college graduates have an easier time finding jobs in Baltimore than in most other U.S. metropolitan cities, according to a new study from ADP ranking cities by three characteristics: annual wages, hiring rates and affordability based on anonymized payroll data of more than 140,000 people aged 20-29 at more than 27,000 U.S. employers from January 2019 to April 2025.

Baltimore,  including Columbia and Towson, ranked No. 3 on a list of best U.S. cities for recent college graduates to find jobs. For recent college graduates looking for a job, Baltimore offers an annual wage estimate of $52,267 and a hiring rate of 3.5%. The top city, Raleigh, North Carolina, had an annual wage estimate of $55,580 and a hiring rate of 4.2%.

Kimberly Clark, executive vice president of Baltimore Development Corporation, attributes Baltimore’s higher-than-average hire rate to the area’s strong college town network, with the Johns Hopkins University, , University of Baltimore and Morgan State University being located in and around the city.

ADP credited Baltimore’s high hiring rate and annual wage estimate to Hopkins, both the university and hospital, and the University of Maryland Medical System for providing jobs in science, engineering, health care, technology and mathematics as well as research opportunities for recent graduates.

In ADP’s similar study on the college graduate job market from last year, analyzing the same data from January 2019 to April 2024, Baltimore ranked No. 2, with a higher annual wage estimate of $52,000 and a lower hiring rate of 3.4%.

Taho works for Capital One as a cyber technical associate near Towson. Originally from Prince George’s County, he previously worked for Textron Systems, a technology company specializing in defense and space near Towson, after he graduated. Textron offered him the job before he officially received his diploma from Maryland.

He cited big players in the aerospace, tech and defense industries in and around Baltimore, like Northrop Grumman in Linthicum Heights and Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, as a “no-brainer” choices for anyone looking to work in the tech industry. Baltimore is already building on its reputation as a tech hub, seeking $70 million in funding last year.

“There are core sectors in the industry that Baltimore is a hub for that make it very attractive for recent up-and-coming professionals,” he said. “I wanted to stay close to home and get the chance to work for at least a well-known organization while not having to relocate.”

The entertainment, restaurants and nightlife that Baltimore provides also play an important role in attracting college graduates from other states and encouraging local graduates to stay, Clark said.

“Young people love Baltimore because there is so much to do here,” Clark said. “The lifestyle is what Baltimore has to offer. There’s lots to do. They can see concerts every Thursday at the First Thursday festival and then go play kickball with a Volo group after work.”

Nicole Marano, vice president of student success  for the University of Baltimore, said many of University of Baltimore’s graduates stay for the lifestyle Baltimore has to offer, such as the nightlife in Fells Point, the variety of restaurants across the city and numerous music festivals, and end up working for the university. Students also  feel comfort living near Hopkins for its career opportunities and its medical pedigree in case they are injured or sick.

“Students like the city’s size and, that there are so many opportunities for higher education and the benefits of having access to world-class medical institutions,” Marano said.

Graduates are hired to work in student admissions and build their administrative skills while encouraging others to learn and work in Baltimore. Other University of Baltimore students segue from the undergraduate and graduate law programs into the School of Law, going on to practice in the area.

“Oftentimes [graduates] like the vibrancy of the city, particularly Midtown because of the different restaurants, nightlife and that neighborhood feel you get near Mount Vernon,” Marano said. “Graduates from our school tend to end up in particular programs scattered across the institution in admission and institutional advancement in particular.”

Erick Rivadeneria, a University of Maryland 2025 graduate, moved to Arlington, Virginia, to work at Privia Health as a growth strategy and analytics coordinator. Also from Prince George’s County, Rivadeneria chose to move to Virginia because the job with Privia appealed more to him than one offered to him in Maryland, partially because of its salary.

“It was less so of a want to move to Virginia and more so that those were how the options leveled out for me,” Rivadeneria said. “There are different elements that come into that, such as income and where I could see my career going with this position.”

Although he is confident in the route he chose as a first-generation college graduate working in health care, Rivadeneria said the cost of living in Arlington is much higher than what he was used to in Maryland. According to the ADP study, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC metroplex has a higher annual wage estimate than the Baltimore metroplex but less affordability and a lower hiring rate.

As someone who frequently visited Baltimore growing up, Taho said he didn’t let the city’s history of a high homicide rate, which has dropped within the last year, deter him.

“It’s true that in certain pockets, you can make a wrong turn and end up in a sketchy neighborhood,” Taho said. “That’s changing.”

After rattling off many of the entertaining reasons to stay in Baltimore like going to Ravens games, grabbing a beer with friends in Federal Hill before catching an Orioles game and visiting the Inner Harbor, Taho said he chose to stick to the Baltimore area when looking for a job due to its variety of fields related to his major, information science.

“The cost of living was a huge factor,” he said. “You can rent a decent house in Baltimore for under $2,000. If you find that in New York, LA or even D.C., there’s a catch. I can come out here, make $80,000 a year and live comfortably as a single new grad right out of school able to pay all of my loans and still have a little bit of fun.”

Another boon for recent graduates is the cost of living in Baltimore compared with when he looked at bigger cities like New York. The ADP study highlighted New York as having high wages with a low hiring rate and a low rate of affordability.

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The 50,000-square-foot vehicle processing center will be built at Tradepoint Atlantic in the Port of Baltimore, and will be equipped to customize, inspect and prepare McLaren vehicles for distribution.

The first McLaren vehicle processing center in the U.S., the center will facilitate shipments to the 26 McLaren dealerships in the U.S. The project is a “more than $10.5 million” investment and will provide more than 20 new jobs for automotive technicians, logistics personnel, management personnel and automotive painters, according to a news release from Moore’s office.

“We are thrilled to welcome McLaren to the great state of Maryland,” Moore said in the release. “Today, we mark the latest chapter in our work to grow our state’s economy by building out high-tech manufacturing in every corner of the state. This new facility at Tradepoint Atlantic in the Port of Baltimore will turbocharge Maryland’s economic engine, and is a vivid example of how we can create new opportunities by uplifting international partnerships and attracting foreign investment.”

Nicolas Brown, the Americas president for McLaren, said the company is prepared to invest in the community as the center helps McLaren expand its brand. The automaker’s vehicles, known for their engineering, power and agility, retail starting around $225,000, according to Car and Driver.

“As a manufacturer of high tech, innovative vehicles we are proud to be creating well-paid and highly trained technical jobs to ensure that our customers in the U.S. get the highest quality service for their new McLaren supercar,” Brown said. “The new McLaren VPC will enable us to fully check and sign off every single car, install local accessory packs and bring full paint protection film installment directly on site with the additional bonus of helping to revitalize a brownfield site.”

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Officers from the Woodlawn Precinct were notified about the double shooting after receiving a call about two 18-year-olds walking into a local hospital at 11:50 p.m. One man had “serious” injuries to his upper body while the other had non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Detectives are still investigating the incident. Anyone with information can call 410-887-4636.

Have a news tip? Contact Chevall Pryce at cpryce@baltsun.com

Around 5 p.m., firefighters were alerted about a hazmat situation on the 2100 block of Wicomico Street in the Saint Paul neighborhood. After arriving, Baltimore fire crews evacuated 100 people from the building that houses Holly Poultry. Of those, 10 needed assistance, according to John Marsh, public information officer for Baltimore Fire Department.

After all 10 were evaluated, four were sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the fire department.

The fire department and the Maryland Department of the Environment deemed the building safe Sunday evening after monitoring carbon dioxide levels, said Marsh. The departments were “unable to definitively determine the source of the elevated” carbon dioxide, he said.

Holly Poultry did not immediately return a request for comment.

Have a news tip? Contact Chevall Pryce at cpryce@baltsun.com. Contact Dan Belson at dbelson@baltsun.com, on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.

The woman was found at 9:45 a.m. after a Maryland State Trooper stopped to check a black Jeep Wrangler parked on the right shoulder of the outer loop of I-695, west of Perring Parkway, police said. The trooper found a woman lying in the backseat of the Jeep. After several attempts to communicate with her, emergency medical services gained access to the vehicle before pronouncing her dead on the scene.

State troopers, the Maryland State Police Crash Team and the state police criminal enforcement division responded to the scene. Crime scene technicians and the forensic sciences division with state police processed evidence on the scene with the Baltimore County Police Department.

State police are still investigating the death. Anyone with information can contact the Golden Ring Barrack at 410-780-2700.

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The celebration of life for Wellington on Thursday evening in Penn North in West Baltimore was focused more on community and merrymaking than it was mourning and sadness. Hot dogs were on the grill while DJ Prolific, who works closely with Bruce on other events, played the music while their kids blew up balloons and longtime friends laughed together while sharing hugs.

Bruce hosted the celebration as a way to not only honor her son, who died of an overdose four years ago in Penn North. Three weeks ago, 27 people overdosed around the corner from Devon Wellington’s Way, and five more overdosed a week before.

Bruce said she doesn’t host the celebration for herself, but for other mothers who lost a loved one to violence or drugs. Penn North is known for its repeated opioid overdoses, which Bruce and other advocates work toward reducing.

“It’s not trauma bonding,” Bruce said. “It is the club no one wants to be in, but it’s the club that we’re building for other mothers, newer moms who don’t really know how to cope with their lost child.”

A prayer circle, formed within the first hour of the celebration and led by Bishop Lisa Weah, honored Wellington while advocating for legislation protecting substance users from punishment and to prevent deaths like Wellington’s.

“God, you are raising up hearts, you are raising up prayer warriors, you are raising up resources,” said Weah, of the New Bethlehem Baptist Church. “No longer will we stand around and record, but, God, we’re going to stand to reach into our brothers and sisters’ lives.”

On a nearby table, naloxone, a drug used to reverse overdoses, was available on the table with instructions for use, as well as other resources for people with substance use disorder.

Bruce was surrounded by people she has helped, or vice versa, with her advocacy for overdose prevention and helping mothers recuperate from losing a child. Amielier Harrington said Bruce “saved her life” when she considered suicide. Lynnell Brown said she considers Bruce her little sister, meeting her when Bruce did Brown’s daughter’s hair.

“The day her son lost his life, after the police called her, I was the first person that she called,” Brown said. “I love her. I’d do anything for her.”

Darlene Cain, an advocate against gun violence and a friend of Bruce, said she and Bruce have united mothers together not to mourn, but to find the strength to make choices and build community.

“We don’t have to be any special way. Nobody has to be strong,” she said. “Just be your own self and whatever that healing looks like to you.”

As the celebration wrapped up, Bruce was still dancing to the DJ’s music, pointing to the sign honoring her son.

“It’s all of us bonding through our loved ones,” she said. “We support each other.”

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At approximately 9:30 a.m., the department’s Underwater Recovery Team was notified of a potential vehicle submerged in the harbor’s 500 block of East Pratt Street. Upon arrival, the team discovered the vehicle approximately 22 feet underwater.

Using tow lines, the recovery team and Baltimore City Fire Department pulled the vehicle from the harbor at 501 E. Pratt St. at about 10:30 a.m.

Human remains were discovered inside the vehicle, the police department said in a later email. The Medical Examiner’s Office responded and recovered the remains to ascertain the cause of death.

In 2023, Silver Cab was investigated by the Maryland’s Office of the Inspector General for allegedly improperly invoicing $2,255 for five graduated students through the end of the school year. The same company later received a new contract with the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners for taxi rides for students.

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Both sides heralded the agreement, which provides for nearly 14% raises during the three-year contract, eight weeks of paid parental leave and a $750 annual health stipend for part-time staff members — the first time that some workers will get funds from their employer to help cover health expenses.

Sarah Freshnock, a preventive conservator at the Walters and a member of the bargaining committee,  said that the paid parental leave — a benefit the staff has never had before — is especially meaningful to her, since she is getting married in September, and she and her fiance have been discussing starting a family.

“It has been a long process and some people wondered if this contract was ever going to happen,” Freshnock said.

“It is a huge win. We started out really far apart, but people on both sides of the bargaining table worked hard over many months to find a way to come together.”

Kate Burgin, the museum’s Andrea B. and John H. Laporte director and CEO, wrote in a statement that management is committed to a relationship that is “grounded in mutual respect and shared goals in support of our team members.”

She added: “With the [collective bargaining agreement] now ratified, we look forward to moving ahead together with renewed commitment to the museum’s mission to bring art and people together.”

The contract ratification is the most recent example of burgeoning unionization efforts nationwide, which increased dramatically following the coronavirus pandemic-induced job losses and worker protection concerns. Cultural workers locally who have unionized in the past three years include staff members at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Howard County Library System and the Anne Arundel County Public Library.

But at the Walters, unionization efforts proved especially contentious and drawn-out.

“I’m ecstatic that this day has finally come,” Will Murray, who has worked for the Baltimore museum for 27 years and is now its lead maintenance technician, said in a news release. “The Walters is now on par with other progressive institutions who are willing to reward their very deserving employees for their hard work throughout the years with all that this contract entails.”

The long impasse began shortly after staff members who called themselves Walters Workers United announced April 30, 2021, that they planned to organize to address such issues as pay equity, workplace safety and career advancement.

The dispute centered on whether the Walters would have one union or two and which employees would be included in them — issues that took two years, a lawsuit and the introduction of bills into the state legislature to resolve. (The bills were withdrawn once the union election was scheduled.)

Bargaining began shortly after workers voted June 15, 2023, to organize a single union under the auspices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The contract includes security guards, educators, conservation staff and gift shop employees, among others. Managers, supervisors, confidential employees and members of the leadership team remain outside union jurisdiction.

The workers said  highlights of their new agreement include:

• Guaranteed “step” increases, or automatic raises given based on years of service, in addition to cost-of-living increases. Base minimum salaries, which range from $36,000 to $39,500, jumped to $45,425, retroactively as of July 1. By the time the contract expires, these union members will be paid at least $49,013, according to Linda He, an AFSCME communications director.
• The establishment of two oversight committees to address health, safety and other workplace concerns.
• The health insurance stipend for part-time employees. Stuart Katzenberg, a director of collective bargaining for the union, said that although Walters employees receive health insurance and other benefits from the city, not all of the part-time employees had been eligible for it.

The contract “gives us the power to advocate for the safety protections and respect we deserve,” Garrett Stralnic, the museum’s public programs coordinator, said in the union news release. “Our hard work is what makes the Walters such a vital part of the Baltimore community.”

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct positions of Kate Burgin, Andrea Laporte and John Laporte. The Sun regrets the errors.

Have a news tip? Contact Mary Carole McCauley at mmccauley@baltsun.com and 410-332-6704. Contact Chevall Pryce at cpryce@baltsun.com.

Charles Meyers, 47, was sentenced to life, with all but 40 years suspended and five years of probation upon release.

On Dec. 17, at 7:45 p.m., Baltimore Police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a residence on the 1000 block of Quantril Way in Armistead Gardens in Northeast Baltimore. After requesting multiple times that Meyers open the door, officers forced entry into the residence, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Inside, officers found Meyers’ girlfriend, Krystal Praharnpap, 42, inside the upstairs bedroom, unresponsive and suffering from trauma. Paramedics pronounced her dead at 8:50 p.m. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt-force injuries to the head, neck, torso and extremities, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Meyers, who lived with Praharnpap, was arrested on the 1100 block of Armistead Way after leaving the scene when officers entered the residence, police wrote in charging documents. He was charged with first- and second-degree murder and indicted in January.

Meyers’ attorney did not provide a comment.

“This case stands as a poignant reminder of the heartbreaking toll that domestic violence takes on individuals and families,” State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement. “Though today’s sentence cannot restore Ms. Praharnpap to her loved ones, I sincerely hope it provides her family with a sense of solace, knowing that justice has been served and the offender held accountable.”

According to the state’s attorney’s office, police database data revealed that 10 service calls were made to the residence within the past year for domestic-related assaults, disputes and property destruction.

Have a news tip? Contact Chevall Pryce at cpryce@baltsun.com.

The fire department received a call at 2:46 p.m. about the matter, according to Lt. Joshua Pfeiffer.

The substance “made contact with their skin and caused some irritation,” Pfeiffer said, adding that the employees were taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Northrop Grumman Advanced Technology Lab, which produces and develops microelectronics, is on the 1200 block of Winterson Road near Northrop Grumman in Linthicum Heights.

Pfeiffer said the threat of the substance was contained. Investigators are working to identify the substance, he added.

Have a news tip? Contact Chevall Pryce at cpryce@baltsun.com.