She’s been watching ‘The Wire’ on HBO.
Via Baltimore Sun:
Amid a surge in killings, Mayor Catherine E. Pugh walked West Baltimore streets Tuesday morning — a procession of police commanders and city agency representatives in tow — to see first hand the work of her Violence Reduction Initiative.
The strategy floods targeted neighborhoods with services, with the aim of controlling crime. The mayor wanted to see how things were going and hear from residents she met along the way.
But she also had a few points of her own to make.
In a cramped convenience store on Pennsylvania Avenue, she peered into a booth where a cashier stood behind plexiglass.
“What time do you-all close?” the mayor asked the man behind the counter.
“11:30,” the cashier replied.
“Isn’t that late?” the mayor said. “That’s a little late. It keeps the crowds around here. Nine o’clock is nice. We need you-all to close at 9 o’clock at night.”
Asked about it after the mayor left, the man, who wouldn’t give his name, did not commit to closing the A&M Grocery any earlier.
The crime reduction strategy began in November, and the mayor has credited it with the decline in violence the city experienced in the first three months of 2018. But in April, the bloodshed has surged again, with 29 killings in the past three weeks.[…]
Annie Hall, the president of the Penn-North Community Association, said the vacant houses were being used to stash drugs. Pugh assured her that they would be demolished soon.
Hall, a retired Social Security Administration worker, said later that she’s been working with mayors since Martin O’Malley. The community has been promised a lot, only to see progress stall. But she said she’s optimistic that Pugh can make a difference.
“She knows the plight that we’ve gone through,” Hall said. “Hopefully — she gave me a her word — she’s going to bring about some change.”
In another store on Pennsylvania Avenue, Pugh called for someone from the health department and asked that the market’s next inspection be moved up.
Pugh is clearly aiming her sights at such small markets and corner stores, touting police data that shows crimes clustering around them.
“These stores on Pennsylvania Avenue and North Avenue need inspections,” the mayor said. “Health Department, I’m going to expect you to get in there and inspect those places because some of those places need to be shut down.
“How many mini markets do we need in one area?” she added. “How many carry-outs do we need in one area?”