A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From the Baltimore Sun: State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby assails police, pledges to pursue reforms
"Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby came out swinging Wednesday after she dropped the charges against the remaining police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray, slamming the criminal justice system and saying police were too biased to investigate themselves.
"In a fiery news conference at the Gilmor Homes housing project, the prosecutor said that without sweeping reform to police and the court system, "we could try this case 100 times, and cases just like it, and we would still end up with the same result."
"Mosby told The Baltimore Sun that she planned to pursue such reforms — including the ability of prosecutors to use independent investigators.
"Mosby charged six officers in Gray's arrest and death last year. Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams acquitted three of them, saying prosecutors lacked the evidence to prove their cases. Mosby dropped charges Wednesday against the other three.
"'I wanted to be able to expose the systemic issues,' she said. 'And I think that's one of the reasons why we said we should probably [drop the remaining cases]: so we can try to work toward a solution.'
"The Baltimore police union called Mosby's comments 'outrageous, uncalled for and simply not true.' Former Police Commissioner Anthony Batts called Mosby 'immature, incompetent and vindictive.' Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the prosecutions were 'disgraceful' and Mosby 'ought to prosecute herself.'
"Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she supported Mosby but questioned whether she had gone too far in her criticisms of the criminal justice system.
""I have certainly learned from the challenges that I have faced, but I have never — and will never — use my position to give the impression to the community that they should not have confidence in the people who have sworn to serve them,' Rawlings-Blake told CNN in Philadelphia, where she is taking part in the Democratic National Convention.
"Mosby said there had been 'many gains' since Gray's death, including the purchase of new police vans equipped with video cameras and new police policies that require officers to confirm they have received and read new general orders.
"Mosby said she was disappointed by the acquittals of the three officers, but she did not regret pursuing the charges."
From City Paper: The Democratic National Convention: Black women including the First Lady, make the case for Hillary
"Black women have been doing a hell of a job selling Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia this week at the Democratic National Convention.
"First, there was First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday, resplendent in blue, who shaded Donald Trump elegantly, without ever having to mention his name.
"'Our motto is, when they go low, we go high,' she said. Hillary is 'someone who understands that the issues a president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters,' she said.
"She got choked up when she told the crowd that she knows that she wakes up every day in a house built by slaves.
"Then there was last night's moving presentation given by Trayvon Martin's mom, Sybrina Fulton; Sandra Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal; Jordan Davis' mother, Lucy McBath, and others. The women all wore bright red poppies, flowers typically associated with mourning.
"They were given a hero’s welcome, with the crowd chanting 'black lives matter,' before Sandra Bland’s mother Reed-Veal, hushed them so that she could speak.
"'I need you to hear me tonight,' Reed-Veal said. 'Give me two moments to tell you how good God is.'
"It is easy for the plight of black women, especially, to be lost in the fight for equality, but last night’s presentation made sure not to exclude them. Reed-Veal didn’t just acknowledge her own daughter’s death, which she says happened after Bland was unlawfully arrested and detained, but the deaths of six other women who died in police custody the same month.
"A lost black life, she said, is a loss that diminishes everyone.
"The women advocated for Clinton, while also keeping their cause front and center.
"'I lived in fear that my son would die like this,' said Lucy McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis. 'Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say that black lives matter. She isn't afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish.'
"'I am an unwilling participant in this movement,' said Sybrina Fulton. 'I did not want this spotlight, but I will do everything I can to focus some of this light on the pain of a path out of the darkness.'
"That black women were given a large, public stage to make their points highlighted the polar opposite agenda at the Republican National Convention last week, where at one point, a speaker encouraged the crowd to chant 'all lives matter.'
"It's also not exactly surprising. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that black women are the Democrats' most reliable base."
From the Baltimore Sun: Baltimore schools get $106 million contract OK, and a grilling
"The Board of Public Works approved $106.6 million worth of contracts Wednesday under a $1 billion plan to rebuild or replace aging Baltimore schools — but not before grilling system officials about their management of state money.
"The five contracts comprise the second round of work authorized by the board under the system's 21st Century Schools project, which aims to upgrade the city's crumbling school buildings, the oldest in Maryland. The project is in its second year of construction work.
"The work approved Wednesday includes $38.5 million toward the renovation of the Robert Poole building in Hampden, $36.8 million to replace Arundel Elementary in Cherry Hill and $28.4 million to renovate John Eager Howard Elementary in Reservoir Hill.
"Two smaller contracts are for construction management and design and engineering for replacement of the Patterson High and Claremont schools in Southeast Baltimore.
"Gov. Larry Hogan, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp voted in favor of the contracts, which were awarded by the Maryland Stadium Authority. The authority is overseeing the bond-financed project under legislation passed by the Assembly in 2013."