@rickhutzell.bsky.social
I'm a columnist for The Baltimore Banner. I explore the world from the vantage point of Annapolis, a little city on the Chesapeake Bay.
If anyone knows what make Jane Austen’s world tick, it’s Emma Whipday. Her adaptation of the 19th-century author’s most famous work debuts Friday for a month long run at Compass Rose Theater in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ on stage, Music of the Spheres
If anyone knows what makes Jane Austen’s world tick, it’s British playwright Emma Whipday. Her adaptation of the 19th-century author’s most famous work debuts Friday.
www.thebanner.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:01 PM
If anyone knows what make Jane Austen’s world tick, it’s Emma Whipday. Her adaptation of the 19th-century author’s most famous work debuts Friday for a month long run at Compass Rose Theater in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
There’s a behind-the-scenes push to open some of that new space to a group not automatically served at Walter Reed. #veterans
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Walter Reed is expanding. More veterans could fill its new beds.
Not everything in Congress is paralyzed. There’s a quiet push to open space at Walter Reed National Medical Center and other DOD hospitals to veterans.
www.thebanner.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
There’s a behind-the-scenes push to open some of that new space to a group not automatically served at Walter Reed. #veterans
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
Six Flags America's closure could just be the first of many.
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
When coaster enthusiasts stream out of Six Flags America on Sunday evening, they won’t be able to go back.
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
Future of Six Flag America site unclear as park closes Sunday
The amusement park, which first opened in the 1970s and has operated as a Six Flags since 1998, shuts down after it closes at 6 p.m. What’s next for the massive tract in Bowie remains unclear.
www.thebanner.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Six Flags America's closure could just be the first of many.
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
Executives recently said Six Flags plans to shrink its portfolio and divest from "underperforming parks."
Turns out the only thing the party of opposition needed was a tone-deaf president to confirm just about everything they’ve been saying. The man in the White House certainly obliged.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Could last week's elections be (gasp!) the end of the beginning?
Election Day comes along and — bam! — victories in New York City, California, Virginia and New Jersey prove there’s life left in this ol’ political bag of wool called the Democratic Party.
www.thebanner.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Turns out the only thing the party of opposition needed was a tone-deaf president to confirm just about everything they’ve been saying. The man in the White House certainly obliged.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
“Public schools thrive when the community is engaged. But there’s a huge impact on the whole community when schools are not as strong as they could be.”
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The problem with Annapolis schools isn’t what you think. It’s worse.
What to do about schools has long been a question for Annapolis. Keeping them from withering is the city’s next big challenge.
www.thebanner.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:31 PM
“Public schools thrive when the community is engaged. But there’s a huge impact on the whole community when schools are not as strong as they could be.”
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
There’s a lot of Annapolis in Rodney Barnes. And plenty of the California-based comic book author appears in “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller based on the history of the Jim Crow hospital outside the city where he grew up.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: Comic book retells Crownsville tragedy
Writer Rodney Barnes has adapted the tale of the old state mental hospital into “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller. Barnes will sign copies at Third Eye Comics on Saturday, one of seven great thin...
www.thebanner.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:53 AM
There’s a lot of Annapolis in Rodney Barnes. And plenty of the California-based comic book author appears in “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller based on the history of the Jim Crow hospital outside the city where he grew up.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
Nowhere will the pain of ending Obamacare tax credits sting like it will in Andy Harris’ backyard.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Andy Harris’ district will feel the pain if Obamacare tax credits expire
In Maryland's largest counties, 128,000 people take advantage of the tax credits for insurance through the Affordable Care Act. But it's Maryland's smallest, poorest counties where the impact will be ...
www.thebanner.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Nowhere will the pain of ending Obamacare tax credits sting like it will in Andy Harris’ backyard.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The result of a self-assured, 22 month campaign is an election that feels like a foregone conclusion, and has for months. How did Annapolis get here?
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The inevitability of Jared Littmann as Annapolis’ next mayor
Forty-eight hours from Election Day, Democrat Jared Littmann’s campaign for mayor has an air of inevitability about it. How did Annapolis get to the point where the election feels like a foregone conc...
www.thebanner.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:00 PM
The result of a self-assured, 22 month campaign is an election that feels like a foregone conclusion, and has for months. How did Annapolis get here?
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
When coaster enthusiasts stream out of Six Flags America on Sunday evening, they won’t be able to go back.
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
Future of Six Flag America site unclear as park closes Sunday
The amusement park, which first opened in the 1970s and has operated as a Six Flags since 1998, shuts down after it closes at 6 p.m. What’s next for the massive tract in Bowie remains unclear.
www.thebanner.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
When coaster enthusiasts stream out of Six Flags America on Sunday evening, they won’t be able to go back.
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
The park is shuttering as Six Flags continues to seek a buyer for its 523-acre tract.
www.thebanner.com/economy/six-...
Journalists at The Banner are as human as you. Little things scare us, odd things. We each have a personal collection of heebie-jeebies.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Bugs, bats and war in the Caribbean. What scares you on Halloween?
Halloween is the day to take out your fears and examine them, to laugh at what gives you the willies. Dress them up in silly costumes, throw candy at them and hope they don’t get angry.
www.thebanner.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Journalists at The Banner are as human as you. Little things scare us, odd things. We each have a personal collection of heebie-jeebies.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted
Denying the public’s right to know.😡
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
Federal officials offer no recourse for reporters shut out of immigration court
For two journalists covering the immigration court in Hyattsville, Tuesday started as a typical day. They walked in for Judge Dinesh Verma’s morning hearings, and identified themselves as members of t...
cnsmaryland.org
October 31, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Denying the public’s right to know.😡
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
From our Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland Maryland Capital News Service:
cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/30/f...
Reposted
Exclusive from me: @raskin.house.gov has issued a letter signed by more than 60 Congress members demanding Trump provide answers on the legality of the ballroom construction. The demolition is being led by a Silver Spring company: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Jamie Raskin demands answers from Trump on East Wing demolition in letter
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin has sent a letter to Trump Thursday questioning the legality of the demolition of the White House's East Wing. Raskin said the teardown — to make room for a ballroom — violates ...
www.thebanner.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Exclusive from me: @raskin.house.gov has issued a letter signed by more than 60 Congress members demanding Trump provide answers on the legality of the ballroom construction. The demolition is being led by a Silver Spring company: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
You could catch a folk legend or head to the opera. You could listen to the Naval Academy choir or see some transformational art. There's always something fun to do in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: Rams Head launches fall concerts with folk program
British folk great Richard Thompson performs Sunday at St. John’s College in the first of five “Rams Head Presents” shows through December, concerts that take the music out of the West Street club ont...
www.thebanner.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:21 AM
You could catch a folk legend or head to the opera. You could listen to the Naval Academy choir or see some transformational art. There's always something fun to do in Annapolis.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
The Mary Lynn, which hauled political bigwigs and captains of industry around the Port of Baltimore for almost 40 years, is sitting aground in an Eastern Shore boat yard waiting for the outcome of a government surplus auction.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Yacht for sale: Maryland Port auctions off a piece of Chesapeake history
The Maryland Port Administration is auctioning off the Mary Lynn, a 1962 wooden Trumpy yacht it used for tours of the harbor for 40 years. It can be yours, as is, for as little as $50,000.
www.thebanner.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:29 AM
The Mary Lynn, which hauled political bigwigs and captains of industry around the Port of Baltimore for almost 40 years, is sitting aground in an Eastern Shore boat yard waiting for the outcome of a government surplus auction.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Wtf? Why is the ghost of Harlan Sanders at the world series?
October 26, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Wtf? Why is the ghost of Harlan Sanders at the world series?
Noah Hillman faced Thurgood Marshall in a Baltimore courtroom almost 90 years ago, defending one of Maryland's most notorious racists. Now his name will move over to make room for Marshall's client, Walter Mills.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Annapolis renames garage that honored lawyer who defended racism
Annapolis is changing the name on the Noah Hillman Parking Garage, a downtown memorial for a respected alderman. Twenty years before he was elected, Hillman was the lawyer for one of Maryland’s most n...
www.thebanner.com
October 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Noah Hillman faced Thurgood Marshall in a Baltimore courtroom almost 90 years ago, defending one of Maryland's most notorious racists. Now his name will move over to make room for Marshall's client, Walter Mills.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
A big freaking deal, Annapolis!
NEW: UConn and Louisville women's hoops were supposed to open their seasons at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. But thanks to the government shutdown, the defending national champions open their season in ... Annapolis
On the Naval Academy's surprise big game: www.thebanner.com/sports/colle...
On the Naval Academy's surprise big game: www.thebanner.com/sports/colle...
October 23, 2025 at 11:28 PM
A big freaking deal, Annapolis!
If you really want to go to the Army-Navy game this year, or if you want front row seats on the 30-yard line for a game at Navy Marine Crops Memorial Stadium, you can snag them at resale sites. Buyer beware.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
7 things in Annapolis: How not to spend $4,500 on an Army-Navy ticket
The better Navy football is, the harder it can be to get good tickets.
www.thebanner.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
If you really want to go to the Army-Navy game this year, or if you want front row seats on the 30-yard line for a game at Navy Marine Crops Memorial Stadium, you can snag them at resale sites. Buyer beware.
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...
Reposted
A Sliver Spring construction company hired to tear down the White House’s East Wing faces online backlash, @jackhogan.me reports.
www.thebanner.com/economy/grow...
www.thebanner.com/economy/grow...
Silver Spring company demolishing White House wing faces online firestorm
ACECO, a Silver Spring construction company, is taking flak for its role in the demolition of the East Wing of the White House for President Donald Trump’s ballroom project.
www.thebanner.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:09 AM
A Sliver Spring construction company hired to tear down the White House’s East Wing faces online backlash, @jackhogan.me reports.
www.thebanner.com/economy/grow...
www.thebanner.com/economy/grow...
Competition for biotech investment and jobs is changing in the wake of President Donald Trump's destruction of federal support, as entrepreneurs and investors scramble for new resources to grow medical science, biopharma and medtech.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Maryland must up its game to stay competitive in the biotech economy
Suddenly, the competition for biotech investment and jobs looks different, as entrepreneurs and investors seek resources to fund medical science, biopharma and medtech.
www.thebanner.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Competition for biotech investment and jobs is changing in the wake of President Donald Trump's destruction of federal support, as entrepreneurs and investors scramble for new resources to grow medical science, biopharma and medtech.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
Virtually all of the bay’s shoreline is privately owned, which means many of these taxpayer-funded waterfront improvements go to properties that limit public access. Can Maryland balance what’s best for the bay with the public’s desire to enjoy it?
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...
The hidden cost of saving the Chesapeake Bay: millions for private waterfronts
Virtually all of the Chesapeake Bay’s shoreline is privately owned, which means taxpayer-funded waterfront improvements go to properties with limited public access.
www.thebanner.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Virtually all of the bay’s shoreline is privately owned, which means many of these taxpayer-funded waterfront improvements go to properties that limit public access. Can Maryland balance what’s best for the bay with the public’s desire to enjoy it?
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...
Reposted
I had such an incredible time (🥁) visiting the Renaissance Festival and talking with vendors there for this story.
The Maryland Renn Fest is a true institution, and one of the most popular festivals like it in the country. It's also, as I found out, one of the most desirable for vendors.
The Maryland Renn Fest is a true institution, and one of the most popular festivals like it in the country. It's also, as I found out, one of the most desirable for vendors.
About time: Maryland native realizes dream with Renaissance Festival shop
The fifth time was the charm for Sharon Lane, a Maryland native who landed a hard-to-get spot at the Maryland Renaissance Festival this year. The sold-out festival in Anne Arundel County concludes thi...
www.thebanner.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I had such an incredible time (🥁) visiting the Renaissance Festival and talking with vendors there for this story.
The Maryland Renn Fest is a true institution, and one of the most popular festivals like it in the country. It's also, as I found out, one of the most desirable for vendors.
The Maryland Renn Fest is a true institution, and one of the most popular festivals like it in the country. It's also, as I found out, one of the most desirable for vendors.
Sprinkled through the hour-long Annapolis Pride Parade, some participants held political messages like “Yaz Queen. No Kings” which added a piquant touch to the colorful and celebratory event.
What to know as ‘No Kings 2.0’ protests sweep through Maryland
What to know as ‘No Kings 2.0’ protests sweep through Maryland
The “No Kings 2.0” protests on Saturday range from the overpasses of Bowie to dance parties outside Baltimore’s Penn Station and bus rides and marches into the flagship march in D.C.
buff.ly
October 18, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Sprinkled through the hour-long Annapolis Pride Parade, some participants held political messages like “Yaz Queen. No Kings” which added a piquant touch to the colorful and celebratory event.
This election season, I’ve been exploring issues Annapolis voters should consider. With mail-in voting two weeks away, I asked people with firsthand perspectives on the job — what makes a good mayor?
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
What it takes: 4 former Annapolis mayors on leading the city
Annapolis is about to pick a new mayor for the first time in eight years in an election that will also remake the City Council. Here are thoughts on what makes a good mayor from people who’ve done the...
www.thebanner.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:20 AM
This election season, I’ve been exploring issues Annapolis voters should consider. With mail-in voting two weeks away, I asked people with firsthand perspectives on the job — what makes a good mayor?
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
They’re running 50 years after the first women were admitted to Annapolis and at a time when President Donald Trump's administration is denigrating the role of women in the military. It’s not only a generational shift. It feels like a response.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
3 Naval Academy grads are running for office. They’re all women.
Mikie Sherrill. Amy McGrath. Eileen Laubacher. All Naval Academy graduates, all running for office. Fifty years after the first women entered the academy, they represent a generational moment of chang...
www.thebanner.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:06 AM
They’re running 50 years after the first women were admitted to Annapolis and at a time when President Donald Trump's administration is denigrating the role of women in the military. It’s not only a generational shift. It feels like a response.
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...